Tuckerman Ravine 5/27/2013

polski · May 27, 2013

5.8" of snow recorded at the summit of Mt Washington Saturday into Sunday night so I decided to hoof up to Tuckerman Ravine for Memorial Day. Windy and mostly cloudy late morning but the wind eased a bit and it was mostly sunny in the afternoon. Good corn snow but many of the routes are choked off in spots. Still, a good way to wrap up the season and quite the workout (on the whole, I'd rather ski Little Headwall and the Sherbie than have to downhike Tuckerman Ravne Trail ...)

One crappy Droid pic to give a sense

twinplanx · May 28, 2013

One crappy droid pic is better then no pic. Actually not a bad shot... Although I've never been, the Sherbie seems like a much more pleasant way out.

Cornhead · May 28, 2013

twinplanx said:
One crappy droid pic is better then no pic. Actually not a bad shot... Although I've never been, the Sherbie seems like a much more pleasant way out.

The one time I went, I was just happy to be going downhill! I would highly recommend adjustable poles to anyone hiking from Pinkham. I had my regular poles, they were a big help decending, adjustable poles would have been much better for the climb. That said, yeah it'd be great to be able to ski down. Thanks for the TR.

Warp Daddy · May 28, 2013

yeah my sonand grandsonhad to use the TRV both ways on May 9th , it was pretty rugged workout . They skied Left gully which had a few crevassesthat they FOUND

it was an adventure but the TRV was greuelling they said .

polski · May 28, 2013

My legs definitely were rubbery by the bottom half of the TRT descent. They're feeling pretty good today though!

snowmonster · May 28, 2013

Thanks for the TR. Coverage still looks decent. Which routes did you ski? Are the black flies out in full force? I may be headed up this weekend. Yeah, the downhike is a pain but it's pat of the price of admission.

polski · May 28, 2013

Just Chute, below the rock hourglass. I admit I was a bit beat (not enough sleep, for one thing) and didn't actually get a huge amount of skiing in for the effort, but just being up there in the beautiful weather was great. Thought about Left Gully as there was good coverage to near the top, with the notable exception of rocks requiring portage pretty close to the bottom. Should've done Sluice as I saw one guy take several runs there without any obvious undermining problems; that was probably the longest available run. But Sluice could be a lot dicier with the extreme warmup forecast for late this week.

No black flies.

Huck_It_Baby · May 29, 2013

I'm heading up this weekend and have been questioning if it is worth skiing. Thanks for the report.

NOAA showing showers, wind and t-storms this weekend. Should be interesting.

Huck_It_Baby · May 29, 2013

snowmonster said:
I may be headed up this weekend.

Let me know if you are going. I'm camping at Dolly Copp and will be getting an early start Saturday AM.

Not sure what the parking situation is like at the Tux trailhead....???

snowmonster · May 29, 2013

^ I'm thinking of daytripping on Friday. Up Auto Road and into either Airplane or the snowfields. May have to push Tux to June to get turns in that month. Interested? Let's do it!

Huck_It_Baby · May 30, 2013

snowmonster said:
^ I'm thinking of daytripping on Friday. Up Auto Road and into either Airplane or the snowfields. May have to push Tux to June to get turns in that month. Interested? Let's do it!

You're going to DRIVE up the auto road and ski the snowfields? Then hike back up to your car?

I'm new to Mt. Washington so I'm not sure what most people do. I thought hiking up into Tux from the Pinkham notch center was the best approach?

Cornhead · May 30, 2013

Huck_It_Baby said:
You're going to DRIVE up the auto road and ski the snowfields? Then hike back up to your car?

I'm new to Mt. Washington so I'm not sure what most people do. I thought hiking up into Tux from the Pinkham notch center was the best approach?

You don't have to hike very far to reach what's left of the snowfields, couple hundred yards maybe. There's a place to park below the summit. You will have to pay to drive the Autoroad, $26. If you haven't done it before, driving Otto is pretty cool in itself. They give you a CD to play in your car that corresponds with where you are on the road. Make sure your brakes are up to snuff before you go.:wink: I've got a manual, so engine braking was helpful, probably help to put an auto trans in low on the descent. Either way, you'll still work your brakes pretty hard, that's a lot of potential energy to scrub.

When I went, Memorial Day Weekend, three years ago, I skied the snowfields on Sunday, hiked the ravine from Pinkham on Monday. It's quite a workout with 45 lbs on your back. Awe inspiring place for sure. Have fun!

Huck_It_Baby · May 30, 2013

Cornhead said:
You don't have to hike very far to reach what's left of the snowfields, couple hundred yards maybe. There's a place to park below the summit. You will have to pay to drive the Autoroad, $26. If you haven't done it before, driving Otto is pretty cool in itself. They give you a CD to play in your car that corresponds with where you are on the road. Make sure your brakes are up to snuff before you go.:wink: I've got a manual, so engine braking was helpful, probably help to put an auto trans in low on the descent. Either way, you'll still work your brakes pretty hard, that's a lot of potential energy to scrub.

When I went, Memorial Day Weekend, three years ago, I skied the snowfields on Sunday, hiked the ravine from Pinkham on Monday. It's quite a workout with 45 lbs on your back. Awe inspiring place for sure. Have fun!

Thanks Cornhead! It never occurred to me to drive up and ski from the top. Do people drive up and ski the snowfields right down into Tux ravine, then climb back up?

Cornhead · May 30, 2013

Huck_It_Baby said:
Thanks Cornhead! It never occurred to me to drive up and ski from the top. Do people drive up and ski the snowfields right down into Tux ravine, then climb back up?

I'm not sure, somebody with more experience can chime in. I think if it's been a snowy year, and you hit it right after they open Otto, it is possible. Now is very late in the game. You could leave a car at Pinkham and drive back up, worth $26 not to have to do that climb IMHO. Of course it's smart to hike the route you plan to descend however. Is there a place along the road you could leave a car so you wouldn't have to pay twice? Do laps. I know parking in the emergency cut outs if verboten. I think that's all there is.

Will they let you drive up Otto more than once in a day if you've already paid? I doubt it, but it would be sweet.

Huck_It_Baby · May 30, 2013

Thanks again Corny! =)

I'm going to hike up from Pinkham to summit even if I don't get to ski. I can't justify a toll road until I make the climb with my own legs first.

snowmonster · May 30, 2013

Huck it, left you a message on your cel. I'm heading up on Friday to drive up the auto road and hit Airplane then the east snowfields. Here's a recent TR on T4T from Tuesday.http://timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15545 Looks good!

Come up for the ride!

snowmonster · May 30, 2013

Huck_It_Baby said:
Thanks Cornhead! It never occurred to me to drive up and ski from the top. Do people drive up and ski the snowfields right down into Tux ravine, then climb back up?

By the time the Auto Road opens in mid-May, usually, the snowfields have detached from Tux itself so, unless you want to hike over rocks in the Alpine Garden then put on skis at the top of Tux, it's not the preferred route.

Auto Road slackers (like me) park just below the summit (there are parking pull-outs) then hike over to the Great Gulf to ski Airplane, Pipeline, etc. or head to the east snowfields. GG tends to go before the snowfields so I would ski that first then reserve the latter for later. Traditionally, I end my season on the east snowfields.

Tux is in an entirely different side of the mountain. I'm saving that for next weekend. Interested? Madpat? Huck It? Cornhead? Polski? Season ain't over until we say it is.

Tuckerman Ravine 5/27/2013

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