Up Huntington, down Tuckerman
John going up The Slab
Not to put too fine a point on it, but photographically speaking, this trail would be more enjoyable to hike with a woman.
Way to go John.......my turn now
There are a few people I really enjoy hiking with. Unfortunately, they were all busy this day...so I went with John.
I decided to shoot a lot of video and make a mini-movie to share with the masses. For those who have been there, this is same ole same ole. But for those who haven't visited Huntington Ravine, this might give you a small taste of what it's like to walk up this ravine.
I sort of divide the ravine part of the hike into three parts: The Fan, The Slab, and The Scrambles.
The Fan: I go straight up the fan, screw the trail proper. I did the trail up the fan once. Wasn't much of a trail. The other three times I've gone straight up, keeping to the left...this brings you pretty much right to the slab.
The Slab: This is the famous, sexy part of the headwall. Makes for nice pics. But to me (and John agreed), it's not even close to the toughest part of the headwall. If you've got sticky soles and decent core strength, you'll get up the slab without too much trouble. Oh, one thing though...don't fall here. Although it's not the most difficult part of the headwall, it is probably the place where you least want to fall. Falling here will contribute significantly to decreasing the enjoyment of your day.
The Scrambles: Once you get past The Slab, but before the slope starts to moderate, there are two or three spots where you'll say, "Really? The trail goes there?" Again, not as sexy as the slab, but more difficult to negotiate. Takes a little creativity in some spots.
Remember, this trip report isn't directed at rock climbers, it's directed at the average hiker who might be interested in going up this trail. The Huntington Ravine Trail is baby piss for rock climbers. Which is why you'll see them instead off to the side, in the gullys, wearing their Stan Makita helmets. John has done this trail twice, I've done it four times. I'll bet I've taken a different path up the slab every single time....sometimes right up the main crack in the rock, sometimes up the flat crackless part of the slab. We do different paths based on our mood at that particular moment. The video and photos are not meant to be any sort of rock climbing treatise. We go there to have fun. Period.
On this day, the recent rain plus the low clouds/fog made the rocks not wet, but just on the cusp of being slightly moist. Made it more interesting.
Once we topped out on the headwall we got punched in the face by the wind. Summit computer said sustained 50MPH, with gusts of 60MPH. Going over Ball Crag, I couldn't stop laughing. My right ear started hurting from the pounding of the wind, so I turned to face the wind while laughing, which resulted on waaaay to much air getting in the lungs. More laughing, more stumbling....lather rinse repeat.
Took Tuckerman down. Still a huge pack of snow/ice near the bottom of the headwall. Fun hike as usual with John. He's a software engineer, but I like hanging out with him anyway.
Anyway, enough babbling. Here's the video.
And here's all the photos.
John going up The Slab
Not to put too fine a point on it, but photographically speaking, this trail would be more enjoyable to hike with a woman.
Way to go John.......my turn now
There are a few people I really enjoy hiking with. Unfortunately, they were all busy this day...so I went with John.
I decided to shoot a lot of video and make a mini-movie to share with the masses. For those who have been there, this is same ole same ole. But for those who haven't visited Huntington Ravine, this might give you a small taste of what it's like to walk up this ravine.
I sort of divide the ravine part of the hike into three parts: The Fan, The Slab, and The Scrambles.
The Fan: I go straight up the fan, screw the trail proper. I did the trail up the fan once. Wasn't much of a trail. The other three times I've gone straight up, keeping to the left...this brings you pretty much right to the slab.
The Slab: This is the famous, sexy part of the headwall. Makes for nice pics. But to me (and John agreed), it's not even close to the toughest part of the headwall. If you've got sticky soles and decent core strength, you'll get up the slab without too much trouble. Oh, one thing though...don't fall here. Although it's not the most difficult part of the headwall, it is probably the place where you least want to fall. Falling here will contribute significantly to decreasing the enjoyment of your day.
The Scrambles: Once you get past The Slab, but before the slope starts to moderate, there are two or three spots where you'll say, "Really? The trail goes there?" Again, not as sexy as the slab, but more difficult to negotiate. Takes a little creativity in some spots.
Remember, this trip report isn't directed at rock climbers, it's directed at the average hiker who might be interested in going up this trail. The Huntington Ravine Trail is baby piss for rock climbers. Which is why you'll see them instead off to the side, in the gullys, wearing their Stan Makita helmets. John has done this trail twice, I've done it four times. I'll bet I've taken a different path up the slab every single time....sometimes right up the main crack in the rock, sometimes up the flat crackless part of the slab. We do different paths based on our mood at that particular moment. The video and photos are not meant to be any sort of rock climbing treatise. We go there to have fun. Period.
On this day, the recent rain plus the low clouds/fog made the rocks not wet, but just on the cusp of being slightly moist. Made it more interesting.
Once we topped out on the headwall we got punched in the face by the wind. Summit computer said sustained 50MPH, with gusts of 60MPH. Going over Ball Crag, I couldn't stop laughing. My right ear started hurting from the pounding of the wind, so I turned to face the wind while laughing, which resulted on waaaay to much air getting in the lungs. More laughing, more stumbling....lather rinse repeat.
Took Tuckerman down. Still a huge pack of snow/ice near the bottom of the headwall. Fun hike as usual with John. He's a software engineer, but I like hanging out with him anyway.
Anyway, enough babbling. Here's the video.
And here's all the photos.
Great video!
