Tuckerman Ravine 12-22-07

[awf170]

First off, no I didn't ski the bowl. Just hiked up looked around then skied the little headwall (which definitely isn't ready). Tons of snow in the bowl for this time of year, also perfect coverage on the Sherbie. A few people were up skiing right and left gully, but seeing that everything was rated considerable I wasn't going to get near it. Fun day with some great views. Here are a bunch of pictures:

 

[awf170]

 

[2knees]

damn, that looks like it would slide if someone sneezed.

great pics awf.

 

[andyzee]

You the man! Good stuff, thanks.

 

[billski]

Gorgeously clear day, beautiful shots. How long does it take to hike in this time of year? Are those Wildcat's trails in the photos?

 

[riverc0il]

Damn, that is impressively filled in. Can't imagine why people were climbing up there with a considerable rating. Definitely the better option, earning turns was the place to be yesterday as I found out after a two hour drive when I could have been skiing right down the road. You had the better idea for yesterday.

 

[awf170]

Gorgeously clear day, beautiful shots. How long does it take to hike in this time of year? Are those Wildcat's trails in the photos?

Took me around 1:45 to the bowl at a moderate pace. And yes, those are Wildcat's trails in the background.

Damn, that is impressively filled in. Can't imagine why people were climbing up there with a considerable rating. Definitely the better option, earning turns was the place to be yesterday as I found out after a two hour drive when I could have been skiing right down the road. You had the better idea for yesterday.

People are ignorant. I'm pretty sure the people in right gully knew nothing about avalanches. I don't think the snowboarder I saw coming out had ever taken an avi course, or had any avi gear. He said that "it felt stable". People scare me...

I actually figured that Jay would be pretty good. I just went touring because I didn't feel like waking up early or driving 3+ hours again. Hopefully the touring in your area is still good after this rain, since I really want to give Cardigan another shot. I figured after what happened last year that I was better off not doing Cardigan by myself yesterday.

Also this season is going to be sweet. Even if we do have a really warm Jan. I'll be content since Mt. Washington already has enough snow for some super early spring skiing.

 

[dmc]

Love the pillows of snow in the bowl...

Id stay out of that stuff too - good choice..

He who fights and runs away - lives to run away another day...

 

[bvibert]

Sweet pics Austin! Looks like a nice day. Sounds like a wise idea to stay out of the bowl...

 

[thinnmann]

When I see pics like that, it is difficult to justify living in NJ... NICE~!

 

[cbcbd]

Good stuff, my man, good stuff...

Going up in Considerable? It's amazing no one triggered anything.

 

[koreshot]

Wow, that is great! I really need to get there one of these years.

I take it you didn'tt make it up to Jay?

 

[awf170]

Wow, that is great! I really need to get there one of these years.

I take it you didn'tt make it up to Jay?

Yes you do. How about this year? And yeah, no Jay. I was too late in asking Riverc0il for a ride and didn't feel like driving all that way by myself. Though I heard I didn't really miss much.

 

[koreshot]

Yes you do. How about this year? And yeah, no Jay. I was too late in asking Riverc0il for a ride and didn't feel like driving all that way by myself. Though I heard I didn't really miss much.

The snow was plentiful, but heavy. I scoped out the saddle but it looked more sketchy than I wanted to ski, especially this early in the season. The pump house was good though, with some rocks showing in places. In general, Jay was pretty much completely tracked out but there was plenty of loose powder still and keep things pretty fun. Had some really fun runs.

One strange thing was that my ski kept coming off when I got into the deeper stuff at speed. The snow was pretty heavy and grabby and would just tear my ski off every once in a while. Kinda weird, never had that happen to me before. Anyone else experience this in heavy deep snow?