snowmonster
New member
Date(s) Skied: 5/5/2012
Resort or Ski Area: Tuckerman Ravine - Left Gully
Conditions: 60s in the valley, 30s in the summits; foggy in the morning then bluebird and sunny most of the day with patches of clouds; wind minimal; corn snow. Perfect Tux weather.
Trip Report: Saturday was the perfect day to hit Tux: warm, sunny and bluebird, minimal wind. No crowds and, most importantly, no blackflies. Based on reports, Left Gully was the place to be. I got on the trail shortly after 930 and made it into the Bowl before 1. I would have made it earlier had I not stopped and socialized too much at HoJo's but that's a small price to pay. Wearing a popular ski area's shirt on the trail has its benefits.
Hillman's Highway had some snow on it up to the ridge line. But, it looked discontinuous.
Anyway, when I got into the Bowl, it seemed that, aside from the waterfall and crevasses in the center Headwall and the Lip, the snow cover looked good albeit low for this time of year. I figured Right Gully and Chute were skiable. There were some brown stains on Chute from some rocks up high down to the chokepoint. There were some people on Lunch Rocks sunning themselves and cheering on the occasional wahoo on an inner tube. Some people were heading up the Chute but most of the activity was on Left Gully. It was pretty uncrowded though. I was alone on the bootpack most of the time and the whole time I was there, there were probably less than 15 skiers who went down LG.
Left Gully looked fat from the Bowl to the ridge line. I bushwacked my way there through the scrub at the bottom of the bowl then headed up. I followed the bootpack straight up then hiked over to hikers' left of the trail to transition into skiing.
The late afternoon sun made for perfect corn and that was a joy to ski. I cut over to the middle of the Bowl and booted up the Chute for another run. I got to the ledge just under the choke and put on skis there. I was getting late in the afternoon and I noticed I was the only one in the Bowl. Perfect. This is the way it should be. I skied creamy corn snow all the way to where the snow disappeared.
The hike out was uneventful except for a Cinco de Mayo party on at the HoJo's deck. Got back to Pinkham after 7 and left there just as the supermoon was rising. Gorgeous. Tried to take photos but the phone will not do it justice.
Head up to Tux NOW while the skiing is good. Left Gully (and the Chute and Right Gully) should be in play for a while. When you're up there, you'll forget we had a bad snow year. Go!
Hillman's Highway getting bony:
The Bowl from the rescue cache: Left Gully and Chute looking very skiable. Right Gully obscured but with good cover.
Heading up Left Gully:
Looking into Tux from the top of LG:
The Rockpile:
Getting ready to head down Left Gully:
Mid-run looking down in Left Gully:
Looking up Chute:
Tux at the end of the day:
Resort or Ski Area: Tuckerman Ravine - Left Gully
Conditions: 60s in the valley, 30s in the summits; foggy in the morning then bluebird and sunny most of the day with patches of clouds; wind minimal; corn snow. Perfect Tux weather.
Trip Report: Saturday was the perfect day to hit Tux: warm, sunny and bluebird, minimal wind. No crowds and, most importantly, no blackflies. Based on reports, Left Gully was the place to be. I got on the trail shortly after 930 and made it into the Bowl before 1. I would have made it earlier had I not stopped and socialized too much at HoJo's but that's a small price to pay. Wearing a popular ski area's shirt on the trail has its benefits.
Hillman's Highway had some snow on it up to the ridge line. But, it looked discontinuous.Anyway, when I got into the Bowl, it seemed that, aside from the waterfall and crevasses in the center Headwall and the Lip, the snow cover looked good albeit low for this time of year. I figured Right Gully and Chute were skiable. There were some brown stains on Chute from some rocks up high down to the chokepoint. There were some people on Lunch Rocks sunning themselves and cheering on the occasional wahoo on an inner tube. Some people were heading up the Chute but most of the activity was on Left Gully. It was pretty uncrowded though. I was alone on the bootpack most of the time and the whole time I was there, there were probably less than 15 skiers who went down LG.
Left Gully looked fat from the Bowl to the ridge line. I bushwacked my way there through the scrub at the bottom of the bowl then headed up. I followed the bootpack straight up then hiked over to hikers' left of the trail to transition into skiing.
The late afternoon sun made for perfect corn and that was a joy to ski. I cut over to the middle of the Bowl and booted up the Chute for another run. I got to the ledge just under the choke and put on skis there. I was getting late in the afternoon and I noticed I was the only one in the Bowl. Perfect. This is the way it should be. I skied creamy corn snow all the way to where the snow disappeared.
The hike out was uneventful except for a Cinco de Mayo party on at the HoJo's deck. Got back to Pinkham after 7 and left there just as the supermoon was rising. Gorgeous. Tried to take photos but the phone will not do it justice.
Head up to Tux NOW while the skiing is good. Left Gully (and the Chute and Right Gully) should be in play for a while. When you're up there, you'll forget we had a bad snow year. Go!
Hillman's Highway getting bony:
The Bowl from the rescue cache: Left Gully and Chute looking very skiable. Right Gully obscured but with good cover.
Heading up Left Gully:
Looking into Tux from the top of LG:
The Rockpile:
Getting ready to head down Left Gully:
Mid-run looking down in Left Gully:
Looking up Chute:
Tux at the end of the day:
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