Tucks - 6/08/03

L

Lftgly

New member
Sunday was mostly sunny in the valleys. The higher summits above 5000' were in the clouds much of the day. Hiking up was hot & humid, without much of a breeze, but the black flies weren't too bad. Up in the Bowl, it was about 50 degrees F. <BR> <BR>The first dozen skiers arrived in the Bowl at Noon, and probably another dozen trickled in as the afternoon wore on. Oddly, I didn't see a single snowboard. <BR> <BR>As you can see from the poor quality photos, the cloud on the summit cast it's shadow over the Bowl, though we could see sunlight on the slopes of Wildcat across the notch. <BR> <BR>I took a couple runs in the Center, which has about 250' vertical, maybe 300' if you ski all the way to the bottom of the runout. I took a third run in what remains of Chute Variation, and then headed over to Left Gully. The upper part of the Chute is still skiable, which offers the most available vertical, but the throat is narrow, so I didn't push my luck. The Sluice might be close to the same vertical, but you have to ski across the fall line as you ski past Lunch Rocks (lots of right turns); the USFS ranger was discouraging anyone from skiing on the right side. Accessing Left Gully requires a short hike up the rocks. It was much softer than the rest of the Bowl, and bumped up from skiers repeatedly carving the same line. It also had 250' of vertical. <BR> <BR>From HoJos you can see a good line halfway up Hillmans, probably as much vertical as what's in Left Gully, but there's no practical way to access it. <BR> <BR>Left Gully & The Bowl: <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2525.jpg" ALT="060803Tucks06"><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2526.jpg" ALT="060803Tucks05"> <BR> <BR>The Bowl from bottom of Left Gully: <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2527.jpg" ALT="060803Tucks03"> <BR> <BR>Looking down at the runout from top of Center: <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2528.jpg" ALT="060803Tucks01"> <BR> <BR>Looking down from top of Left Gully: <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2529.jpg" ALT="060803Tucks02"> <BR> <BR>Now that I finally got that day in June, speculation turns to how much longer will it last - four weeks to Fourth of July?
 
Congrats for your june skiing, Lftgly ! <BR>Do you really think some snow will remains until july 4 in the ravine ? <BR> <BR>It already looks quite ugly compared to the beginning of june, last year... and there was just a 40' long snowpatch on july 5. <BR> <BR>Anyway, I hope it for you !!! If I go in the Chic-choc this summer and if there is still some snow, I'll notice you <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> lol <BR> <BR>Anyone here already went to "le Parc des Grands Jardins" in Charlevoix, during summer. I wonder if the northern exposed peaks could keep their snow as long as the Chic-Choc, as they have about the same latitude and elevation, even though it's really less far from Montreal (±5h instead of 8h)
 
BTW, when I say "ugly", I don't mean that it's not fun ! Every snow is good, as long as it slides <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)">
 
"ugly" is definitely the right word, Frank. My skis were filthy when I packed up - luckily all that brown stuff on top of the snow is organic, and wipes right off the skis, unlike the grease I seem to pick up skiing late season at Kmart & Cannon. I gotta say the pictures of the dirty snow under the summit clouds don't do it justice. Everyone up there had a great day in the Ravine!
 
Good to hear everyone had fun there ! <BR>A good thing of Tuck is that it's above the treeline, so there is not problems of buds in the trail, like in LG where the right side looking up is just too dirty to be skied.
 
This report should be the first one on top of the no-bulls actually <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> and I anyway have few questions for you (or any person that ever skied Tucks). <BR> <BR>If I correctly understand, there is a "parking" near Mt Clay and the gullies, in late spring. But for Tucks ? I imagine there is a parking on bottom of the mountain, but I would like to know what's the distance to reach Hojo's and after to reach the bottom of Tucks. What's the vertical, too, from the mountain base to reach those places. And finally, from Hojo's, the Hillman's Highway really looks super high, on the pics and I was wondering about its vertical ??
 
Frank- if all that snow in Quebec finally melts, come on down & get one last day in at Tucks! It's 2.4 miles from the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center parking lot on NH 16 (a half mile south of Wildcat) to HoJos. Usually 1 hour & 15 minutes to 1 hour & 45 minutes hike. Then I plan on another 45 minutes to hike up into the Bowl from HoJos, but that includes a short break at HoJos. Sunday I left the parking lot at 10, and 2 hours later, I was sitting on a rock eating lunch in Tucks at Noon. <BR>The parking lot is essentially at 2000' el. HoJos is at about 3800' el. The floor of the ravine is about 4300' el. I think in mid season Left Gully tops out at about 5100', for a run of about 800' vertical. Hillmans tops out about the same as Left Gully, but you can ski all the way down to the Sherburne Trail at HoJos, so it's the longest continuous run; well over 1200' vertical. <BR> <BR>Of course those vertical drops are mid-season. By July 4 we should be down to about 50' or 100' (if we're lucky, LOL).
 
