Created 4-Mar-19
Modified 4-Mar-19
This gallery captures one of several winter trips up Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt. Washington. On one occasion I missed a turn while skiing and went all the way to the bottom going sideways on my skis. It was so steep I couldn't stop. The next time I left the skis behind and "skied" down on the bottom of my boots. The last picture captures what that is like. In those years they used to shoot a canon into the headwall to unleash loose snow to prevent unexpected avalanches. Last week (Feb 2019) I spoke to an appalachian mountain club employee who said that he had heard the rumor of a canon but did not know whether it was true. I assured him it was. He said that canons were taken out of service elsewhere because of shells that would hit the mountain but not go off -- a hazard for curious summer hikers. I had never thought of that. One of the pictures show just how deep the snow is off the side of the trail which is well packed from hikers. I've heard that there are places in the Ravine itself where the snow sometimes gets to be 100 feet deep.
© Robert Peek Photography