OTHER Trip Report 04/23/2014

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Mount Washington - 6288
Date Posted	04/23/2014
Date Climbed	04/18/2014
Author	IronSkiMountaineer

Skiing Tuck's and a call for ski partners
First, a quick bit about me... I grew up in CT, currently live in Minnesota but am MOVING TO COLORADO NEXT MONTH!! Can't wait! I don't start work until the end of July so I'll be looking for ski partners the week of May 10th-16th and just about every day after the 20th. Let me know if you're available! I'm up for skiing almost anything. So I grew up in New England and spent a lot of time in the White Mountains but have always dreamed about skiing Tuck's. This past weekend worked out this year, bought a ticket for a long weekend to see my family in Boston for Easter with 2 days planned up in NH. Day 1: Skiing Tucks I was up at 4:30 on Friday morning and on the trail by 5. I knew the snow wouldn't soften up for a while but I wanted to get some shots of the bowl with alpenglow. As it turned out I was a few minutes too late but still had some nice shots. Cutler River at sunrise A skier scouting lines I met up with some guys at Hojo's, took some pictures and borrowed some sunscreen (I can't believe I forgot this). Then I headed up into the bowl. Heading up into the bowl self portrait in the bowl I did my first run up Left Gully thinking that it would soften up first. Left Gully Looking down Left Gully Well, the snow was definitely not soft and the run down left gully was quite icy, save for some windblown powder on the left side lower down. After that teeth chattering run I laid down on the rocks at the base of the ravine to let the sun work it's magic. Growing impatient I chose a longer hike for run #2 to give the sun more time. I chose to hike up over the lip and up the snowfields to an elevation of about 6000ft. The hike up the lip was steep and crevasses were starting to open up, something that gave people without crampons and an axe a ton of trouble later in the day. Upper snowfields to the Lip The run over the Lip The snow in the snowfields was still pretty firm but once I got over the lip it was very soft. This was a great run! Next up I decided to climb the sluice above lunch rocks. Sluice: Up in green, Down in red This was the steepest run of the day and probably my best one. Forgot to hit the damn start button the GoPro (this happens too often). After this great run I went over to climb and ski the Chute. I have to say I was amazed that I was one of maybe 2 to 3 people that had crampons on and only another few had axes or helmets. These people spent so long pounding in boot packs while I motored right up with crampons and good purchase from a tool and whippet. I climbed and skied Sluice and Chute in less time than it took one guy to get 2/3 the way up Chute. Anyway... The Chute Headed down Chute On top of Chute I made a friend with whom I skied the next 2 runs. Chute was a great run. A little bit firm up top but really nice for the rest of it. We headed over to Right Gully next. Right Gully from above Right Gully from lunch rocks After that we headed to Sluice, my second time of the day there and his first. headed down Sluice a small spill on the way down Sluice By the end of this run I was starting to get sloppy and knew it was time to head down. The clouds were starting to build and the snow surface was starting to firm up. No need to get hurt or kill myself when I had another day ahead of me too. I was able to ski the Sherburne Trail all the way down to Pinkham Notch which is pretty rare for this time of year. I headed into North Conway, had a huge meal and went to bed. Day 2: Climb Huntington Ravine via Central Gully, summit, ski down Hillman's I had a big breakfast before hitting the trail. This was a Saturday that started out very nice down in the valley so the trail was packed with people hoping to ski the ravine. Not too many east coast skiers have a lightweight BC setup or skins and many were college kids lugging huge loads up the trail. I got a wide range of looks when I flew by with skins and an AT setup. I took the Tuckerman Ravine trail over to the cutoff past the Lion's Head winter route, Harvard Cabin and to the base of Huntington. This was my first time in Huntington and I was pretty pumped. I hoped to climb and ski Central Gully but I couldn't get any beta ahead of time on the conditions of the route and if it was even skiable (definitely wasn't). When I got to Huntington's it was socked in. Entering Huntington's After waiting for a half hour for the clouds to lift so I knew which way to get Central Gully, I got a quick break that allowed me to get started. A break in the clouds reveals the route This was a really fun climb. Steep snow with several sections of really good ice climbing. The ice was just short enough and soft enough that I felt comfortable soloing with skis on my back A steep snow climb.... ...turns into a great ice climb looking up looking down I had met a French Canadian guy at the base of the gully and let him get ahead of me a bit so he wasn't kicking ice down on me. He waited for me at the top and we hiked together across the alpine garden to the Lion's Head trail. Across the alpine garden At this point we parted ways and I headed up to the summit. featureless whiteout climbing the summit cone windy summit shot I went up to the summit, grabbed a picture and headed to a shelter area. My uncle met me up there a few minutes later after hiking up from Crawford Notch. Pretty amazing timing actually. I headed back down and put skis on at the Upper Snowfield. The forecast called for clearing in the afternoon so I hadn't made up my mind what I wanted to ski. I skied above the headwall on bulletproof snow in a whiteout...pretty unnerving! I was trying to find the top of Chute as I figured that would be a good descent option. whiteout skiing above the headwall I went too far and ended up on a cliff. A very brief break on the clouds revealed that I was overlooking Left Gully. I transitioned from skis to crampons on a pretty steep slope and hiked up. At this point I decided to hike over to Hillman's Highway since I hadn't done that yet and I wasn't in a rush. steep spot for a transition I climbed around the entrance to Left Gully and headed over toward Boot Spur. With the mountain still socked in the clouds I wasn't sure where the entrance to Hillman's was. I consulted some beta photos I had taken the day before and looked for terrain features. I'd walk for 5-10 minutes then wait until there was a brief clearing to chart my next course. I eventually found the top of Hillman's and dropped in. On top of Hillman's part way down Hillman's, looking across to Wildcat As was expected, the run was super icy and not a ton of fun. I got down, got on the Sherburne and headed back to the car. The Sherburne had melted a bit from the day before and there were a few grassy spots to cross. Otherwise a smooth run down. The only real break in the snow on Sherburne So there it is, my trip to Mount Washington fulfilling a boyhood dream! Even more exciting is my pending move to Colorado!! Let me know if you want to ski with me!! I put together a video of the ski runs. They're not highlight reel quality in skiing or filming, more of a beta video for those interested. I had used a snap on polarizer on my GoPro but I don't think it worked well. Seemed to just make everything darker rather than clearer. Probably chucking that. Day 1: Skiing Tuck's Day 2: Climbing Central Gully, skiing Hillman's -Steve I tried to upload GPX file but when I go to select the file, it's grayed out and won't let me select... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Skiing Tuck's and a call for ski partners