Hmm, 50' to 100' it's probably what I would have now at la Reserve, but as I already skied in june and I'm in the rush, I think I'll forget that for here. And as I said I'm in the rush, I just don't have the time to take a 24h ride to Mt Wash. But next year... !!! <BR> <BR>Thanks a lot for the indications about the elevation and vertical. With hiking 2300' high to reach the bowl, it should eliminate a lot of "undesired" skiers <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> lol <BR> <BR>I hope you'll still have something to ski on july 4 ! If no, look at Tenney <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> (or the Chic-Choc of course... it's not farther for you to go there than for me)
 
To make it a conservative estimate on the time it take to hike (I don't have a watch). 2hour from Pinkham Notch (parking) to Hojo's. Total 2:30 to 3hrs to reach the Bowl. <BR> <BR>This also keep this story on top of the list. <BR> <BR>Kevin are you still planning to go to Mt.Washington this weekend?
 
Let's top it again ! <BR> <BR>Hmm, I wonder if I would more be 2h or 3h to the bowl. Without backpack, it would probably be 3h for me ! With one, I begin to be used to climb mountains (I hiked Tremblant the first time at 5 years old) (ok, just the upper part), so I would probably be able to reach it in 2h30 I suppose.
 
Like I said, 3hr is a conservative estimate. I generally make it faster and I am older too (ie. out of shape). However, I pace myself for 3hrs.
 
For 3h, it depends of the difficulty of the lower part of the hike. If it's nearly flat (like it's probably, 2.4 miles for 1800' high), it's easy to hike fast. But if I count 2000' to 5100', I rarely did a so big hike in a single day (except with ski boots this spring). This is just for 1 run, so I'm not sure if I would be able to do 4-5 runs or more in the bowl. A sure thing, not in 1 day and it would even be enough tough in 2 days. <BR> <BR>But next year, I must try this when Tucks will be in top shape !!! (to be able to ski Hillman's, Chute, Left Gully, the right one ? and the center bowl of course). May be this is a lot for a single day... hmm
 
The first part is definately flatter than the Hojo to Bowl part. However, I wouldn't call it flat. There is a constant grade on those 2.4(?) miles and a few switch backs. <BR> <BR>There must be a ton of pictures from the parking lot to the Bowl on timefortuckerman.com. <BR> <BR>I have added quick summaries of my days to Tucks. I hope this give you an idea of what is possible in one day. <BR> <BR>The list of runs I have gone in my past visit (approx date): <BR>A) May 20-21, 1990: 2 runs each day in the Bowl. Hike I stayed in the shelters at Hojo. Received 10 inches of snow overnight and was still snowing second day. The Bowl had wet snow over a frozen base. Not very good condition to ski or hike that day. <BR> <BR>B) May 5, 1992: Best day, amazing condition. <BR>1st run: Snowfields into Left Gully. <BR>2nd run: lower part of Bowl <BR>3rd run: Left Gully <BR>4th run: lower part of Bowl - Little Headwall - 80% of Shelburne Trail to Pinkham Notch. <BR> <BR>C) May 2, 1999: Great day. However, our group didn't have much energy after skiing at Sunday River the previous day. <BR>1st run: Hillman's - 30% of Shelburne Trail. <BR> <BR>D) April 28, 2001: frozen condition/dangerous to hike up - only started soften up at 2pm. <BR>1st run: Lower part of Hillman's (50%) - too frozen. Long lunch at Hojo after. <BR>2nd run: Right Gully - softest part of the ravine (sun explosure). <BR>3rd run: Bowl. Started up Chute - still frozen solid, decided to ski down. Going up further without crampons was a gamble. <BR>4th run: left the Bowl - Little Headwall - 100%Shelburne Trail (some part might of required walking, but we didn't). <BR> <BR>You can see conditions varies greatly. A trip to Tucks was almost planned each year, however weather, partners and agenda all need to cooperate to make it possible.
 
