Is it Tuckerman or Tuckerman's? (5.1.10)

Tuckerman Ravine x2

Well, the mid week dump was just the excuse we needed to head back up to NH and visit Tuckerman Ravine once more. This time around I was bringing a long big mountain charger Leigh Trombley. She was skiing Tucks for the first time as a birthday gift for her father, who apparently use do rip it up with a sick ‘stache back in the 70’s and 80’s. And I should say she was bringing me along. Having a Vespa as my sole form of transportation is fine for getting around Boston, but a board strapped across my back heading up 93N isn’t the safest thing, plus the extra drag would really cut down on fuel economy.

5am came early on Saturday morning. Tuning two sets of skis and a board the night before probably wasn’t the smartest idea but it was definitely worth it. A few hours of sleep and we were off. Our ride for the day was a sweet Mini Cooper S and I reluctantly took the wheel for the morning drive. Fitting a set of skis and a board inside was pretty entertaining but worked well. Who needs a big car to go skiing?

Three hours later and we were pulling past Joe Dodge Lodge and heading to the closest store for some food for the hike. We stopped for the essentials, PB & J, Gatorade, bananas, ham & cheese sandwich, a 22oz Bud Light can, and a 22oz Bud Heavy bottle. 10 more minutes and we were in the overflow lot loading up the gear. The weather at Pinkham Notch was going to get pretty warm so the only way to keep the victory beer cold was to take it with us.

Once at Joe Dodge Lodge we got an update from the AMC volunteers on the current avalanche dangers. The high winds had loaded up the entire Ravine so sadly ski patrol wouldn’t be letting anyone ski there. So it looked like I’d be heading back up Hillman’s Highway once again. Oh joy.

After rigging up Leigh’s skis, we started going up, and up, and up. The snow that had come during the week was quickly retreating up the trail but after about a half hour, we hit the white stuff.

Leigh breaking trail

Before we knew it, we were turning the corner to HoJo’s. The beautiful blue skies put a smile on everyone’s face as they suited up for the next leg of the journey. Ski patrol was warning people to only ski the lower snow fields or head up to the top of Hillman’s. After a quick break for a bite to eat, we set off. The main difference between this time and last time was the temperature. This time around, we’d be doing the hike in short sleeve shirts under a baking sun.

Arrival at HoJo's

Crowded house

What a terrible way to spend a Saturday

If you’ve never hiked Hillman’s there is an easy way to know how the hike is going. You start off the hike with a positive attitude, excited for what’s to come. Next up, you feel commitment to the hike. You press on, still feeling good. Then it starts to get serious. Then fun things start happening as the slope gets steeper, sweat starts dripping into your sunglasses, a mixture of sweat and sun tan lotion gets into your eyes and you start asking yourself, “What the hell am I doing?” When you start to think this, you know you are getting close. Just when you say, “This sucks,” you are just a few meters away. Or at least that’s what I got from monitoring Leigh.

Back at the top with Wildcat Mountain in the distance

We finally reached the top and met our new friend for the day, Harold, and his cool golden retriever that made the climb with him. I have never seen such a fit looking dog. Harold was nice enough to take our picture and the 4 of us were soon setting off down the hill. Not many people had made the hike to the top of Hillman’s that day so we got some good snow to make our first few turns. Once below we reaches some pretty bumpy conditions, but who really cared, it was May 1st and we were skiing! We took a few stops along the way and bumped chatted with Harold and super dog. Super dog was so good at racing down hill that Harold had to put him in ‘stay’ until he could get a sizeable head start.

Preparing for the descent

Clouds moving in...time to head back down

Leigh testing out her freshly tuned skis

Harold and Wonder Mut

We finally got back to HoJo’s and instead of taking a break we continued down the Sherburne trail. Our hike had started at 11am and it was now closing in on 4:45pm. Once we reached the disappointing end of the snow, we switched back to hiking mode. We did get a special treat on the hike down. Another skier had brought along an iPod with a speaker set up. Nothing like hiking downhill to the sounds of Hall & Oats.

The hike back down, not quite as much fun as the hike up

Before the last turn down to Joe Dodge Lodge, Leigh and I ascended the stone steps to get a shot of the waterfall and celebrate with a Bud.

Mountain pose? In Sanskrit "Bud Heavy 22"

This view never gets old

Finally back to the car with Tuckerman Ravine stickers in tow, we loaded up and started the trek home. After burning 57,000 calories during the day we decided to treat/sicken ourselves with some sweet burgers beneath the golden arcs of McDowell’s. Man did it hit the spot. My salt stained shirt told me that I really needed some salty fries to replenish my system. Thanks to the gondola tables, it is now Leigh’s favorite restaurant on earth.

Victory burger

We finally arrived back in Somerville, exhausted but ecstatic after an amazing day and an amazing end to the season. See you on the hill somewhere in the fall!!