Recently, Will Harris and I (Jeff Leone) made the trip from Connecticut up to Mount Washington to get some turns in on Tuckerman’s Ravine. After a lengthy car ride, and a stop at the wonderful NH State Liquor Store, we made our way up to our cozy motel room. Arising up nice and early, we headed out to the Pinkham Notch visitor’s center. The day couldn’t have been any better. 70 degrees at the base, 55 degrees at the summit, clear blue skies all around, and NO WIND! We had planned this trip almost 2 months ago and we couldn’t have had a better day.
Hillmans Highway from Hojos
On the trek up to the floor of the ravine we ran into a couple of friends from high school and college. Random how these things work out. Will and I summitted Mount Washington by noon, had our toast at the top, and then headed back down the northeast snowfields to start. The snow was perfect spring conditions; slightly sinky, but still great for what it was.
At the Summit
Our first descent into the bowl took us down the right gully, right down into the drunken/high mess of a crowd. The sleds had come out, the hot doggers were everywhere, and the oohs, ahhs, and boos from the crowd managed to fill the bowl. Right next to our base area (mainly where we threw our gear into the bushes) a few people built a jump. People started throwing backflips (or at least attempting to) much to the amusement of the onlookers.
Will dropping into Right Gully
Jeff ripping Right Gully
Will and I then started up for a quick lap down the Chute. As we were hiking up we passed a woman who proceeded to tell us that she was, “glad she took a $70 lesson.” She was hiking up a 40 degree+ pitch. I could sense a disaster coming… We quickly passed by her and managed to click into our skis on the steep slope, which just so happened to be about 10 feet or less from a crevasse, which we didn’t realize until after we started clicking into our skis.
The Chute, Nice and Steep
Jeff in The Chute
The snow in the Chute had tons of snow slide “gullies” down the middle of the trail, which made for some interesting hop turns (and/or straight-line runs) through them.
Will hiking up Left Gully on our way to Hillmans Highway
Our last run of the day began close to 3:30pm. The sun was beginning to set behind Tuck’s, so we needed to hike pretty fast to not lose the daylight. This time, on our way up, we spotted a ripper coming down the skier’s left of the Lip, right next to the boot-pack. He was weaving in and around the hikers (within a few feet of them!). Will knew that karma would get to him. Of course, as soon as he was on the run-out, he clipped the one rock in his way, double ejected, and sent his skis flying into the Ski Patrol rocks… Sweet, sweet karma.
Will killing the bumps on the Sherburne Trail
After skiing Hillman’s Highway, we had a nice, long, bump run down the Sherburne Trail. Perfect medium-sized bump lines soon gave way to mud and rock sections, which our skis didn’t take too kindly too… All in all, it was a great day at Tuck’s. We will definitely have to return next year, and we’ll be hoping for the perfect day then too.
