Hiking Mt. Washington/ Tuckerman... need suggestions

[Wadsworth]

Hi Guys,

I have been wanting to ski Mt Washington/ Tuckerman Ravine for a few years now. I want to make sure I am well prepared and have the right gear/ equipment.

Few questions I have:

-What time of the year should I go?

-Am I able to skin the majority of it?

-Are crampons required?

-Do I need to bring Ice Axe?

-What other equipment is a must?

Any feedback would be appreciated! My uncle wants to go also, but I am also not sure on his skill level.

Thanks guys!

 

[SkiBum.]

It’s been a while since I’ve done it. I’ll probably do it again this spring since I’m on this coast now.

When I did it last it was like mid May. I hiked up in tennis shoes, dirt path till you get to the bottom of “bowl”. From there I put ski boots on and boot packed up to the top. Super spring time conditions. Decent snow, no dangers above or below noted when I was there. People were sledding…

Now if you go mid winter you can skin from parking lot. It’s all in trees till bottom of bowl. Then exposed above tree line. See what forecast is. There is an avy site and it’s posted daily.

Spring is best. But if you hit it mid winter with good snow and no wind it would be fun too.

Main hazards in spring are ice and rock falls, crevices in middle of bowl mainly it seemed, variable and changing snow conditions.

You can bring any gear you feel the need to but most likely will pass someone in jeans and a sled asking if they are almost there 10 min into hike….

 

[Craigskis]

Weather plays a big factor. Things can change up there real fast. It's a mountain known for bad weather. The only time I did it was still full blown winter conditions. Skinning up to the Patrol or rangers hut is easy enough. If doing it in winter conditions as opposed to spring corn some quick considerations.

Yes, crampons and an ice ax are a good idea. Don't go alone. Plan your route, and also be open to changing plans along the way. No sense getting up if you can't get back down.

I did it once hoping for nice knee deep turns down hillmans hi-way. Weather was rolling in while I was at the hut. I'd done the 6 hour drive to get there, and I was set on doing it despite people saying I wouldn't try to get to the top today. I ended up stubbornly pushing past good snow in the tree triangle of Hillmans highway and crampons and ice axed my way to the top of Hillmans Highway where it plateaus. It was plate ice about 2" thick the whole way up, 3/4 of the way up I was frozen and started getting scared. I couldn't put my skis on, and it was only a little further to the top instead of downclimbing. The wind was howling about 40mph's. My hands when completely numb trying to swap from climb mode to ski mode. On my way down it was steep enough that I was afraid to turn on the plate ice, and i sideslipped the majority of the pitch a couple hundred meters worth of completely puckered "skiing" lower down i had a few decent turns in the tree triangle, before skiing out in the mogul field iced over bulletproof moguls lower down.

On a good day, yeah it could be epic. I gather the number of good powder days there are limited each season. The steeps on Spring corn would be a riot.

 

[PhlebotomistOld]

I did it in highschool and stayed at the joe dodge lodge (little cabin-like hotel right the trailhead)

At the time we all just strapped our shitty park skis on our backpacks and hiked up, we went in late april and our guide put his skins on about halfway up when there was enough snow. its a pretty long hike to the bowl but once you get there you can ditch all your stuff at the lunch rocks and hike up with just your skis and poles, the gullies to the either side are the easiest, i did the chute but there were some big ass crevasses under the headwall so we stayed clear of that.

the avalanche danger is posted at the bottom if the trailhead and online and they update it everyday at like 6am but the conditions change quickly, the first time i hiked it was warm spring day but randomly dumped like 2 ft at the bowl and was 90mph winds so we had to just ski down the sherburne trail instead. Its a lot of fun though, would definitely recommend it in april with a group of friends

 

[kvan]

Have you taken an avy course or spent any time in the backcountry before? I'd get confident with this before you venture up there especially during the heart of winter. As far as the terrain up there it's steeper than any inbounds run you'd ski at any resort in the east, but more importantly it requires exceptionally good judgement and risk management skills. This means knowing when to turn back even if the conditions "look" favorable. As the guy above mentioned, the weather and snowpack conditions are the biggest factors as things can change on a dime.

Spring season can offer more stable snowpack conditions, but areas like the Lip can be a very dangerous zone and typically experiences the first signs of crevasses and undermined snow. I'd also avoid Lunch Rocks on a warm spring day due to the potential of frozen waterfalls letting go. When in doubt, ask patrollers/rangers/caretakers who are up there to give you good advice.

It's a good idea to pay close attention to the avy reports posted on MWAC. Keep in mind, a guy died in a slide up there last year while skiing the ammo alone on a low avy danger day, so low danger doesn't mean they still don't have the potential to occur. That being said, don't go alone. Link up with someone who is very experienced with the terrain/conditions up there, and make sure it's someone that you can trust to save your life if you were to be buried.