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#14339 - 03/02/05 09:18 PM
Tuckermans
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Chooch
old hand
Registered: 11/15/99
Posts: 1175
Loc: South East PA
(65.38.242.112)
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Im a pretty serious skier from way back. Since the kids were born I have not been out much.
Let's put it this way, my skis are long. It's been that long since I was out.
I never got to ski Tuckermans. Have always dreamed though. Someday....
So, those in the know, tell us about the famous Tuckermans. Make me drool.
What's it really like? Is it as serious as Ive heard? Are the lines up the hill that bad?
I want some juice to fuel my dream.
_________________________
Charlie
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#14340 - 03/03/05 02:59 AM
Re: Tuckermans
[Re: Chooch]
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hartmann
member
Registered: 11/20/99
Posts: 161
Loc: Northfield, VT
(213.3.238.228)
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Tuckerman's is awesome!!! The skiing can be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Just pick your line and how high you want to go. Tucks is more than just the skiing, it’s the scene. On a nice sunny warm day, hike up and hang out at the pick nick rocks and enjoy the show. You’ll see people take spectacular lines over the cliffs, a few yard sales and some really nice scenery (not just of the mountain variety). Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend is the most popular time to ski it although any nice weekend from late April through Memorial Day is good. The down side to Memorial Day weekend is that there is rarely enough snow to ski the Sherbourne (?) trail back down to Pickham Notch so you do a lot of hiking for a small amount of skiing. On the other hand, that is when there is the best party atmosphere up there. The earlier in the season you go, the more skiing you will get to do, but it will be colder, with fewer people and less of a party atmosphere. For your first time, I recommend late May (depending on how good a snow year your having over there) and soak up the atmosphere. Have fun,
Paul
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#14341 - 03/03/05 08:19 PM
Re: Tuckermans
[Re: Chooch]
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pedestrian
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 08/04/02
Posts: 1896
Loc: a heavily fortified bunker!
(67.86.67.63)
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I skied Right Gully on Saturday. If you're willing, and have the proper training, to deal with the elevated avalanche hazard that comes with winter conditions (which also means WAITING AND WAITING for the proper day to go), you can avoid many of the spring crowds and have a slightly more peaceful experience. In spring there is less avalanche risk but a different set of hazards from crevasses and falling ice blocks the size of a Microbus. A true ski mountaineering experience either way, and highly recommended!
If you call yourself a "serious skier," then you've probably got what it takes. Right Gully, although it has a sustained steepness above obstacles greater than anything I've seen in ski resorts, is not extreme terrain, it can be skied safely by someone with "advanced" skills as long as the snow conditions are not dangerously icy. Knowing how to kick turn will save your ass. Knowing how to jump turn will let you get down in better, bolder "style" but is not 100% necessary. But it's definitely part of the backcountry skillset.
The lines up the hill? Yes, they are bad, let's face it nobody wants to take the extra time to go one-at-a-time in avalache terrain. In winter there will still be conga lines, but there will be few enough people in the bowl that you can afford to wait for the line to get out of your way.
Snow conditions have filled in nicely in the bowl from all this recent snowfall, and the ice step is finally gone from the Lip route. From the entrance to Right Gully, I watched some good skiers make some excellent, sine-wave powder turns straight down the lip. The powder up there was bottomless - 2 feet deep at minimum - and demands good technique. The wind tends to pack it into stiff, deep slabs.
Edited by pedestrian (03/03/05 08:40 PM)
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