Tuckerman Ravine, NH: 06/04/05

riverc0il

New member
i made june for the first time in my life, rock. big news in the ravine today was the car sized hunk of rock falling off the headwall and nearly decapitating someone. i was just clicking into my skis in left gully when i heard all sorts of yelling and screaming coming from the ravine. i couldn't see the action of course due to the gully, but when i reached lunch rocks, i was told a car sized rock fell off the headwall and split into two pieces. the two pieces tracked in various directions, one piece gunning for a person climbing up chute. the rock looked to be heading straight down at first, but then started turning towards the bottom of the chute. word was the guy jumped at the last second and saved his life by two feet! the ravine cleared out pretty fast after that humbling experience was witnessed by most of the people up there. yikes, heads up!

the heat today was simply oppressive. the hike up to the bowl was smooth enough, but once in the bowl, the sun came out and started baking everyone and everything. even with minimal acceptable clothing for skiing the ravine for my standards, i was over heating quick. decided a warm up on the bottom part of chute was in order first. while hiking up, a "river of snow" started sliding down the bowl next to me. how weird, cool, and concerning all at the same time! i only hiked up to the squeeze of the chute as i wanted to conserve my energy for the hike up left gully, then clicked in and took some turns on rediculously wet snow. trying to stop and make turns was a minor issue because the edge was cutting and sliding rather than digging in. it was okay.

left gully was the real goal for the day, so i made my way over there next. here's where the sun came out and really cranked up the heat past tollerable levels. i was starting to experience some warning signs just below the hour glass: headache, head pounding, short on breath, unreasonable and excessive fatigue, etc. i was over heating pretty bad and wasn't feeling it. i decided to play it safe and click in just below the hour glass rather than risk continued climbing and losing it. turns were simply epic, incredibe snow in left gully. a few small bumps which were fun, nothing i'd call moguls though.

the hike out was simply horrible with the sun continuing to crank up the temperature with no wind or clouds to help assist. it was definitely a day that was too hot for skiing despite the epic turns had in left gully. i think that'll be my last shot at the ravine, thought it's good to go for a lot longer. the amount of snow sill up there is rediculous thanks to a cold and cloudy may. pics in a few...
 

Attachments

  • 060405tuckerman06.jpg
    060405tuckerman06.jpg
    37.6 KB · Views: 2,866
  • 060405tuckerman04.jpg
    060405tuckerman04.jpg
    39.6 KB · Views: 2,864
  • 060405tuckerman03.jpg
    060405tuckerman03.jpg
    37.6 KB · Views: 2,872
  • 060405tuckerman02.jpg
    060405tuckerman02.jpg
    38.9 KB · Views: 2,877
  • 060405tuckerman01.jpg
    060405tuckerman01.jpg
    43.9 KB · Views: 2,867
a few more.
 

Attachments

  • 060405tuckerman12.jpg
    060405tuckerman12.jpg
    24.5 KB · Views: 2,849
  • 060405tuckerman11.jpg
    060405tuckerman11.jpg
    16.7 KB · Views: 2,867
  • 060405tuckerman10.jpg
    060405tuckerman10.jpg
    24.1 KB · Views: 2,860
  • 060405tuckerman09.jpg
    060405tuckerman09.jpg
    26.8 KB · Views: 2,861
  • 060405tuckerman08.jpg
    060405tuckerman08.jpg
    27.9 KB · Views: 2,865
  • 060405tuckerman07.jpg
    060405tuckerman07.jpg
    27.5 KB · Views: 2,871
Nice picts, Steve, thanks for the view from the other side!

I've seen a station-wagon size rock come down the center wall, and bounce when it hit the rocks below the snowfield. Boy, if you don't already respect falling ice hazards, a rock really get's your attention! That must have been quite a sight, Saturday!
 
So nice...glad nobody got worse than scared by that rockfall. Auto road for me this time of year. Summit laps on 6/11 and Airplane on 6/12 Radio on 9-14.
Rob
RR@T4T
 
Back
Top