Easter weekend 2021 — Tuckerman Ravine
Ever since our first hike to the base of Tuckerman Ravine and unable to ski the headwalls due to the extreme wintery weather in February, I’ve been itching to get back. Over Easter weekend, we finally took the plunge after reading daily condition updates from the Mt Washington Avalanche center, and the “tux” of the legends did not disappoint.
Climbing and skiing at Tucks, 4/3, Saturday
At Mt Washington, weather and conditions are so unpredictable that even studying the forecast can only prepare you so much. The day before our arrival were unseasonably cold (8 F at the highest, -4F lowest), following a streak of above freezing weather. On first day of our tour, the forecast suggested a high of 18F for the day. With this info in mind, I anticipated the headwall to be of bulletproof ice and did not have high hopes of actually skiing the ravine that day. Reading about the “long sliding fall” incident on the MWAC website of the day before provided further reason for caution. In the sliding fall accident the day before, an article noted the skier who broke his femur after a tree collision had skied 70+ days in the backcountry this season and warned skiers even the most experienced pro can seriously injure themselves in hazardous conditions.
Luckily, arriving at the ravine on Saturday we found the conditions better than expected. There was almost no wind (even less windy than at “HoJo’s”), clear sky, and snow was somewhat icy but edgable. It turned out that snow pack’s ability to retain heat helped prevent itself being frozen into a thick sheet of ice even after prior day’s low temps. The sun exposure on the south facing aspects helped soften the surface a bit as well.
We decided it to give it a try and started climbing. Although the conditions were better than expected, the ascend would have been quite treacherous had we not brought the right gear. Climbing with the PetzL Irvis Hybrid crampons we bought just before the trip was a game changer. Using the ice axe not just for potential fall arrest but also as a hiking staff was also surprisingly helpful in providing a steady anchor on steep inclines, much more effective than ski poles.
Given the icy surface and seeing a few other skiers taking long falls or hiking back down made us extra cautious, so we decided to transition at about 4660 ft (about 30 minute climb from the base of the ravine). The descent turned out quite enjoyable and easily within our comfort level (transitioning to downhill gear on the steep slope was actually the most difficult part), that we lapped the same route again.
Climbing and skiing at Tucks, 4/4, Sunday
The second day was a much warmer day and the snow conditions were correspondingly MUCH softer, so we expected to see a even bigger crowd than the day before. To our surprise, when we arrived, the ravine was eerily empty of people.
When we lived on the west coast, we never noticed Easter to cause a significant drop in the number of people skiing (but the opposite, with events like the Easter egg hunt at Mt Baker), it seems east coast people actually treats Easter differently. When we started our hike around 9am on Sunday, we crossed path with a guy who has already came back from skiing at Tucks, so he can now get back to spend Easter with his family. To have done that, I estimated he probably started hiking up no later than 5am. Impressive dedication to both skiing and religious tradition.
Because of the great condition on Sunday, we climbed up into Right Gully up to 4850ft. Interestingly, as soon as we entered the narrow gully, wind disappeared and we noticed a significant rise in temperature compared to the open area below. Combined with the sun exposure, we found ourselves some perfect corn!
With the softened snow, the descent was as sweet as dream. Although my legs were getting exhausted from two days of climbing and skiing, the excitement was so great that I did not hesitate in deciding to lap the run one more time.
Hiking the trail to/from the ravine
The approach to/from the ravine was also a completely different experience than February. Going up on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, It can be tricky to figure out at what point there would be enough snow on the trail feasible for skinning. After wasting much time on the first day transitioning back and forth between skinning and bootpacking, we finally learned this art.
Because the “Sheby” ski trail for downhill travel was closed on the lower elevations and clearly marked by ropes, we found that it’s a safe bet to start skinning after we pass that point when going uphill. Once you reach the Hermit Lake shelters (“Hojo’s”), it’s best to start bootpacking again. There are multiple segments of exposed rocks on the section of the trail, such as the one below:
Due to slower pace of bootpacking, it took us about 2 hours to reach the Hermit Lake shelters (compared to 1.5 hr in Feb) and another hour to reach the base of the ravine (compared to 45 min in Feb) on Sunday.
We finished our epic day with a visit to the New England Ski Museum in North Conway. It turned out to be the best museum of its size I’ve been to, with exhibits and lots of interesting info about skiing history. They even had a pair of the skis with horse hair skins used by people in Xinjiang that I’ve only read about before. Highly recommend to all skiers who visit the area.
