Seek the Peak Spotlight: The Middleton Family

By MWOBS Staff

Every summer, the White Mountains offer no shortage of reasons to get outside. Trails stretch in every direction—endless miles of terrain, summits that each offer something different and moments above the treeline that make you stop and think, is this really New Hampshire?

For the Middletons, a family who has been in the region for “forever,” dating back to the 1800s, that feeling hasn’t worn off.

“Every time you’re in the White Mountains,” Ben, 35, explains, “you realize how special, how high and how extreme this place really is.”

It’s a realization they’ve returned to year after year, along different routes, under different conditions but increasingly, as part of something bigger.

Deep-rooted connection to the White Mountains

For more than two decades, the Middleton family has participated in Seek the Peak. Since the event began in 2001, they’ve been there every year—three generations (and growing) trekking across the White Mountains that have shaped their lives.

Jack, 96, Ben’s grandfather, first came to the Mount Washington Observatory as a staff member in the early 1950s. He would go on to become a trustee in 1957, beginning a relationship that has stretched across decades. For years, he was a familiar presence at the summit, meeting hikers as they arrived.

Today, that connection is etched into the building itself. A weather room at the Observatory bears the Middleton name.

Peter, 66, Ben’s father, also built his own connection to the Observatory at an early age. During his college years at the University of New Hampshire, he spent summers working on construction projects throughout the Mount Washington Valley, including work on the Sherman Adams building at the summit of Mount Washington. Decades later, his connection to both the mountains and the Observatory continues today as he serves on the Observatory’s Facilities Committee.

Ben can’t recall a time when the White Mountains weren’t part of his life. He remembers annual summer trips to the Appalachian Mountain Club huts, and in the winter, long days spent on skis exploring the region’s expansive backcountry terrain.

Ben still remembers skiing Tuckerman Ravine at six years old.

“I can’t believe they actually let me do that,” he said, laughing, “I definitely won’t be letting my son do that.”

Last year, Ben carried his 18-month-old son up the mountain during Seek the Peak, officially making it a four-generation event for the family. A moment that he returns to quickly when asked about his favorite memory in their 25 years of doing the event.

A family tradition

Seek the Peak has served as an anchor for the family since its start in 2001. Each year, the family blocks off the weekend, and everyone comes back to town like it’s a holiday weekend. Friday night is family dinner. Saturday is the hike. Sunday is time spent together at Jack’s house, revisiting stories that now span decades in the White Mountains.

They try to change their route year to year, with some much more demanding than others.

Ben recalls making the journey from Bartlett all the way to the summit of Mount Washington one year, roughly 20 miles of terrain. To many, that trek might seem daunting, but it’s the type of White Mountains adventure that you’d expect from the Middleton family.

Talks of this year’s route have begun, but nothing is set in stone yet.

Ask the Middletons what keeps them coming back year after year, and they won’t point to a single view or a single trail. The answer is family.

In the White Mountains, the Middletons can spend a day together, exploring a place that has shaped them across generations. At Seek the Peak, that time becomes part of something larger—with a community that shares the same passion.

That sense of community carries through the entire event as teams often turn fundraising goals into a friendly competition.

“We’ll sit there and just keep outbidding each other,” Peter says. “It’s all in good fun. Everyone wants to be the one who pushes it a little higher and a little higher.”

Seek the Peak raises critical funds for the Mount Washington Observatory, supporting research and forecasting work that plays a vital role in understanding one of the most extreme weather environments in the country. For those who spend time in the White Mountains, that work has a direct impact on decision-making, improving safety and deepening the understanding of the landscape itself.

“People don’t realize how important the work is,” Ben says. “The Higher Summits Forecast is something that’s necessary every day for people to stay safe in the White Mountains.”

For those considering taking part for the first time, the Middletons keep their advice simple.

“It’s an amazing event for families and friends to get together, enjoy the White Mountains, and do it for a great cause,” Ben says.