First, a quick bit about me...
I grew up in CT, currently live in Minnesota but am MOVING TO COLORADO NEXT MONTH!! Can't wait! I don't start work until the end of July so I'll be looking for ski partners the week of May 10th-16th and just about every day after the 20th. Let me know if you're available! I'm up for skiing almost anything.

So I grew up in New England and spent a lot of time in the White Mountains but have always dreamed about skiing Tuck's. This past weekend worked out this year, bought a ticket for a long weekend to see my family in Boston for Easter with 2 days planned up in NH.

Day 1: Skiing Tucks
I was up at 4:30 on Friday morning and on the trail by 5. I knew the snow wouldn't soften up for a while but I wanted to get some shots of the bowl with alpenglow. As it turned out I was a few minutes too late but still had some nice shots.

I met up with some guys at Hojo's, took some pictures and borrowed some sunscreen (I can't believe I forgot this). Then I headed up into the bowl.

I did my first run up Left Gully thinking that it would soften up first.

Well, the snow was definitely not soft and the run down left gully was quite icy, save for some windblown powder on the left side lower down. After that teeth chattering run I laid down on the rocks at the base of the ravine to let the sun work it's magic.

Growing impatient I chose a longer hike for run #2 to give the sun more time. I chose to hike up over the lip and up the snowfields to an elevation of about 6000ft. The hike up the lip was steep and crevasses were starting to open up, something that gave people without crampons and an axe a ton of trouble later in the day.

The snow in the snowfields was still pretty firm but once I got over the lip it was very soft. This was a great run!

Next up I decided to climb the sluice above lunch rocks.

This was the steepest run of the day and probably my best one. Forgot to hit the damn start button the GoPro (this happens too often).

After this great run I went over to climb and ski the Chute. I have to say I was amazed that I was one of maybe 2 to 3 people that had crampons on and only another few had axes or helmets. These people spent so long pounding in boot packs while I motored right up with crampons and good purchase from a tool and whippet. I climbed and skied Sluice and Chute in less time than it took one guy to get 2/3 the way up Chute. Anyway...

On top of Chute I made a friend with whom I skied the next 2 runs. Chute was a great run. A little bit firm up top but really nice for the rest of it.

We headed over to Right Gully next.

After that we headed to Sluice, my second time of the day there and his first.

By the end of this run I was starting to get sloppy and knew it was time to head down. The clouds were starting to build and the snow surface was starting to firm up. No need to get hurt or kill myself when I had another day ahead of me too.

I was able to ski the Sherburne Trail all the way down to Pinkham Notch which is pretty rare for this time of year. I headed into North Conway, had a huge meal and went to bed.

