jculligan

The lady wanted a bit of an adventure today, so we wandered up to the First Aid cache at the floor of Tuckerman Ravine late this morning. The wind was absolutely insane at Pinkham Notch (car shaking gusts as we were getting geared up) and you can imagine things were off the hook at the floor of the ravine. The avalanche danger was lowered to "moderate" this morning, but the advisory indicated that there was a low probability of avalanches up to D3 (large and destructive; the type that can take down trees) if something were to trigger...and with the raging wind and low visibility, we wouldn't even see/hear it coming. For that reason, the First Aid cache was as far as I was comfortable going since anything beyond that is most definitely avalanche terrain. Between the skier traffic yesterday, and the incredible wind today...the Sherburne Trail is down to very hard snow with sections of exposed rock. I think I'll be back to lapping groomers this week until we can get more snow. I would imagine the ravines were pummeled to the point that the avalanche rating will likely be reduced further this week, but "slide for life" conditions will prevail instead. No interest in that. The backcountry is once again on hold around here.

Conditions were very good in Phin's neighborhood today. We haven't reached the magical 40" snow depth, so it was definitely a little brushy/scrubby in sections (especially the steeper pitches) but it was nice to finally get some turns on an off piste glade. Crescent Ridge is a super fun zone! I'll be back after the next storm/period of persistent upslope.

There was about 3" of new snow last night with a persistent westerly wind of 30-40 mph in the alpine zone today. No doubt there was some pretty significant loading at the top of Left today. With snow falling on the mountain right now and a significant wind event shaping up for the weekend, the ravines are definitely a "no go" for me over the next few days. Mellow trees will be the ticket this weekend.

Heading up to Phin's hood to check out the Crescent Ridge Glade tomorrow morning. No snow here in Jackson this evening. Hopefully it's a different story north of Pinkham.

The NAM has been consistently painting a strip of enhanced QPF in parts of Grafton and Carroll Counties this evening...sometime in the 21z-03z tmeframe. Seems to be a squall signal with the passing arctic front. The latest run actually has a very narrow strip of up to 0.30" which could mean someone really cashes in with the high ratio fluff we've been seeing lately. Looks like a fun evening ahead. Appears we picked up at least 1" here overnight, and I see the remote site at Hermit Lakes picked up around 3 inches. The Sherbie should be good this morning.

My neighborhood! I'm less than a mile up the road from the Black Mountain base area. I absolutely love the vibe at Black; you can't get more of a quintessential "Mom and Pop" New England ski hill than Black Mountain. It is, however, very tiny...so I would check it out more for the character than the variety of terrain. They really cater to the uphill crowd, so you'll see quite a few people skinning there (probably including myself) compared to other mountains, but in general the place almost always seems empty. Black Mountain has southern exposure and a base elevation near 1200' so I find it is a really good spot on the bitter cold days when it's sub-zero at places like Wildcat, Bretton Woods and Cannon. It is also downslope of Mount Washington, which means it gets way more sun than neighboring ski areas to the west but also takes a hit in the snowfall department as we have seen this year. I saw an old advertisement from like the 1940s that said, "Ski Black Mountain. Ski in the Sun" and it definitely appears to ring true more often than not. Cozy little place.

I took my AIARE 1 in 2019 and I attend the ESAW every autumn. MWAC actually ran a series of virtual presentations on Thursday nights this past fall which were offered for free, and I found those to be nice refreshers as well. I think my background in meteorology and overall experience in the mountains helps a ton as well. The main avalanche problem today was wind slab, but I found it was fairly easy to avoid if you knew what to look for. We traversed around sections where the snow had a more styrofoam/hollow texture...even though that certainly would have made for an easier boot pack ha. There was definitely a lot of wallowing in deep snow today, but I'd rather that than risk kicking off a slab and going for a ride...even if it means a slower ascent time.

This can obviously vary from one year to the next, but in a "typical" year I find that the best skiing on Mount Washington tends to line up around April 1st. That seems to be the time when you can maximize your potential for a top-to-bottom run from the summit down to Pinkham Notch. However...there have certainly been years (the last two in particular) when early April has featured conditions more representative of mid winter...which means you need to have avalanche education/tools OR be willing to deal with heavily scoured/icy conditions that don't soften up over the course of the day. If you wait until the mid April timeframe, the snowpack tends to become more isothermal (lower avalanche risk) and the skiing can be quite good in the ravine...but you start to run the risk of the Sherburne Trail melting out, which requires a bit of a hike to get back to the car. So I guess it all depends on exactly what you are looking for. If you're just looking to ski the ravine but you're ok with the possibility of hiking the last 1-2 miles back to Pinkham...anytime from mid April to early May is probably when you'd want to target. But for a full summit-to-Pinkham run, April 1st to April 15th is what I would recommend.

Tagged my first big mountain objective today. Skinned from Pinkham Notch to the floor of Tuckerman Ravine, then booted up Left Gully...which is an east-facing couloir on the west side of the ravine. Things are rapidly filling in, and I was able to ski in/ski out without having to carry the skis once. Considering the lean start to the year, Left Gully skied exceptionally well with only a few scoured sections higher up as is typically the case. Interestingly enough...I have never waited so long to ski the Sherburne Trail before, but this is the earliest I have ever skied the ravine.

Fast-moving squall just put down a quick 0.3" here. Sunshine and blue skies once again now.

