Tuckerman Accidents

[yeggous]

Couple notes:

Saturday was a meeting/banquet for SAR at PNVC. There were ample volunteers there to get the rescues done.

The Helo was DHART medevac , landed in front of Hojo's. That's about a 10 G airlift.

Thank goodness for health insurance.

 

[〽❄❅]

 

[ironhippy]

wow! that's intense.

Chris Davenport has done some amazing things on skis.

 

[Not Sure]

What's amazing to me some people on this forum Snowboard tucks, The 50 person Conga line in the background shows how steep it is.

 

[Cannonball]

What's amazing to me some people on this forum Snowboard tucks, The 50 person Conga line in the background shows how steep it is.

I've skied it and snowboarded it, each many times. The boot ladder up in snowboard boots really scares me. I usually use crampons or climb in hiking boots if I'm boarding. That makes skiing somewhat more appealing. But snowboard gear is lighter and more comfortable to carry, and I'm personally more comfortable on a board in steeps. So it's always a toss up.

 

[Not Sure]

I've skied it and snowboarded it, each many times. The boot ladder up in snowboard boots really scares me. I usually use crampons or climb in hiking boots if I'm boarding. That makes skiing somewhat more appealing. But snowboard gear is lighter and more comfortable to carry, and I'm personally more comfortable on a board in steeps. So it's always a toss up.

Halfway up the guy behind me had a board strapped to his back and when I turned around after a Gale Force gust of wind subsided he was gone.....slid almost into the Lunch rocks!
Heard some horror crampon stories , guy lost footing and spiked another skier in the quads. I try to avoid the conga line. I'm a shrimp and have a short stride. Setting my own ladder is better than trying to go up a tall guys established one.

 

[Cannonball]

Halfway up the guy behind me had a board strapped to his back and when I turned around after a Gale Force gust of wind subsided he was gone.....slid almost into the Lunch rocks!
Heard some horror crampon stories , guy lost footing and spiked another skier in the quads. I try to avoid the conga line. I'm a shrimp and have a short stride. Setting my own ladder is better than trying to go up a tall guys established one.

For sure. Whether board or skis I'd rather hold them in hand vs have them strapped on. Better to let them go then to go with them.

Crampons are seriously dangerous in the conga line. I've only used them when isolated from other people (right gully climbs). Ski boots or hiking boots work best in the conga line. Plenty of people are comfortable climbing in snowboard boots, but it freaks me out. Just no secure toe hold.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I hate the conga line just like I hate driving in bad snowy roads on the interstate.I dont trust the boneheads around me.I try as much as I can to look uphill in the conga so maybe I have a small chance of getting out of the way of the domino carnage coming.

 

[fbrissette]

Who the hell is skiing this garbage this year? Darwin award - yup.

You've obviously never been there. Biggest problem at Tucks is the changing snow conditions. Even though coverage is bad for mid March, there are plenty of good lines to be had.

In marginal weather, my golden rule was always to climb up what I was going to ski down. You could then bail out immediately with changing weather. Climbing one way and going down another - which they did - may have been a mistake. Might have been ok going up only to find ice on the way down. Happened on one of the easiest run (relatively speaking).

 

[becca m]

I wouldn't hand-carry my board again in Left Gully - last year I dropped it down onto the conga line accidentally - SORRY - OOPS - nobody hurt but I ruined someone's run who fell as it went by

 

[Smellytele]

One year I was in the conga line about 1/2 way up slipped hit the guy behind me. He fell and took out the rest of the line. I caught myself and got up and continued to the top. They all fell to the bottom. I felt bad for a minute but didn't look back after I saw they were all okay.

 

[fbrissette]

Best example why you should avoid the conga line at all costs.

 

[Jcb890]

I thought about giving it a shot this year (snowboarder here), but conditions seem sketchy overall. I also don't have a good pack that I could use to strap my board to my back with or crampons (or hiking boots), so I'm not exactly prepared.

 

[Cannonball]

I thought about giving it a shot this year (snowboarder here), but conditions seem sketchy overall. I also don't have a good pack that I could use to strap my board to my back with or crampons (or hiking boots), so I'm not exactly prepared.

Consider just doing the hike this year without carry any snowboarding gear. You're right that the conditions are sub-prime, so you won't be missing anything. But you'll get a little bit of experience about the hike, the surroundings, what people are carrying, etc. You'll get to watch people skiing/riding it, scope out the various lines, etc. Then you will have it that much more dialed-in when you do actually board it next time. It's just a blast being up there. We often have a few non-skiers in our group that come along just for the experience. They have just as much fun.

 

[Jcb890]

Consider just doing the hike this year without carry any snowboarding gear. You're right that the conditions are sub-prime, so you won't be missing anything. But you'll get a little bit of experience about the hike, the surroundings, what people are carrying, etc. You'll get to watch people skiing/riding it, scope out the various lines, etc. Then you will have it that much more dialed-in when you do actually board it next time. It's just a blast being up there. We often have a few non-skiers in our group that come along just for the experience. They have just as much fun.

I would do that. If I did hike it though, I would probably want to board it... for better or worse. I need a group to tag along with. Most of the people I know simply don't want to hike to the "base camp" area and then hike up the actual ravine.

Something else I may try is heading up there when there is no snow and hiking around, perhaps hiking up to the top of the ravine with no snow in the area. Just to check it out because the area is beautiful itself. We need to get out and do more hiking, our dog loves it (husky).

 

[Not Sure]

From T4T thread. Still some turns to be had .....I'm too old for the down hike crap.

 

[deadheadskier]

Much more snow than I would expect to see

 

[Jcb890]

That looked pretty good all things considered. I don't know if I could get anyone else to make the effort with me though.