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Tuckerman's death

kingslug

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If you haven't been there..its a must do..at least to see it. Climbing and skiing is another matter. I had a tiny snow slide almost send me flying.
 

Edd

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If you haven't been there..its a must do..at least to see it. Climbing and skiing is another matter. I had a tiny snow slide almost send me flying.

8 or 9 years ago (I was 40) I was planning to do it. I tried skinning up easy trails a few times and decided that I’d try it in spring. In January, I blew my knee on a Sunday River groomer.

That accident took wind out of my sails and I slowly decided its best for me not to try stuff like Tucks. Although, I’d love to go watch people try. Never even visited, and I’m a Wildcat skier.
 

Not Sure

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If you haven't been there..its a must do..at least to see it. Climbing and skiing is another matter. I had a tiny snow slide almost send me flying.

Scary good fun ,but there are a lot of ways to die up there. Undermined snow (Stream bed bowl ski out ) Ice falls, Lots of places you cannot see over the edge till you're there . My first run down the lip I looked down and literally could not see my skis from the slough . I thought I was in good shape till I woke up the next morning ....I felt like I was hit by a truck LOL , never felt like that ever.

Do it before you get old !!!!

It's a really good snow year https://www.outdoors.org/outdoor-activities/backcountry-weather#Tuckerman-Ravine
 

Not Sure

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I'm still gonna try to get up there early May, not sure what the conditions will be like.

Wait a day ........always a crapshoot to plan . I would stay in the area for a couple days and pick your best day but if your retired and close should be easy to get a good day . T4T website is good for planning what equipment to bring . The sun plays a big part in what you can and can't ski . I got a late start in 2013 and my friend and I were some of the last skiers out of the bowl . There was a group of boarders 20 min behind and things iced up , one was injured and had to be evaced . To me riding up there is crazy but people do it and I respect their ballsyness !!!

Walking out sucks . Check The Pinkham stake and it should give you an idea of the likelihood of having to walk out .
https://www.outdoors.org/outdoor-activities/backcountry-weather#Pinkham-Notch
 

Zermatt

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The avalanche was not in Tuckerman Ravine!

Also, got reported at 1:30, victim had a beacon but wasn't dug out until 2:20. Still breathing when recovered but died shortly after. Bluebird weather day. Any guesses why it took 50 minutes to get there? Helicopters are really fast!

Obviously, skiing alone in an avalanche trap was a major mistake but that's not my discussion point. They need to up their helicopter game.
 

drjeff

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The avalanche was not in Tuckerman Ravine!

Also, got reported at 1:30, victim had a beacon but wasn't dug out until 2:20. Still breathing when recovered but died shortly after. Bluebird weather day. Any guesses why it took 50 minutes to get there? Helicopters are really fast!

Obviously, skiing alone in an avalanche trap was a major mistake but that's not my discussion point. They need to up their helicopter game.
The helicopter NEEDS a safe place to land. If rescue personnel took a bit to get the person from the recovery site to a safe landing area, that could factor into the time.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, the 2 closest locations where med flight copters are based out in in proximity to Mount Washington are the Southern Maine Hospital in Portland and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital. Both of which, even at helicopter travel speeds, do have some decent flight time from once the call is made by the rescue crew to getting the crew in the copter and airborne

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So Inclined

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Scary good fun ,but there are a lot of ways to die up there. Undermined snow (Stream bed bowl ski out ) Ice falls, Lots of places you cannot see over the edge till you're there .

Yeah, this. My one and only trip up was quick one with a few buddies about 4 years ago, about halfway through May. So it was mild, getting kinda slushy, past its prime, so there was no one up there, relatively speaking. We hiked two runs up Left Gully, since the ranger told us most of the rest of the bowl was no-go, crevasses and what-not.

