Like Lemmings Over the Headwall
Spring Migration to Tuckerman Ravine

The Wire, April 14, 2004

Every spring the earth tilts, the days get longer, the world warms up, snow melts in the mountains and the ski resorts creak to a halt.

But even as flowers bloom on the Seacoast, the snow does not melt everywhere, not quite yet. High in the Presidential Range on Mount Washington, those same elements conspire to create perfect conditions for sliding on snow in the suntanning sunshine of spring.

To a certain group of thrill-seekers, skiing or snowboarding the glacial cirque tucked on the east side of New England’s highest peak is an annual event as natural as spring itself.
Tuckerman Ravine is the East Coast Mecca of alpine skiing. First skied in the 1910s, the bowl became a springtime destination for thousands of skiers with the completion of the ski trains from Boston to the Mount Washington Valley. By the mid-1930s, crowds in the thousands were hiking up to Tucks. Today, on a sunny spring day, 3,500 people may visit Tuckerman Ravine, though not all are skiers.

The Journey Up and Down the Headwall
In May of 1993, I was a college senior and a member of the Rutgers University Ski Team. I showed up at Pinkham Notch with a few teammates—carrying a glorified book bag to which I lashed skis, boots, clothes and food with nylon straps and shoelaces—and headed up uncertain of what we would find.

The hike up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail takes about two hours. It’s not difficult, just a long, steep trudge. Starting from Pinkham Notch, 15 miles north of North Conway on Route 16 (2,032 ft.), it climbs 2.5 miles to Hermit Lake (3,875 ft.). From there, it takes about 30 minutes to climb the trail to the base of Tuckerman Ravine (4,354 ft.).

It’s imposing terrain, but you don’t have to be an especially strong skier or snowboarder to enjoy a spring afternoon at Tuckerman’s. The beauty of hiking for your turns is that you climb the very terrain you will be riding—you decide how far up you go before you ride back down. As is consistent with a wilderness area, you are responsible for your own actions—don’t hike higher than your ability. If you break yourself it’s a long way down off the mountain, and there is no ski patrol to carry you or gondola to speed you toward a hospital. Avalanches routinely occur, even when the danger is low, and a number of lives are claimed around Mount Washington every year.

The lower headwall is a fairly mellow slope, similar to an easy intermediate trail. On a sun-baked afternoon, the snow will be slushy corn-snow—forgiving and mostly consistent. In general, the further uphill you hike, the steeper it gets, with pitches up to 55 degrees. At the top of the headwall the pitch flattens out, and there are expansive mellow snowfields above the ravine leading up to the southeastern side of Mount Washington’s peak. If you hike up along the Lunch Rocks at the bottom of the bowl to the right of the exposed rocks in the middle of the ravine, the slope never gets above about 45 degrees. This is the easiest way to ski down from above the headwall—roughly equivalent to an ungroomed easy expert trail.

Depending on the amount of snow, various chutes and gullies open up or close out along the middle and left face of the ravine as you look up the mountain. Skiable snow pack can last into June, July or even August, depending on the winter’s snowfall. The Sherburne Ski Trail leads back down to Pinkham Notch from Hermit Lake, and is generally at least somewhat skiable into May. This year, thanks to the below-average snowfall in New England, it won’t last nearly that long (unless it decides to start snowing now—which is never completely out of the question).

Racing at Tuck’s
In its early days, the ravine played host to numerous college races, including the first-ever giant slalom race, held in the spring of 1937 between Harvard and Dartmouth. But the race that captured everyone’s imagination was the American Inferno. Only held three times (1933, 1934 and 1939), the Inferno began with all the racers making a four-hour hike from Pinkham Notch to the peak of Mount Washington. The race had simple rules: the first skier to make it over the headwall, down the ravine, and along the Sherburne Trail to the base at Pinkham Notch was the winner.

Following in that tradition is the modern Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon and Triathlon Race. Sponsored by the Friends of Tuckerman, the fourth annual race will be held this weekend (April 16-17). The pentathlon consists of an 8.3-mile run, a 6-mile whitewater kayak paddle down the Saco River, an 18-mile uphill bicycle race, a 3-mile hike up to the bowl, and, finally, a hike up to the top of the headwall and ski or snowboard race back down to the base of the bowl. The triathlon consists of the running, kayaking and biking legs without the hiking or skiing. Either race can be done as a team, but in order to be called a “Tuckerman” you need to complete the pentathlon solo.

Registration for the individual pentathlon is limited to 20 individuals, with the top 10 finishers from last year’s pentathlon and triathlon getting first choice. So, the only way to enter next year’s pentathlon is to finish in the top 10 in the triathlon this year. The Inferno is a great spectator event. Call 603-356-0131 or visit www.friendsoftuckerman.org/inferno/2004 for more information.

Be Prepared
Mount Washington is the home of the worst weather ever recorded on earth—winds reaching 231 mph strafed the summit observatory on April 12, 1934—and on average, every third day sees hurricane-force winds, so if you want to spend the night, make preparations.

Eight lean-tos and three tent platforms near Hermit Lake can accommodate about 100 campers. Space is available on a first come, first served basis by signing up in person at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center at the base of the hike. During late April and May, spaces are generally sold out by Friday night. This is the only place to camp up on the mountain, though in the notch there’s the Appalachian Mountain Club Joe Dodge Lodge at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center or the Dolly Copp Campground a handful of miles north. A space in the Hermit Lake Shelters costs $10 per night per person. Contact the AMC at 603-466-2725 or visit www.tuckerman.org for more information.

You won’t need a tent at the shelters, but you will need a sleeping bag that can keep you alive in freezing temperatures, a sleeping pad, a camp stove (no fires allowed), water or water purifier, and maybe a bottle of rum (hard alcohol weighs much less than the equivalent beer or wine). Weight is a big factor. Even without a tent, my pack, loaded with ski equipment and camping gear, routinely weighs in at 75 lbs. (there is a scale at Pinkham Notch). Mac ’n’ cheese with a can of garbanzo beans mixed in is a good, hearty meal. Vacuum-packed tuna fish has got to be the best camping invention of the past decade. Instant soup and oatmeal packets are good lightweight sustenance, too.

Weather fluctuates on Mount Washington quickly. Be prepared for a hot sunny day, freezing rain, snow, hurricane level winds or driving, relentless rain. I’ve experienced all of these conditions at Tucks, and you could find all of them on the same day. You can never have too many warm, dry, wicking layers of clothing in your pack, unless it takes up all of the room you set aside for rum.

Back in 1993, my friends and I basked in the sunshine of a late spring day without incident, venturing further and further up the headwall on subsequent runs. We would wait until the next spring to hike up to the snowfields above the ravine and experience the thrill of skiing over the headwall. I try to make at least one trip to Tuck’s each spring, to camp at the shelters with as many old and new friends as I can convince to come along, to enjoy wide and steep expanses found nowhere else in New England. I’ve lived in the Rockies and skied in B.C. and the French, Swiss and Italian Alps, but I will always come back to Tuckerman’s.