Day 2: Climb Huntington Ravine via Central Gully, summit, ski down Hillman's

I had a big breakfast before hitting the trail. This was a Saturday that started out very nice down in the valley so the trail was packed with people hoping to ski the ravine. Not too many east coast skiers have a lightweight BC setup or skins and many were college kids lugging huge loads up the trail. I got a wide range of looks when I flew by with skins and an AT setup. I took the Tuckerman Ravine trail over to the cutoff past the Lion's Head winter route, Harvard Cabin and to the base of Huntington. This was my first time in Huntington and I was pretty pumped. I hoped to climb and ski Central Gully but I couldn't get any beta ahead of time on the conditions of the route and if it was even skiable (definitely wasn't).

When I got to Huntington's it was socked in.

After waiting for a half hour for the clouds to lift so I knew which way to get Central Gully, I got a quick break that allowed me to get started.

This was a really fun climb. Steep snow with several sections of really good ice climbing. The ice was just short enough and soft enough that I felt comfortable soloing with skis on my back

I had met a French Canadian guy at the base of the gully and let him get ahead of me a bit so he wasn't kicking ice down on me. He waited for me at the top and we hiked together across the alpine garden to the Lion's Head trail.

At this point we parted ways and I headed up to the summit.

I went up to the summit, grabbed a picture and headed to a shelter area. My uncle met me up there a few minutes later after hiking up from Crawford Notch. Pretty amazing timing actually.

I headed back down and put skis on at the Upper Snowfield. The forecast called for clearing in the afternoon so I hadn't made up my mind what I wanted to ski. I skied above the headwall on bulletproof snow in a whiteout...pretty unnerving! I was trying to find the top of Chute as I figured that would be a good descent option.

I went too far and ended up on a cliff. A very brief break on the clouds revealed that I was overlooking Left Gully. I transitioned from skis to crampons on a pretty steep slope and hiked up. At this point I decided to hike over to Hillman's Highway since I hadn't done that yet and I wasn't in a rush.

I climbed around the entrance to Left Gully and headed over toward Boot Spur. With the mountain still socked in the clouds I wasn't sure where the entrance to Hillman's was. I consulted some beta photos I had taken the day before and looked for terrain features. I'd walk for 5-10 minutes then wait until there was a brief clearing to chart my next course. I eventually found the top of Hillman's and dropped in.

part way down Hillman's, looking across to Wildcat

As was expected, the run was super icy and not a ton of fun. I got down, got on the Sherburne and headed back to the car. The Sherburne had melted a bit from the day before and there were a few grassy spots to cross. Otherwise a smooth run down.

The only real break in the snow on Sherburne

So there it is, my trip to Mount Washington fulfilling a boyhood dream! Even more exciting is my pending move to Colorado!! Let me know if you want to ski with me!!

I put together a video of the ski runs. They're not highlight reel quality in skiing or filming, more of a beta video for those interested. I had used a snap on polarizer on my GoPro but I don't think it worked well. Seemed to just make everything darker rather than clearer. Probably chucking that.

Day 1: Skiing Tuck's

Day 2: Climbing Central Gully, skiing Hillman's

-Steve

I tried to upload GPX file but when I go to select the file, it's grayed out and won't let me select...

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Dave B	This is a cool report 4/23/2014 6:27pm I like seeing ice tools and skis being used on the same day, for the same climb/descent. You're definitely arriving in CO at a good time for skiing!
dillonsarnelli	This is great 4/23/2014 6:34pm Love to see Mount Washington in a TR. Great pictures and welcome to CO!
Jeff Valliere	Nice! 4/23/2014 8:17pm Yeah Tuckahmins, wicked awesome! Great report and very well done weekend. Being from NH, Mt. Washington is my old stomping grounds and even though I have not been there since 1991, is still one of my favorite peaks and will always regard it highly. I skied Tucks once when I was in high school, was pretty new to skiing (could barely handle the black diamond runs at Loon and Waterville) and had never skied anything remotely close to it. Kicked steps up the headwall in my rear entry ski boots (no axe or crampons or helmet), around the gaping crevasse, all the way to the summit. Loved the upper snowfields, but then froze at the top of the headwall. Eventually I sidestepped a good bit of it, until I had to perform a life or death jump turn above the crevasse. Took skis off, flipped them 180 toward the bowl and then could eventually make some turns. I was lucky I did not kill myself. Would love to go back someday now that I could ski (and not on long skinny straight skis). Thanks for posting, brings back good memories. Congrats on the move and welcome to Colorado.
nyker	Nice job 4/23/2014 8:53pm Looks like some familiar terrain there from a fellow east coaster! I'd like to get back to the Whites one day soon.
IronSkiMountaineer	Thanks guys! 4/23/2014 9:20pm It was good to make turns back where I grew up but I'm definitely looking forward to climbing and skiing out west!
Elliot	Way to Crush Tucks 4/24/2014 1:27am Thanks for posting some east coast stoke
EatinHardtack	Cool Report 4/27/2014 3:39pm You're going to love Colorado

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