I remember chilling out about halfway up the bowl, tired from all the hiking and wanting to just enjoy the view for a bit, when the little slough-creeks flowing down here and there got me thinking that I had no idea if the snow I was on couldn't/wouldn't just release, so I'd better not eff around and get on down.

We also had to hike out since the Sherburne was closed, and that suuuuuuuccccckkkked.

Somehow 6 hrs drive (each way) plus 6 hours of hiking for 2 relatively short runs = a fun time, to say you did it if nothing else. I'm playing with the idea of doing it again in a few weeks, but as I see it you've really got to keep your wits about you and use discretion. Especially if you're a flatlander non-local, like yours truly.
 

from_the_NEK

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Also, got reported at 1:30, victim had a beacon but wasn't dug out until 2:20. Still breathing when recovered but died shortly after. Bluebird weather day. Any guesses why it took 50 minutes to get there? Helicopters are really fast!

The avalanche was in an area that is not often skied and the guy was alone. Very likely that no one saw it happen and when someone noticed the debris field (with potentially some equipment mixed in) they knew they had to start searching.
 

machski

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The avalanche was not in Tuckerman Ravine!

Also, got reported at 1:30, victim had a beacon but wasn't dug out until 2:20. Still breathing when recovered but died shortly after. Bluebird weather day. Any guesses why it took 50 minutes to get there? Helicopters are really fast!

Obviously, skiing alone in an avalanche trap was a major mistake but that's not my discussion point. They need to up their helicopter game.
Actually, I believe Mount Washington helicopter rescues/evacs are normally performed by the NH Army Guard out of Concord with Blackhawks.

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drjeff

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Actually, I believe Mount Washington helicopter rescues/evacs are normally performed by the NH Army Guard out of Concord with Blackhawks.

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A different report I read said that the rescue copter was out of Dartmouth- Hitchcock yesterday.

I know that the ANG has used their Blackhawks for search and rescue in the past on Mount Washington

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2Planker

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A different report I read said that the rescue copter was out of Dartmouth- Hitchcock yesterday.

I know that the ANG has used their Blackhawks for search and rescue in the past on Mount Washington

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They use DART out of Dartmouth Hitchcock, and also LifeFlight out of Cent. Maine Med. Cntr. inLewiston.
Once up both are about 30-35 mins away. Still need people on the ground to reach them first though, and depending on location and conditions that is usually the controlling factor for time in a Mt. Wash rescue.
 

thebigo

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Was riding up the lift at wildcat yesterday afternoon when some dude mentioned the copter. It was a smaller red helicopter, looked like the ones they use for tours out of pease. Wasn't paying terribly close attention but it seemed to circle for a while. Was a perfect bluebird day up there, no wind.
 

legalskier

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The helicopter NEEDS a safe place to land. If rescue personnel took a bit to get the person from the recovery site to a safe landing area, that could factor into the time.

''I recall a good bit of very dense spruce--so dense that you had to walk on branches and could not reach the ground. If that area fills in with snow it would likely become one big spruce-trap field. (A bit like a minefield, except you get swallowed down instead of blown up...)''
https://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?32652-Skiing-Raymond-s-Cataract

If Raymonds Catarct is this tough to hike in the summer I can't imagine trying to put a chopper down in wintry conditions.

The avalanche was in an area that is not often skied and the guy was alone. Very likely that no one saw it happen and when someone noticed the debris field (with potentially some equipment mixed in) they knew they had to start searching.

''I talked with a few folks at Pinkkham last year about the possiblity of ski descent here and was told those cascades often become a 30' near vertical icefall. If so, there is little immediate avi danger at the fall itself as it won't hold much snow. The danger is being swept over from sliding snow above. On that note, several posters are referring to 'avi danger' in the cascade as if it was a static feature wihch it is not. Clearly the place has potential to slide but the avi danger may vary greatly year to year depending on snowpack characteristics.''

https://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?17592-Ravine-of-Raymond-Cataract/page2

Raymonds Cataract sounds extremely forbidding.
 
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