BerkshiresBoarder
04-20-2004, 04:06 PM
I just got back from my first time skiing Tux, and everything went perfect! Tons of record high temps were set on Monday all across the east coast and even the Whites saw temps climb in to the upper 60's :sunshine:.
I got to Gorham on Sunday morning, and with the weather looking better for Monday, i decided to ski Wildcat for it's last day of operation. This turned out to be a good idea, as i had to get used to skiing again after several weeks off. Here's a shot of Mt. Washington under the overcast:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1276-med.JPG
After a long day of skiing, i got a room at the Royalty and went to bed early, dreaming of Tucks :snowdream:. Awoken by the sun before my alarm, i got out of bed and did last second preparations. I arrived at Pinkham at around 8 am and started up the trail at a normal pace. The hike was harder than i thought it would be, but maybe that was because i had a cold. Once i got out of the shelter of the trees, the winds really picked up. A small crowd of about 10 people were gathered on the deck at Hojo's watching little dots manuever their way down Hillman's, but no one saw skiiers in the ravine yet.
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1283-med.JPG
When arriving at the bowl, it turned out that there were a few people in both left and right gullies, probably trying to stay away from icefall danger which was high.
How many people do you see?
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1290-med.JPG
It took me a few minutes to put aside my fears, but soon enough i started hiking up left gulley continuously looking back at the steepness. Once i made my way over to the main boot ladder i got less scared and couldn't stop hiking. I watched a tele skier make his way down the steep section at the top, creating an ongoing sluff of wet snow running right next to me :eek:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1295-med.JPG
I strapped in a little ways before the steepest section and made my way down:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1297-med.JPG
With my board on, it didn't look quite as steep as when i was hiking up, but it was still a challenge and a thrill the whole way down. I flew out of the gulley and traversed under the chute anxious to try another run. After a long break i went up to the right of the big waterfall (which you can see on the third pic) and did another run down the bowl.
I decided not to try to negotiate a way down the Little Headwall around the large rush of water, and hiked down to the beginning of the Sherburne. It did not look good, with many bare patches and large ice and slush patches. However i was grateful to have been able to subtract a third of the hike down. Here's a shot towards the end of the open section:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1306-med.JPG
I hope some others made it up during the stretch of warm weather, and if you didn't get up there soon!
I got to Gorham on Sunday morning, and with the weather looking better for Monday, i decided to ski Wildcat for it's last day of operation. This turned out to be a good idea, as i had to get used to skiing again after several weeks off. Here's a shot of Mt. Washington under the overcast:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1276-med.JPG
After a long day of skiing, i got a room at the Royalty and went to bed early, dreaming of Tucks :snowdream:. Awoken by the sun before my alarm, i got out of bed and did last second preparations. I arrived at Pinkham at around 8 am and started up the trail at a normal pace. The hike was harder than i thought it would be, but maybe that was because i had a cold. Once i got out of the shelter of the trees, the winds really picked up. A small crowd of about 10 people were gathered on the deck at Hojo's watching little dots manuever their way down Hillman's, but no one saw skiiers in the ravine yet.
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1283-med.JPG
When arriving at the bowl, it turned out that there were a few people in both left and right gullies, probably trying to stay away from icefall danger which was high.
How many people do you see?
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1290-med.JPG
It took me a few minutes to put aside my fears, but soon enough i started hiking up left gulley continuously looking back at the steepness. Once i made my way over to the main boot ladder i got less scared and couldn't stop hiking. I watched a tele skier make his way down the steep section at the top, creating an ongoing sluff of wet snow running right next to me :eek:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1295-med.JPG
I strapped in a little ways before the steepest section and made my way down:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1297-med.JPG
With my board on, it didn't look quite as steep as when i was hiking up, but it was still a challenge and a thrill the whole way down. I flew out of the gulley and traversed under the chute anxious to try another run. After a long break i went up to the right of the big waterfall (which you can see on the third pic) and did another run down the bowl.
I decided not to try to negotiate a way down the Little Headwall around the large rush of water, and hiked down to the beginning of the Sherburne. It did not look good, with many bare patches and large ice and slush patches. However i was grateful to have been able to subtract a third of the hike down. Here's a shot towards the end of the open section:
http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/data/592/1188DSCN1306-med.JPG
I hope some others made it up during the stretch of warm weather, and if you didn't get up there soon!