Trip Reports - Hiking in the White Mountains

Tuckerman's Ravine, Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA

(June 29,1998)

Under construction

Background

Tuckerman's Ravine is a trek I try to make every June after the running of the Mount Washington Auto Road Race . Each year the ravine has a different look. In previous years, there has been enough snow to ski on in July (1996, 1997) and possibly August (1997) while in other years (1995, 1998) there's only a small or large collection of ice chunks at the base of the headwall.







Depending on the amount of snow and ice, the Tuckerman Ravine trail at the headwall may be closed and all foot traffic heads up the Lion Head trail.

This Year's Hike

This year, it was a coin-toss whether to hike up Mount Washington. I knew that there was little ice left in the ravine (last year there was nearly top to bottom ravine skiing on the 4th of July). The weather conditions were suppose to deteriorate over the course of day leading to lots of clouds, rain, and thunder storms.



Well the rain gear had been tested on the Madison hike. Since I figured no hike could be as wet as that one, it was really a question of whether my head-cold would be a problem while hiking, and how long it would be before we would have a thunder storm rolling over the mountain top or sliding up Pinkham Notch.

After breakfast at Pinkham Notch Camp, I minimally packed up the day pack and then started up the trail with a father and family (the wife was going to meet the group at the summit with the car). (Of course my dad always had us hike up and DOWN the mountain when we were young, but that's another story). I figured if my head cold symptoms did not get too back I could probably make it up to the summit. I've been up many times over many different trails and this time would be give me some measure what a cold does to my normal breathing.

We proceeded at a brisk pace up the lower section of the trail with occasional stops. The bugs were present, but not out in mass. This was a pleasant surprise given the large amount of rain that fell in the White Mountains in June.







traverse up the headwall

Thunder storm

Ice Remains at the headwall

Back Down The Headwall

Return back down the headwall and the stop to

look behind the ice chunks

Flow of clouds into the ravine as the afternoon wore on

Views From The Summit On A Less Cloudy Day

Other Trails to the Summit

A shorter hike to the summit is possible by a western approach. By hiking via the Jewell Trail or the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail both of which start at the Cog Railway Station at Marshfield, one can hike to the summit in under 3 hours.