Skiing Tuckerman in the autumn ...

dr_phil

dr_phil

Active member
Is it possible? safe? I don't want to go there and do some funky/sketchy shit... hitting sharks and getting caught in avys.

It would be greaaaat to get some around the times of first legit snowfalls.

Or is it only skiable in the spring, when the snowpack is thicker and more stable?

-Phil

 
I've actually never heard of anyone skiing tuckermans in the fall. The people i know that ski it ski in the spring, its warm out, and tons of pow
 
I really don't know but if i were to speculate you will be skiing on cliffs and rocks but it would depend on how late/early you go.
 
lol, no. I just wanted to have a general idea.

If I plan to go there, I'll inform myself a few days before/the morning of the d-day to the park rangers over there.
 
i would never ski tucks. ever. it seems like the most unsafe shit show ive ever seen in my life
 
i woukdnt suggest it i know like 2 years ago someone had to be evacd when they tried in early winter its fun in the spring id wait til then
 
i have never herd of anyone doing it in the autumn (but i have though about it this year) my guess is that it would be sketchy, most of the hike up would be in snow/ice or just a shitty trail in general, i have skied tucks a few times and i have always done it in the spring when the conditions are warm and the snow is 5 star corn my advice would be to hold off until spring as tempting as it sounds to get some early season turns in haha...
 
haha. it is all dirt and rocks now. and yes, the headwall is completely vertical until the bowl fills in with about 25 feet of snow. and yes, super dangerous until it gets warm and the snow stabilizes. try april.
 
Yeah, that's what I thought. Just wanted to know...

Those avy videos are crazy ... wtf are people applauding? The guy in the 1st vid could have been seriously injured.
 
some dumbass yells "he rode it" in the first one too. like i said, tucks is a sketchy shit show.
 
It's b/c none of them should be up there. Inferno weekend is the worst weekend for Tucks. I think the first slide broke the victim's leg. I'm normally the only person I see besides patrol that goes up with full gear.
The earliest I've skied Tucks is the second week of December. Even then, it's not skiing. Maybe 5 turns and the weather is nasty..
The upper bowl is mostly vertical rock and ice in December. Lots of climbers venture up in December for the waterfalls on the Headwall. The lower bowl is the main escape route for melting snow and ice. In the early season, temperature fluctuate so much that the lower bowl isn't much more than an open crevasse and a raging river.
Tucks is skiable because high winds blow snow into the bowl throughout the season. The bowl doesn't fill in until late January/early February when the deepest trenches of the bowl have filled in around 70-80 feet. Go up for the hike, leave your skis at home, and pig out at Moats Brewery when you're done.
 
I might be wrong but i remember a guy that skied tucks every month of the year...i just remember hearing this somewhere
 
You're right. The Inferno is the weekend closest to 4/20. The slides were the following Sunday. I got last year and the previous mixed.
 
NOMENSTEVEN,

i respect you and all, but i am tired of you ripping on tuckermans. it is a classic ski destination for all east coasters. i completly understand where you are coming from with the whole saftey aspect, but the avalanches at tucks are rather small and it is totally worth the risk. that first video had the largest slide and the guy didnt even get buried. you should see the level of stokage that people have just when they are hiking into the base. now really, you need to settle down with the hate towards tucks.

yours truly,

BMskier
 
people definitely do take it waaaay to lightly though. I mean it's not Alaska, you don't need to be a seasoned backcountry skier, its a good intro...but it's still no joke. Things happen so fast, avalanches are one of many risks there.
It's def a good time thoguh as long as you take it somehwat seriously and are aware and dont make stupid decisions
 
it could still EASILY fuck people up, even if they arent buried. especially with how heavy that snow is. i dont care how stoked people are, that doesnt make them any less stupid.
 
My first experience there was watching someone tumble down Hillmans highway (the run next to the bowl) for a minute straight. It definitely put me in my place
 
But really its all about timing. Its very easy to visit Tucks when its not a gaper parade to the headwall.
 
yo there is mad hate on tucks but if you have ever been there its fucking sick. i mean i was there 4/25 last year and there were three avs alone that day but its sick to hike all the way but and ski some crazy shit i dont know thats just me
 
i agree

anyways its so windy there that it will have strange snow drifts and many bare spots,if for some reason which this could happen it snows will not much wind id say try it......but its very rare for mt.washington to get weather systems without lots of wind
 
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