A Journey to Tuckermans Ravine

Trip Report: Friday, December 13th

Location: Tuckerman's Ravine

Trail Conditions: The Sherburne Trail was completely covered. The only visible water crossing has a bridge that held when skied over. Their was about three to four inches of heavy snow due to rain that had started mid day on Saturday. I would estimate the base to be about 12 or more inches in most places. Even the steeper sections of the trail had great coverage and have not be totally scraped away with the recent traffic. I would expect that after one or two more snow the trail would be in excellent shape.

Accompanied by: John Potter

A Journey to Tuckerman's Ravine

My neighbor, John, picked me up at 5:00 on Friday evening. It was difficult leaving my three-year-old daughter, Abigail. I had not seen her all week except for the two evenings prior due to my hectic work schedule. Abigail was definitely not ready for me to leave again, and openly expressed her desire for me not to go. It was heart wrenching to leave as tears welled in her eyes and began rolling down her cheek. I blew a kiss to her in the window and sadly got into John's vehicle.

John and I were embarking on our first outing together and I was looking forward to the car ride to get to know him. I had only met John a few weeks prior as a result of our wives planning a get together. They thought we had a lot in common. I don't usually let my wife pick my friends, but I am looking to establish a long time backcountry skiing partner. Upon hopping into John's SUV I noticed the radio station set to the same one I listen to. This was just the thing to relax me and enjoy the 2.5-hour drive up to Pinkham Notch.

As we pulled into the lodge parking lot I was amazed at how few cars there were. I wasn't sure if it was people’s suspicions that were keeping them away or what. I usually don't make it up to Tuckerman's until the spring when there are thousands of people.

The trip looks like it’s off to a great start.

As we stepped out of the car, a breeze of warm spring like air enveloped me. The temps had to be in the mid thirties. During all my spring trips the temps ranged from 5 degrees to 25 degrees. This was another pleasant surprise.

After getting all of our gear together and purchasing our permits to stay in the overnight shelters we hit the trail. Unfortunately, we did not have a clear sky with a full moon overhead, but their was just enough light to enable us to hike without headlamps. The hike up was peaceful and quite. John was proving to be very good company on this trip. Even though I hate to admit it, my wife was right and John and myself were alike in many ways.

As we approached the second hour of hike in I started to feel in a funk and began analyzing the situation. I was nauseated. My body ached just about everywhere. My mind began wishing that I were actually home. This was not a good feeling and very unlike me. John and I were eating the traditional gorp and drinking along the way. I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but I tried to keep it quite. The last thing I wanted was for John to perceive me as a complainer. I was feeling poorly enough that I could have let it stop me on dead in my tracks, so I starting counting my steps. I told myself just go another ten steps, then another, and another. After about 45 minutes of this we reached Hermit Lake Shelters. FINALLY!!!

We had our pick of the shelters; only one was occupied by a group of four. We chose a nice enclosed shelter, as opposed to the available open lean-tos. After dropping our gear John began heating water. I unpacked and located our dinner, red beans and rice with steak. I have my wife to thank for the steak as she prepared it ahead of time. After sitting down for a bit I began feeling a little better. I couldn't finish off my helping, so I knew I wasn't fully recovered, but I was hoping sleep would leave me feeling reenergized in the morning.

Morning came and we were greeted again by milder temperatures. Everything was freshly coated with three or four inches of snow that started falling just as we were nodding off for bed the night before. I was glad to be feeling more like myself. I must just be out of shape and not used to carrying a 40 lb pack. PHEW!!!

John provided the usual oatmeal and bagels for breakfast, which never tasted so good! We had stopped in North Conway on the way and filled up one of my bottles with coffee from Dunkin Donuts. It tasted freshly brewed and was a great way to begin the day. After breakfast we headed up to the caretaker's cabin and were greeted by Josh, whom I've met on several previous trips. He warned us of the increasing avalanche danger, so we inquired about the location of the safe zones. Not wanting to become a statistic like the other 4 victims of two previous avalanches only weeks ago, we hiked to the closet safe zone in the ravine.

The ravine is always magnificent. I have been fortunate to experience its beauty on a blue bird day one spring a few years ago. Today, the top of the ravine's headwall would be mostly invisible to us. As the clouds sailed overhead we got a few glimpses of the waterfalls on the headwall, now all completely iced up. We were able to see the Sluice where the 4 four victims of the prior avalanches were buried. It was a sobering moment of silence for John and myself.

All of the skiable lines appeared to have plenty of snow. Avalanche conditions earlier in the week were posted at low for much of the ravine. If only we had been up days earlier we would have been able to ski some of the more moderate terrain, like the bottom of Left Gully or mid way up Right Gully. However, today would not be one of those days. I have yet to take an avalanche course, and neither John nor myself were wearing shovels, probes, or beacons. And, even if I had all the appropriate gear and knowledge, the conditions were rated as considerable, the same rating as on the day of the two previous avalanches. So why tempt fate.

John and I enjoyed the time we spent hanging out, each of us quite in our own thoughts. After about a half hour we headed back down to the shelter and packed up our gear and began the our decent down the Sherburne Trail. The early morning flurries changed over to a light mist and the snow was getting heavy. This made for a slow ski down the trail, but I am not one for speed anyways. I didn't mind taking my time. I am not sure how John felt about it. John was ahead of me most of way down only stopping to let me get caught up and then down again. I had great fun and was impressed with my skiing abilities this year only falling once. Usually, I stop counting after about the ten time. Not so bad for my first time out this year, I thought to myself. I am feeling much more confident on my skis and its a great feeling.

There was enough snow at the bottom of the trail to enable us to ski right to the car. This is always a nice treat. Once getting to car we unloaded our gear and headed into Visitor Center to change into some dry clothes. Now in the car and on the way, we agreed to forego my usual stop at one of the Microbreweries in North Conway for a beer and some food. We instead stopped for take-out sandwiches. John and myself were definitely looking forward to getting back to our families.

Back at home; Abigail greeted me at the door with big smiles saying, “Daddy, I so glad your home!” I too was glad to be home. Standing behind Abigail at the door was the rest of my family, wife Kelly, 9-month-old Audrey, and Sprocket our dog. All were very happy that we made it safely.

[Greg]

Great report BC Skier!

[pedxing]

Having just snowshoed into the ravine on a day hike Saturday (2/1), your report caught my eye... it was fun reading.

It's really nice to see the ravine in different seasons