Today was my first time up to the Ravine for skiing (not counting my ski down the Sherburne Ski Trail earlier this year). I should have bailed on Cannon the day before as my legs were shot from skiing mashed potatoes and scraped snow on Saturday. I had debated not even going to the Ravine on Sunday but I knew days like this don’t happen often enough and I would have been missing had I not gone. Additionally, it was likely my last whack at skinning without hiking as well as skiing all the way down to the Route 16 via the Sherburne (though just barely).
The skin up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail was sweet with only one or two bare spots. However, coverage is going quick in a lot of areas. Bridges were exposed fully. I suspect the trail will not be skinable top to bottom without removing skis at least once or twice by next weekend. I was really really tired by the time i reached HoJo’s and had developed painful blisters on my right arch and right hand. I made some adjustments to my equipment to better handle friction locations but the damage was done.
Blue skies, bright sun, and not a cloud in the sky greeted my upon reaching HoJo’s. Some skiers skied Duchess and were looking good from Hojo’s. Another pair of skiers descend the field to the right of Duchess which drew much concern from the on lookers at HoJo’s. The skiers were heading towards three nasty looking cliffs in which even a perfect set of jumps might not have been sufficient. A horrific fall seemed imminent when they seemed to do the sensible thing and scramble back up to a better exit.
I opted to head towards Hillman’s to avoid the crowds and ski the longest run available. Upon reaching the gully, I immediately noticed that the snow was a really delightful corn and everyone was whooping it on the way down. This would be my first climb up a snow filled gully. It did not take long for me to realize that going up is far harder and scarier than skiing down. The descent was much easier skiing than I had thought it would be. My legs were fatigued from skiing hard all day Saturday, so I was not on my game. Additionally, I did not feel comfortable with the boot ladder that I was ascending. I was double and triple kicking in to be sure of my stablity which took a lot out of my stamina. About three-quarters the way up, just below the gully split, I decided that I was not confident enough nor in satisfactory physical condition to continue. I kicked out a slot for my skis and then decided to kick out a seat for myself as well. I sat down and enjoyed magnificent view of the Hillman’s Gully, Tuckerman Bowl, Mount Washington and the Wildcat Ridge.
The skiing was fabulous. The first few turns were cautious but I opened things up down lower in the gully. Today was my first time skiing the Dynastar Inspired Bigs. Great ski! Talk about a ski that was made for certain conditions. The Bigs ripped Hillman’s Highway and were very well suited to the big mountain skiing of Mount Washington. I almost had a hard time keeping up because I was trying to savor every turn as much as possible.
Tuckerman Ravine and Hillman’s Highway empty out onto the John Sherburne Ski Trail. Due to an excessive amount of skiers leaving the Ravine at the same time, this was one of the most dangerous runs of my life time. The Sherburne was definitely not designed for that volume of skier traffic! When I stopped and pulled over to the edge of the trail, I would wait an entire minute or more for passing skiers to slide by before deeming it safe to continue skiing. The Sherburne is certainly a better experience mid-week during this time of year.
After concluding my outing, I reflected upon this excellent afternoon of adventure and skiing. I managed to max out the memory card on my digital camera due to great photo taking atmosphere and visuals. The skiing on Hillman’s was fantastic despite the shaky first experience climbing a gully.
Most folks ascending the gully were going up quick and easy without hesitation or fatigue. I began wondering if having a huge foot (345mm boots, size 14 shoes) had anything to do with my climbing difficulty. Most people kicking in steps would not have to kick in as far to completely get the ball of their foot locked in to a solid hold whereas my center was a lot further backward on the step. This may have caused some problems but additionally have a standard alpine boot created difficulties as well. Next season I decided to obtain a pair of Alpine Touring boots to ensure easier climbing due to a rockered vibram sole.
Another issue observed while climbing is the amount of people skiing with dogs in the ravine. Some folks brought their dogs up Hillman’s. I had an encounter with one of these dogs as I was climbing the boot ladder. The dog was descending via the boot ladder which I was ascending at the same time. The dog was coming down fast and managed to stop just in front of me and started growling something fierce and barking. After some calling, the owner managed to call off the attack. But if that dog could not have stopped or jumped on me it would have been an ugly fall. A busy weekend in Tuckerman Ravine is probably not the best place for dogs.
