Skiers eye their lines from the bottom of the bowl at Tuckerman Ravine.
TUCKERMAN RAVINE
RECOMMENDED BY Jake Risch
The words “extreme skiing” and “New England” are not frequently uttered in the same sentence … unless the topic happens to be Tuckerman Ravine. For eastern alpinists, “Tuck” is the very definition of skiing on the edge. Many western skiers and riders will be surprised to find such daunting terrain so close to Boston that you can pick up Red Sox games on your old-fashioned non-satellite radio!
“Growing up, my father, Al Risch, guided trips on Mount Washington,” Jake Risch began. “My first time skiing Tuckerman was on one of his trips. Growing up in the valley, I’d always been aware of the mountain. It’s a rite of passage on everyone’s radar, the only above-tree-line alpine terrain on the East Coast. It’s the place in New England where you can get that backcountry big-mountain experience. The first time I skied the headwall, I was eight or nine. It was a great education; that experience has taken me from the Alps to heli-skiing in Alaska. It all started at Tuckerman.”
Mount Washington is the tallest peak among New Hampshire’s White Mountains; at 6,288 feet, it’s the highest mountain in New England. The mountain is infamous as the site for the highest wind speeds ever recorded (231 miles per hour, recorded at the summit on April 10, 1934), and bitter spring weather that can change on a dime. Oddly enough, given its atmospheric vicissitudes, the summit can be reached via automobile on the Mount Washington Auto Road, dubbed “America’s Oldest Manmade Tourist Attraction”; the first tourists traveled to the top via horse-drawn wagons in 1861. Where drivers to the summit will likely acquire a THIS CAR CLIMBED MOUNT WASHINGTON bumper sticker, those ascending the southeastern side of the mountain earn the élan of conquering—or at least attempting to conquer—what’s been called the original home of American extreme skiing.
Tuckerman Ravine is a glacial cirque that gathers great amounts of snow from surrounding alpine faces, thanks to those aforementioned winds. The cirque was first explored on skis in 1914, though it would be another seventeen years or so before skiers broached Tuckerman’s upper reaches. Members of the Dartmouth College Outing Club pioneered many ski routes on Mount Washington, and it was two Dartmouth skiers—John Carleton and Charley Proctor—who were the first to ski the Tuckerman Headwall, on April 11, 1931. As skiing gained in popularity, local chambers of commerce began promoting the cirque. It was the American Inferno, a summit-to-base race run, held several times in the 1930s, that attracted the most attention to Mount Washington and Tuckerman.
Skiers and boarders approach Tuckerman much the same way today as competitors in the first Inferno did in 1933. Jake Risch describes the routine: “There have never been any lifts at Tuckerman, so you’re either hiking up or skinning up. The season typically begins at the end of March, goes as long as the snow lasts. People do ski all season, but you need extensive knowledge of skiing in avalanche terrain and solid beacon/shovel experience to attempt it in the winter. In the spring, I’ll try to get to the trailhead at Pinkham Notch early, say six or seven A.M.; the earlier you get up to the summit, the better the skiing. Before you even leave for the trailhead, you need to check the weather forecasts and the Mount Washington Avalanche Center so you understand what you’re getting into. After all, it’s one of the deadliest mountains in the United States, with 139 fatalities to date. Understanding the hazards—getting as much info as you can, and making sound decisions—is an important aspect of skiing Mount Washington.
“If there’s enough snow in the lower reaches, you can ski up to the top using alpine touring equipment on the Sherburne Ski Trail. If it’s later in the season, you’ll probably end up hiking at least part of the way, and might opt for the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. About 2.5 miles up, most people will stop for a little break at Hojos [a caretaker’s cabin] and check in with the snow rangers or volunteer ski patrol. At this point, you’ll probably determine if you’re going to ski Hillman’s Highway [a 1,400-foot vertical drop, considered one of the easier routes down] or the bowl proper. Assuming you’re opting for the bowl, you’ll continue up, and soon you’ll reach it—a massive amphitheater. Most people will set up a camp for the day on the floor of the bowl, pick a line, and spend the rest of the day skiing as much as they can. People who are in good physical shape may be able to get in two or three runs in an afternoon.”
There are a number of named lines in Tuckerman proper. These include Left Gulley, The Chute, Center Gulley North and South, The Icefall, The Lip, The Sluice, and Right Gully. “I don’t really have a favorite run,” Jake added. “They’re all very good; what skis best depends on snow conditions and where the sun happens to be.”
As alluded above, caution can be the better part of valor at Tuckerman Ravine. “Back in college, I used to enjoy sharing the ravine with friends who were unfamiliar with the region,” Jake recalled. “There was one day when some guys were really excited to go, but the avalanche danger was very high. I had to call everyone and cancel the trip. It was very hard to do, but sometimes it’s the only responsible course of action.”
JAKE RISCH is an avid backcountry skier, trained heli-ski guide, and lifelong “Tucks” skier. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army and has extensive military and civilian logistics expertise in remote areas, including both Afghanistan and Iraq. A charter lifetime member of Friends of Tuckerman Ravine (www.friendsoftuckerman.org), Jake was elected the organization’s president in 2012.
If You Go
Getting There: The closest commercial airport is in Manchester, which is served by several airlines, including Southwest (www.southwest.com), United (www.united.com), and Delta (www.delta.com).
Season: While it’s possible to ski Tuckerman in the winter, most visitors ski the cirque from March through June … or however long the snow lasts.
Lift Tickets: Your legs are your lift at Tuckerman. Be prepared for at least three miles of strenuous hiking before your first (and probably only) run of the day.
Level of Difficulty: High. There are fatalities every year at Tuckerman, so take heed. Visit Friends of Tuckerman Ravine (www.friendsoftuckerman.org) and the Mount Washington Avalanche Center (www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org) to learn more about the mountain.
Accommodations: Lodging is available at the base of the mountain at Joe Dodge Lodge (603-466-2727; www.outdoors.org/lodging/whitemountains/pinkham). Nearby North Conway (www.northconwaynh.com) offers other lodging options.
