Gulf of Slides 4/9 - Corn Harvest

[David Metsky]

Pretty darn epic.

Brenda (Seeker) organized this trip for a bunch of us to have a Mt Washington backcountry bonanza, and the weather and snow gods provided one in spades. From our luxury condo at Attitash we headed out early to Pinkham on Saturday morning. Some in our group scoffed at our worry about a parking spot but when we had to scramble for a place they showed Rob and I the respect and honor we so truely deserved. Alas, they'd forgotten about it 2 minutes later. Ran into Seema and Brian getting ready for a training climb in Tux with Frodo and Skimom.

We started skinning up GoS around 8:30, and we weren't alone but it was nothing compared to the hoards headed up Tux. We met a few friends along the way (Marta, Nick & Pat) and made it to the base of GoS around 10:30. We elected to climb the 2nd Gully, and then some in the group headed to the snowfields while the rest of us descended back to the packs. Our first run in GoS, pretty sweet! The snow had corned just perfectly, and there was great skiing as far as the eye could see.

We skinned up to the base of the snowfields, ate lunch, dropped pack and headed up for some more runs. At one point, Sonoma the hound got a bit spooked and Stefan had to carry him (86 lbs of golden!) down a ways while skiing. Once back on snow he was fine again, I think he just wanted to see Stefan ski up close. We did several runs here and around 3:00 called it a day. It was tough to leave, the snow was so good. But we had miles to go and our legs were pretty shot.

The ski out was a bit tiring, but the snow stayed soft and skiable all the way out to the cars. Just two places where we had to take of skis to cross streams, lots of folks just kept them on across the rocks and logs. At the parking lot at Pinkham people were kicking back and having a brew and a cigar. We took a well deserved rest and headed back to the condo.

LOTS O' PHOTOS HERE

Lots more to add later. Some video and pix from the other camera. Sunday the group split in two and some went on an ill-fated trip to Ammonoosuc Ravine while the rest of us went to Tux. I took a few photos there as well.

-dave-

 

[sapblatt]

David -

To a nonskier those are some amazingly frightening images. Looks like you all had a blast. The gulf of slides is on the Route 16 side of Mount Washington, right?

 

[MadRiver]

Nice Photos.

Any chance you could give me a brief description of the difference between the Gulf of Slides and the main bowl at Tuckerman, with respect to the pitch and difficulty factor. From your photos, the Gulf of Slides definitely looks doable for my age and skiing ability. Thanks.

 

[David Metsky]

The steepest parts of GoS are about 40 degrees, which is not as steep as the steepest parts of Tux (50+). The majority of the terrain we were on was between 30 and 40, and there's only a few places near 40 and plenty of less steep terrain to choose from. The conditions were so good on Saturday that the steepest stuff was quite skiable. The snowfields have a variety of steepnesses availalable including some easier options.

GoS is just south of Tuckerman Ravine. The trail leaves the very bottom of the Sherburne trail and goes for about 2.5 miles to the base of the ravine. It's a little more gentle than the Tuckerman Ravine trail, but narrower and a bit more twisty.

Tux trip report tomorrow.

-dave-

 

[Seeker]

I can say that this was the steepest stuff I'd ever skied. Definitely steeper that any ski area in NE (that I am aware of).

But soooo fun! Woo wee! I'd go for it Mad River. You can pretty much pick an area where the slope angle is less steep--or just don't go up as high.

 

[rambler]

Wow! Great photos, cloudless day! Last year's article in SI on Tuckerman's said if you put the tip of a pole at your foot, hold the top in your hand and put your arm out straight from your shoulder the pole will be at a 45 degree slope. If you were standing with your skiis on, your outstreached hand would be touching the snow (the pole would represent the hill itself), now that is steep! FYI Gulf of Slides is surrounded by Glen Boulder, Davis Path along the top, and Boot Spur, more or less. I'm impressed you all did several runs and still had leg strength to do the tight turns on the way out Sherburne. Did you meet any downhill, ie. alpine, not tele skiers hiking up or skiing?

 

[David Metsky]

GoS was mostly tele skiers, probably 75%. The remaining folks were AT, snowboards and splitboards, and a few alpine skiers. The numbers are quite different in Tuckerman.

The Gulf of Slides trail out was a bit tiring, but we saved a bit by stopping around 3:00. The Sherburne trail out from Tuckerman (the following day) was a little easier since it is wider. On the other hand, my legs were even more shot.

-dave-