20 years since New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mountain crumbled to pieces

Twenty years after New Hampshire’s famous Old Man of the Mountain crumbled to pieces, the state is paying tribute to the granite profile that symbolizes its independence with new geological research, poetry, a song, and a scavenger hunt. The 40-foot-tall natural rock formation was suspended 1,200 feet (366 meters) above Franconia Notch and held in place by turnbuckles and rods to fight erosion. It collapsed, and the rubble was discovered the morning of May 3, 2003.  It’s not clear how old it was; New Hampshire historical records mention it as early as 1805. Geologists believe it formed sometime after the end of the Ice Age, perhaps as long as 12,000 years ago.  The Old Man of the Mountain may have weighed nearly 2,000 tons when it collapsed.