Tuckerman Ravine 7/8/2018

NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
in Trip Reports Posts: 5,479
July skiing!

When I arrived at Pinkham around 8:00, the lot was almost already full. Two sections of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail were rerouted onto the Sherbie due to bridge construction. This made for a few extra steep pitches on the way up, but my hike was uneventful.

From HoJo's, I was able two see the two significant remaining snow patches in the ravine, which were at the base of Chute. I traversed to the patches from the Lunch Rocks. Both patches were very steep, and the only good staging area was at the base of the lower patch.

The lower patch was wide with a vertical drop of roughly 60 feet and a steep pitch. It was easy enough to ski because of its width. The upper patch was much narrower, but had more vertical drop (~80') and was even steeper. The steepness and narrow chokepoints with no run-out made it challenging to ski, but it was very fun.

Clicking-in was a challenge on the steep slope and so was moving from one patch to the other. I started with 3 runs on the lower patch, then a run on the upper patch before having lunch. I finished off with 3 more runs on the lower patch for a total of 7 runs.

In addition to the crowds in the area of the lunch rocks, I got plenty of questions on the hike up and down. The most common and obvious was, "Is there any snow left up there?!" The second most popular was something along the lines of, "Are you carrying those for training?"

Enjoy the pictures

Sherburne Ski TrailimageSherburne Ski TrailimageThe RavineimageThe RavineimageSnow PatchesimageHeadwallimageNear Lunch RocksimageView from the Lower PatchimageLower PatchimageView from the Lower PatchimageLower PatchimageLower PatchimageLower PatchimageUpper PatchimageView from the Upper PatchimageUpper PatchimageUpper PatchimageNext to the Lower Patchimage
- Sam

Comments

  • joshua_segaljoshua_segal
    Posts: 4,839
    Very impressive. It appears from your photos that you were the only skier there. Is that true?

    You mentioned that putting skis on was difficult. I haven't been to the Ravine since 1988, but when I skied there before ski brakes, the scariest part was bending over to attach my run-away straps.
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    joshua_segal said:

    Very impressive. It appears from your photos that you were the only skier there. Is that true?

    You mentioned that putting skis on was difficult. I haven't been to the Ravine since 1988, but when I skied there before ski brakes, the scariest part was bending over to attach my run-away straps.

    On my down, I ran into one other skier on his way up, but that was it.

    Getting skis on was definitely tricky because of the steepness. On the upper patch I had to do it sitting down and braced my skis against the vertical edge of the snow patch.
    - Sam
  • bmwskierbmwskier
    Posts: 1,032
    Great trip report! How many months do you have left before you've skied all of them?
    "Making ski films is being irresponsible with other people's money, in a responsible sort of way..." <div>Greg Stump</div>
  • rickbolgerrickbolger
    Posts: 2,962
    wow, nice report!
  • ChuckstahChuckstah
    Posts: 1,417
    Nice! You sure do get around. Might as well go to Hood for August and september turns at this point.
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    bmwskier said:

    Great trip report! How many months do you have left before you've skied all of them?

    I started my season in early November at Bretton Woods. I’d like to go for 12 straight, but I don’t know about the next two months.
    - Sam
  • lotsoskiinglotsoskiing
    Posts: 3,575
    Nice. Had you scouted to know there was enough there to ski or did you roll the dice?
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    lotsoskiing said:

    Nice. Had you scouted to know there was enough there to ski or did you roll the dice?

    I didn’t know for sure, but I saw photos from the weekend before and it seemed like it would last.
    - Sam
  • RemskiRemski
    Posts: 1,162
    In the past I’ve skied in July mostly on the 4th 4 times and the latest was the 15th and it was a patch just a bit longer than yours but in the same area and we got 10 turns on it and we had to answer the same questions you did. Keep up with your passion and perhaps you’ll get a chance for some August turns. I would have gotten them but I had ACL surgery that summer and missed it. So I’ve been able to ski from October into July, now all I need is August and September and I’m getting those this year but it will be in Chile and Argentina from 8/25 thru 9/9.
  • ChuckstahChuckstah
    edited July 2018 Posts: 1,417
    It looks very similar to my second to last July ski day in Tux. July 6th, 2014
  • ChuckstahChuckstah
    Posts: 1,417
  • sugarloafsugarloaf
    edited July 2018 Posts: 1,811
    The ice skating rink down the street has a big pile of snow shavings outside. I can spread it out and get July turns. :D
    <p abp="321"><strong abp="322">Ski Conditions Report: A detailed report describing the snow conditions on the mountain the day of your visit. Skiers should become familiar with the following snow surface descriptions: Ice: Packed Powder, Slush: Packed Powder, Frozen Granular: Packed Powder , Packed Powder - A thin covering of snow over bare earth.</strong></p>
  • Bill29Bill29
    Posts: 401
    NewEnglandSkier13, I admire your dedication. That's damned little snow for all that hiking.
    As I have noted here more times than I should have, the 1968-69 winter was a record-breaker up there with something like 566 inches of snow falling at the summit. I swam in Saco Bay, ME., on July 4 that summer and skied the Ravine on July 6. The difference was that in '69 the snowpack on July 6 nearly filled the bowl and reached up nearly to the lip. It was like late May or early June cover. Just fantastic.
  • RemskiRemski
    Posts: 1,162
    I was told that the snow in the ravine that season never completely melted out before the snows of the fall of 69 came.
  • shprideshpride
    Posts: 352
    Great job NewEnglandSkier13! Thanks for posting the report.

    Here's a bit of information and pictures from the Spring of 1969 posted on White Mountain Sojourn

    whitemountainsojourn.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-24-12-tuckerman-ravine-june-17-1969.html
  • Bill29Bill29
    Posts: 401
    Under one of those Tuckerman pics from 1969 it says that there were a few patches in early July. Believe me, there was more than a few patches on July 6. Look at the 6-20-69 pic. On July 6, most of the snow below the cliffs was still there and it covered much of the bowl. The tongue toward the Little Headwall was gone, as was most of the snow in the Left Gully, but there was lots of snow in the middle for continuous, uninterrupted runs.
  • ski_itski_it
    Posts: 4,667
    But you didn't get a picture of you actually skiing?? But I do like the Ski the East Gear
    ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    ski_it said:

    But you didn't get a picture of you actually skiing?? But I do like the Ski the East Gear

    I wish. It just would’ve been too much to figure out with the timer.
    - Sam
  • ski_itski_it
    Posts: 4,667
    You had no one with you??? Hmmm I’m not going to throw stones, but dude be safe!
    ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,479
    ski_it said:

    You had no one with you??? Hmmm I’m not going to throw stones, but dude be safe!

    There were probably 15+ people in the Ravine at any one time.
    - Sam
  • hrstrat57hrstrat57
    Posts: 53
    Getting it done right here.
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