What makes a great Tuckerman's trip? Well, it's good
to go with a big crowd, although I've had memorable trips going alone, or
with just a couple of friends like Margo, Terry or Tucker. And no, the bowl
wasn't named after him, although it might just as well have been. A
big crowd helps, because then there are many hands to collect wood and set
up the tents and cook and enjoy a campfire. It's always fun when
the group is mixed with skiers and non-skiers, with Tuck vets and first
timers. This way there is always someone to help if somebody is a little
tired or not quite sure where to go, or where to ski.
Other good things in a trip are plenty of snow and
warm sunny weather. But, then again, I have gone up there when there was
almost no snow and that was a trip I will never forget. Of course I
did almost get killed on a July 1 trip, when I fell onto the rocks and was
lucky to walk away with just a broken collarbone. A toboggan or two always
makes for a good time in the Bowl, but I remember having a great time
using Chantal Archambault as a sled. And good weather isn't always critical.
On one occasion, we were a small group camping out in the Gulf of Slides.
The weather was horrible, snowy and cold, but we still managed to hike up
and over the ridge and come down Hillman's Highway and then the Sherburne
and then back up to our tents. On that trip it was still snowing when
darkness fell, so we crowded into the biggest tent, which wasn't very big
and played Razorback (a game with dice that are little pigs). No one
can ever tell me that wasn't a great trip.
Yep, friends, sun, snow, and a toboggan or two all
help make for a wonderful time in, and around, the glacial cirque that
hangs just below the peak of the Northeast's highest peak: Mount
Washington. In itself you can't really have a bad trip. Just getting down
there and hiking up to the ravine is a physical challenge that would bring
anyone great joy from elite athlete to an old fat man (and, we had
both on this trip!). What makes a truly great and memorable trip, however,
goes beyond the number of people and the weather and equipment. There is
always that one unexpected moment or moments, that will stand out for a
lifetime, even lifetimes: Something that sears into memory because it is
both incredible and unexpected.
We went down to the US with a group of nine, a good
sized group. We had pretty good weather and a fun time around the campfire
at Barnes Field. We got up late and were late into the Bowl, but that was
mainly because we had enjoyed such a good time around the campfire. Leroux
had shown us how to heat up rocks and place them in our sleeping bags to
keep warm. Be careful if you try this though, because as Oliver found out,
the rocks can burn a hole in your sleeping bag. But if you heat the stones
up long enough, and then let them cool just enough, the rocks will stay
warm right into the morning. Just ask Florence. We had a great tent (with
a disco ball that provides a moving starry sky when you shine a flashlight
on it). It all helps. Em Legault brought her 10 man tent and so we
all crowded in, and it was fun sleeping together. And maybe it was the
rocks or the nice warm tent, but we all made it up to the Bowl that day.
Ronan had to help Margo, Stone helped Emily, Emily helped Savannah,
Florence and Oliver carried all the beer, Leroux brought the vegetarian
chili and Sonnel handled the video. How can you go wrong with a group like
that?
Our big group of skiers, boarders, beer drinkers
and tobogganers all got up there and gathered around our own rock, and put
down our packs. When we looked up, there was Oliver and 11-year-old
Savannah heading up the Bowl. We thought they were going just a short way
up to where the Bowl gets steep and where there is a small ledge to put
your skis on. But when they got to this point, Savanna kept climbing and
she passed Oliver, who followed her all the way up to to a
rock outcropping that sits right in the middle of a run called
Hourglass. Oliver told me later that he hadn't planned on going that
high. That's a long way up for a boarder as young as Savanna. I've seen
other kids up that high, but they took a lot of coaxing to come down. Not
Savannah. She clipped in and down she slid a long way, even managing to
carve a few turns to the whoops and cheers of just about everyone in the
bowl that day.
Obviously, we had a good time in the Bowl, but the
unexpected moments were not over. The trail was still snow covered and as
it turned out, the best way down the slope this day was by
flying saucer and toboggan: These were two forms of snow travel that only
our group had. I believe that Emily, Savannah, Ronan and Margo all
set records for the length of toboggan ride. Actually there was one other
guy there with a sled. He had a super duper, high tech snow runner which
cost around 400$. We saw him ride that down from the same ledge Oliver and
Savannah had boarded from. It was a crazy Rodgers-kind of thing to do.
Stunts like this are fun to watch, but you have to remember there is real
danger in the Bowl.
If you visit http://timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11450,
you can see some pix and a story from a well-prepared group (much better
prepared than we were) who had some close calls with falling ice, a hazard
that you need to be very aware of while in the Bowl. Also it is worth
reading an accident report from that day which describes a fall and an
avalanche (even though the danger was marked as low.) The Report is at http://tuckerman.org/accident/20082009.htm.
This happened not in the
Bowl., but on what I would describe as an extreme slope (Dodge's Drop).
I don't want to be a downer, but like anything else you do, it's best to
be aware of the risks in order to stay safe. This is what we did all day
by not going too high and camping out in the middle of the bowl.
Of course back in the parking lot we had a few more
beer and Leroux bought Savannah a t-shirt and baseball cap to commemorate
her going so high in the Bowl. The ride home was pretty good too, although
whenever we stopped, I had trouble moving again.
In our van we ate Triscuits with cheese and spicy
beef jerky, and drank more beer. Flo and Savannah slept, while Oliver,
Leroux and I listened tot the hockey game in French. The game was so bad
that we were happy we weren't home to watch it on television.
Later, Terry told me his car had stopped at the
MooseLook for supper.
Everyone on this trip loved the experience,
especially Emily, who wrote on her Facebook: "Hiked
up Mount Washington and tobogganed the whole way down! Best day of
my life." I thought that was pretty impressive especially because a few
times on the hike up, we didn't think she was going to make it all
the way!
One more thing that I know
about great Tuck trips: They come in bunches. You get an unexpected great
one like this, and then the experience snowballs. Suddenly there are even
more takers on the next trip, and many of the original crowd want to go
again. So, we're already planning the next Tucks trip. First weekend
in May, we hope to head down, camp out and head up to the bowl. So, try to
make the time. If the photos here don't convince you, then check out
Terry's video, which should be up soon. It shows a great trip to
Tuckerman's Ravine. Does it rank as the number one trip of all time? Nope.
I couldn't say it's the greatest of all time, because I am saving that
description for the next trip down, the one we hope you'll come on.
