In the east coast, the idea of backcountry skiing is all but non-existent. One of the few, if not the only backcountry experiences in the east is that of Tuckerman Ravine, on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Hiking into the base of Tuckerman Ravine ravine takes a few hours, but once you are there, you will no why so many people make the trip. A 600 foot high, uninterrupted wall of snow that slopes steeply, before running out into a massive bowl.

There are several chutes that run down all sides of Tuckerman, as well as the 1200+ foot run that is Hillman’s Highway. We decided on making our ascent and subsequent descent via the Left Gully. The several hundred vertical feet of upward momentum needed to gain the top of the gully was a two hour suffer fest, but the view from the top was breathtaking, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. The only thing left to do was run the 50 degree slope back to the bottom. Breathe deep!

 

Dropping in to Left Gulley