Tucked into the southeast side of Mount Washington, New England's highest mountain, Tuckerman Ravine is a one-of-a-kind skiing experience that is famous worldwide. There are no lifts, and you have to hike nearly three miles to get to the skiing. Because of its location, though, it collects an enormous amount of snow and people ski the ravine well into summer. Skiing Tuckerman is a right of passage for many New England skiers.
For a number of reasons, skiing here is not for the faint of heart, nor the out of shape skier. This is where extreme skiing originated and the ravine has been skied for nearly 100 years. When skiing was first becoming popular in the 1930s, there began an occasional race down Mount Washington through Tuckerman Ravine. This race resulted in one of the most famous ski runs, by Austrian Toni Matt, in the 1939 edition. Skiing down through the snowfields from the summit, he misjudged the lip of the headwall and came over in a tuck, shooting straight down the ravine in record time.
Getting There
There is only one way get to Tuckerman Ravine - on foot. The trail to Tuckerman starts at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center. This center, which has some lodging and bunk houses, is located on New Hampshire Route 16, 11 miles south of Gorham, New Hampshire and 15 miles from North Conway. The hike in from the visitor's center to Hermit Lake is 2.4 miles. There are shelters and tent sites here and you can register and pay at Pinkham Notch if you want to spend the night. From here, the bottom of the bowl is another half mile. The total trip has an elevation rise of about 2,500 feet and takes an average of 3 hours with all of your equipment. From the bottom of the bowl you choose your route and hike up to where you want to start.
The Skiing
There are a number of routes down Tuckerman Ravine. Where you ski and how far you can go depends on the conditions and how good you are. Early season skiers can actually ski down from the top of the mountain through the snowfields, then dip over the headwall and down the ravine. Most of the time, people don't go to that much trouble, and many don't really want to come off the 50+ degree slope at the top of the headwall.
The main bowl has about 10 routes down, all of them varying degrees of expert trail. Earlier in the season you can also ski on the south side of the Ravine, called Hillman's Highway. There are about 7 routes down Hillman's, which are generally considered easier than most of the ones in the bowl, although there are a couple of very difficult ones. It is recommended that you hike up your intended route so you know the terrain on the way back down.
A great place to watch and have something to eat is on the lunch rocks, which are to the right of the main bowl as you look up. From here you can see most of the action, enjoy the afternoon sun and cheer for a great run.
As far as safety is concerned, you are on your own. For this reason it is not recommended for children, no matter how good they are. There is a volunteer Mount Washington Ski Patrol, but even in an emergency you can be hours away from real help.
Getting Back
For many visitors to Tuckerman, getting back home is as much fun as the Ravine. Snow on The Sherburne Ski Trail can last into late April, and when the snow runs out you can just walk the rest of the way down the adjacent hiking trail. The ski trail starts at the caretaker's hut at the base of the ravine, nicknamed HoJo's. It usually takes about 30 minutes to ski down the trail, which is very narrow in spots and rated as an expert trail, although the drop is mostly pretty easy.
Tuckerman Ravine is usually skiable from mid to late March until early June, or later, depending on the snow conditions. Due to the occasional spring snow storm, avalanches are a constant threat. You can check with the Appalachian Mountain Club at the Pinkham Notch visitor center for current conditions (603-466-2721), or online at www.tuckerman.org.
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