The hike is not that bad since you're not sucking wind like at 11,000 feet above Tioga Pass. On April 28, 1990 it took about 3 hours from Pinkham Notch to the top of Left Gully, where I dumped the 38-pound pack for a while. I skied across the snowfield to the far right side of Headwall (the whole center section was severed by a waterfall, not really worth it in the mushy conditions that day), then hiked about 2/3 of Chute and skied that. Finally I climbed Left Gully again, retrieved the pack and skied it. <BR> <BR>My recommendation would be to climb Left Gully again, ski that plus Chute or Headwall if conditions permit, then hike across the rocks to Hillman's for the last run. <BR> <BR>Starting at 7:30AM and skiing 3 runs I was back in the car about 4PM. I suspect at less than half my age Frankontour could do more.
 
Thanks to share your experiences with us (I'm sure there is other readers that never went to Tucks that are taking notes too) <BR> <BR>According to what I read and saw, the Left Gully looks to be the safest place to hike in the ravine. (it also looks really interesting to ski) <BR> <BR>About TimeforTuckerman.com, yep, I watched the 100+ pics from their main expedition there, this year, and there was some pics of the lower mountain, although it looked more like a hiking trail than a ski trail. <BR> <BR>About your comment, Tony, I have a little question. As I've never seen a pic showing both Hillman's and Tucks, I wonder how it's long to pass from Left Gully to the top of Hillman's ? (in fact, I understood the 2 ski zones were neighbour just 2-3 weeks ago ! lol) <BR> <BR>About me... bof, the biggest vertical I climbed up to now is just 4000' (last year at Orford), so I don't know how much I could be able to do. It's sure that with a motel near there, I could be able to do more ! After the 4000', the 1h30 drive have really been extremely long for me. (I must say I hiked up/down many of the extreme trails of the mountain, that day...)
 
If they are hiking then it is the hiking trail(Skiing strictly forbidden). <BR> <BR>Early in the spring you can ski down via the Shelburne Ski Trail - this trail is for skiing only. Once the snow is gone in a section, they close it and redirect traffic to the hiking trail for the hike back down. <BR> <BR>The New England Ski Museum has a picture with both Hillmans and Tucks ski routes. I have seen this pic somewhere else on the net, but this is the best I can do for now. (I have this poster at home). <BR><A HREF="http://www.skimuseum.org/nposters-p.html" TARGET="_top">http://www.skimuseum.org/nposters-p.html</A> <BR> <BR> <BR>In the crazy category. <BR> <BR>Leaving Montreal in the morning and coming back at night (no skiing), both time on Canadian thanksgiving weekend (2wk in Oct.). <BR> <BR>In 1991, hike to the summit via the Tuckerman Ravine trail then down with Lion Head (right of Tuck). Temps were below freezing at Hojo, white-out condition above tree-line, something like -25c at top. <BR> <BR>In 1993, 94 or 95(?), hike via Boot Spur (ridge above Hillman - left from Tucks) to the summit then back down Lion Head. Beautiful weekend, warm temps. Blue skies, everyone forgot their cameras. My wife and I were planning to sleep in Gorham that night, but weren't able to find a room anywhere - so we eventually disdrove all the way back to Montreal. This time are group included my wife and I plus my friend and his wife. Some of us were not hiker, so.. I am sure you could do it. The scenery keeps you doing. <BR> <BR>What a day!!!
 
Thanx for the link, Patrick. Effectively, it's a small pic, but it's already easier to see how the place is done. Definitively, I couldn't be able to not try it next april (just hope I'll have some weekends without working)
 
(and also thanks for the stories !!) <BR>when I go there, I'll surely take the 138 pics I can take with my camera (in good quality)
 
This map shows the layout well: <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://timefortuckerman.com/tuckermanravinemap.html" TARGET="_blank">http://timefortuckerman.com/tuckermanravinemap.html</A> <BR> <BR>Here's a great aerial photo: <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.skypic.com/ski/10-6284.jpg" TARGET="_blank">http://www.skypic.com/ski/10-6284.jpg</A> <BR> <BR>The bowl in the center of the photo, just to the left of and (of course) below the summit, is Tuckerman. Hillman's is in the deep shadows to its left. That's Boott Spur predominating the left 1/3 of the photo. HoJos is in one of those clearings visible just above the "erm" in the word "Tuckermans" (which, incidentally, is incorrect -- it's "Tuckerman Ravine", not "Tuckermans Ravine"). <BR> <BR>Finally, you can see the Sherburne Ski Trail angling toward the lower right corner of the photo.
 
I put one of mine on my """"web page"""". <BR>This is the direct link. <BR>Sorry if a pub appear... can't do nothing for that ! <BR> <BR>Thanks to Briano (or the photograph, if it's not Brian... I just don't know) <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/frankontour502/washpan2.jpg" TARGET="_top">http://www.geocities.com/frankontour502/washpan2.jpg</A>
 
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