We're planning the 5th Annual Tuckerman Ravine Expedition and we'd
like you to be a part of it... The tentative dates are April 14
through 16, 2006... The definite dates will depend on how this year's
snowfall on Mount Washington shapes up... We will pick a definite date
2 weeks prior to leaving (so we can make travel and lodging
reservations) and then we'll keep our fingers crossed that the weather
and avalanche conditions are favorable when the time comes... If
avalanche conditions are bad both Saturday and Sunday we can always ski
the local commercial areas both days (not as exciting but still
nice)... Our "basecamp" will be the Royalty Inn in Gorham, NH with a
tentative schedule of arriving on Friday, hiking/skiing Tucks on
Saturday, and skiing Sunday River
in Maine (a commercial resort with lifts) on Sunday...
The expedition does require a reasonable level of physical fitness... The hike is several miles long and ascends about 2500 vertical feet... Figure on your backpack, boots, and skis weighing at least 40 pounds... I will lead a training/shakedown hike for those of you in the Baltimore/Washington area... The training hike will be held at Bob's Hill (1000 vertical feet) in the Catoctin Mountains north of Frederick, MD... We'll ascend and descend Bob's Hill twice... If you can do that while carrying your full rig, you're ready for Tucks... The skiing at Tuckerman Ravine is not necessarily the hard part (the hike usually is)... While the snow conditions can be widely variable (natural snow), the vast terrain has something for almost everyone... If you want extreme, climb to the lip of the headwall where you'll find terrain seldom seen at a commercial resort... If you want something easy, only go a third of the way up the bowl where the slope is much more gradual and the traverses wide and obstacle free... assuming we pick "the right" weekend, we'll ski down to the bottom of the mountain on the Sherburne Ski Trail which I'd rate as a "blue square" although bare spots and natural snow can make it a little trickier...
I'll be happy to provide information, logistical help, and social
coordination for the expedition but actual travel and lodging
reservations will be up to you... I'll keep in touch with the Royalty Inn and Southwest Airlines and let you
know when you need to get your reservations in but again, travel and
lodging is up to you... And while we're on the subject of
responsibility, hiking and skiing on Mount Washington can be a
hazardous activity... People have been known to get injured and/or die
there... while I'm happy to have you join my informal expedition I can
take no responsibility for what happens to you on the mountain (or in
the airplane or at the motel for that matter)... You're on your own !!!
If you're interested in joining the Fifth Annual Tuckerman Ravine
Expedition send an e-mail to me at: allenREMOVECAPITALLETTERSblack@comcast.net
and I'll keep you posted.
Here're a couple of good maps:
Topographical Map of
Mount Washington
and Vicinity
Map of Tuckerman Ravine
Skiing Areas
Here're some good links with more information pertinent to the expedition:
Friends Of Tuckerman
- this place has it all... buy a membership while you're there
Mount Washington Volunteer Ski
Patrol - this is the place for the best official information
Mount Washington
Observatory - this is the place for the best weather information
Time For Tuckerman - lots of
pictures and a good description of a typical outing at the ravine
Tuckerman Brewing Company
- this is what we get to drink at the end of the day
Royalty Inn - our "basecamp",
love their indoor pool and hot tub, great rates too
Sunday River Ski Area - for
"normal" skiing, one of the biggest and best in the northeast
Southwest Airlines - $79
round-trip from BWi TO mANCHESTER, nh
Here're some organizational e-mails that I wrote before and after the second and third expeditions... Together, I think they give a good picture of what the fourth expedition might be like:
E-mail About The Third
Expedition (Before We
Went - Letter 1)
E-mail About The Third Expedition
(Before We
Went - Letter 2)
E-mail About The Third Expedition
(Before We
Went - Letter 3)
E-mail About The Third Expedition
(Before We
Went - Letter 4)
E-mail About The Third Expedition
(Before We
Went - Letter 5)
E-mail About The Third Expedition
(Before We
Went - Letter 6)
E-mail About The Third Expedition
(After We Did
It !!!)
E-mail About The Second
Expedition (Before We
Went)
E-mail About The Second
Expedition (After We Did
It !!!)
On with the show !!!!!!
FOURTH EXPEDITION
Click here to see "all" the pictures from The Fourth Expedition
Fourth expedition, 9:00 AM on April 21, 2001... Let's get going !!!
(front row left-to-right) Joanne, Stuart, Kathi, Greg, Chuck
(back row left-to-right) Bob W., Bob S., Anne-Marie, John, Beth,
Benita, Rich, Mark, Allen
Happy hikers
Advanced Base Camp
It's steep going up...
And steep going down !!!
Celebration (Phase 1 - The Parking Lot)
Celebration (Phase 2 - Royalty Inn Room 110)
THIRD EXPEDITION
Click here to see "all" the pictures from The Third Expedition
Third expedition, 9:00 AM on April 15, 2000... Let's get going !!!
(front row left-to-right) Bob S. and Stuart
(back row left-to-right) Brian S., Bob W., Anne-Marie, Laura, Mark,
Allen, Greg, C.T., John V.
(further back on right) Tim and Kathi
(missing from picture, already on the trail) Brian V., Kim, and John ?
(missing from picture for reasons unknown) Carl
Awesome !!! ... We'll be skiing that shortly !!!
Looking down from way up high in "The Chute"
SECOND EXPEDITION
Second expedition, 8:45 AM on April 10, 1999... We're gonna do it
!!!
(left-to-right) Brian, Allen, Kim, Paul, Stuart, and Mark
It's getting cold and windy... gimme shelter
It's a long way down (and steep too) !!!
FIRST EXPEDITION
First expedition, 4:00 PM on April 12, 1998... We did it !!!
(left-to-right) Stuart, Mark, and Allen
45+% slopes, ducking the blowing chunks of ice... the summit of Mt.
Washington can be seen in the distance
Tuckerman Ravine in the distance... warning sign in the foreground
(it says "Be alert for avalanches and falling chunks of ice")