Incredible to have the privilege of enjoying these conditions during the middle of the week!! I have skied the Sherbie countless times before, but when I was a "weekend warrior" I almost never got to experience a true powder day given the popularity of that trail. I reached the top of the skin track around 8am this morning, and I think there were only three people that had gone down at that point...so there was plenty of untracked powder which simply would not have been there at the same time on a Saturday or Sunday. I'm loving the option to snag a quick lap on what previously required a 3+ hour commute from Massachusetts! Darkening skies here in Jackson now. I think the squall that just unloaded on Alex may have made the push over the Notch. About to find out...

Definitely need another synoptic event south of Crawford and Pinkham Notches. We managed a half inch imby this morning, but for the most part we still have the death crust leftover from last weekend with a little dust on top of it here in Jackson. The Doublehead ski trail behind my house is not very enjoyable at the moment, and this area just doesn't get the upslope. Amazing what a different world it is just 20 minutes north right now.

Well that was an unbelievable morning ski tour. Pulled into the Pinkham Parking lot to find 2.5" of fresh blower, and amounts quickly increased to at least 4-6" by the time I got up to 3900 feet. The Sherburne Trail skied like a dream with nary a rock or a water bar the entire way down. It's amazing how our base has improved over the last week. Winter is full on!

Looks like the SNOTEL at Hermit Lakes picked up 4" of snow overnight. Up to a 31" depth there now. Doing a lap on the Sherburne Trail before work this morning...should be quite nice!

Skinned a pre-dawn lap up Wildcat this morning and experienced some of the best alpenglow I've ever seen. Makes the dark start so, so worth it.

I'm kicking myself now, because for some reason the idea of Crescent Ridge didn't even pop into my head until this evening. I would have much rather skied 20" of powder in your neck of the woods than served as a human-powered ice breaker in my backyard! But with deep cold moving in and a few more nickel-and-dime type events this week, I would imagine Crescent Ridge will be skiing very well for the foreseeable future. Back on the weather side...I do like the potential for some squalls tomorrow night. It takes an extremely unstable setup for the squalls to push over the Notches into my neighborhood, but I have a feeling you'll be good for a couple/few inches of fluff by Wednesday morning.

I do feel like this is my obligation lol. One of the trade offs of being able to set a skin track from your front door

I feel the same way. Granite Backcountry Alliance has done a ton of work over the last few years to thin out specific glade zones, and I've been looking forward to exploring them this season. One of the zones is up on Crescent Ridge, which is very close to where Phin is located. Given the fact that Phin pulled nearly 20" out of this event, I think that might be my target zone next weekend. There is something to be said for the more open hardwoods in Vermont. NH has more extreme terrain with the various gullies and couloirs that are scattered throughout our alpine terrain in the Presidentials; so we have the steeps, but I think Vermont has far better tree skiing.

Finally got to do a backyard ski tour both yesterday and today. I think "character building" is the best way to describe it here on the eastern slope. We managed 8" of snow here at 1500' on Saturday and probably more like 10-12" at the top of North Doublehead (3,000') behind my house...but the freezing line soared all the way to the summits at the end of the day, with the event ending as rain. We did not get any of the upslope on the backside of the storm, so when temps tickled back below freezing we ended up with a horrendous crust that wasn't enough to support your weight (the dreaded "breakable crust" to put it into ski terms). The only way to safely descend without tweaking your knee or tearing your ACL was to alternate between jump turns, downhill kick turns, side stepping or the good old fashioned pizza. Really quite horrendous for backcountry skiing. The crust was still there today, but it has firmed up and is a little more supportive...so I feel like today's tour allowed me to ski a little bit more normally. You guys on the west side are so damn lucky to have the benefit of upslope. The woods out this way are not in good shape (even if they look pretty). But hey, it's going to be one hell of a base that we can now (hopefully) build on.

I don't think our snow depth really took a hit because it was relatively brief, but it definitely dripped off the trees. But I feel good heading into the upcoming colder spell with a foot of snow on the ground. It's real winter now.

Things did get a little dicey here at the tail end of the event. I measured 8" at 3pm but it turned to sleet and even rain very shortly afterward, and we did creep up to 35F with mist/drizzle for a few hours. I skinned up to the summit of Wildcat after sunset this evening, and it was sheet drizzle straight to the summit at 4k. Hopefully we can get some scraps from the wraparound overnight to make it pretty again.

Seriously thinking about it tomorrow. Doublehead is literally right behind my house, and we have a 12" base in my backyard now (presumably more up top which is at 3k). I've got a pair of rock skis so I may take them out tomorrow and just see what I find. Its mid January and I'm anxious lol.

8" down as the precipitation starts to let up. Some pingers mixed in to add a little extra beefiness to the pack. Solid 12" on the ground now. Still holding at 32F. I know the valleys got skunked, but things finally seem right here at 1500 feet!

Getting hard to tell because of drifting, but I just got multiple 7" measurements in the yard. I think we picked up at least 2.5" between noon and 1:00. Still 32F with heavy snow and it appears the back edge may be filling in a bit.

Another 1.3" last hour for a total of 4.3" as of noon. Still holding at 32/31. Hoping we can keep this going for a couple more hours. Nearly every event has landed at almost exactly 6" here so far, and it appears this event won't be much different. I'll take it!