F. O. Stanley and his wife Flora, from Newton Massachusetts, used a steam-powered Locomobile to make that first 7.6 mile summit trip on August 31, 1899.

How do you get down a mountain in a car that has primitive brakes? “That proved as easy as rolling off a log,” Mrs. Stanley wrote. “We reversed the engine, played the brake like an organ pedal, just held on and let the thing spin.”

Long before dynamite was invented, the Mount Washington Auto Road was completed in 1861. Note to manhood-challenged men: they don't allow Hummers or dualies.

The Cog Railway was completed in 1869 and the two paths have competed for tourists ever since. Watch a video of the steam-powered Waumbek heading for the summit here. Then watch a 1910 Stanley here.

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