View Full Version : GOS Newbie questions
MitchVT
03-08-2009, 04:55 PM
Have skiied tuckerman a number of times but never gulf of slides, would like to go. From what I have read it is not as steep as say the top part of left in tuckerman, is that true? Also would like to go in the spring when it is bootable in, generally speaking, when are you able to get in there without skins or snowshoes and how long does it take?
Any help/advice is appreciated.
thanks, M -
brakeformoose
03-08-2009, 05:12 PM
The GoS trail is like the Sherburne and traveling on it without skins or snowshoes is strongly discouraged. Find a pair of snowshoes and you are all set to go anytime this spring.
Phishing
03-08-2009, 08:20 PM
Can't ever get there w/o snow shoes or skins. Post holing the trail ruins it for everyone else, and yourself on the ski down. If there isn't snow then you are just helping the erosion.
MitchVT
03-08-2009, 09:58 PM
thank you -
Try some rental or second hand snowshoes...full price is a killer these days, even with the ridiculous sale prices.
The lower GOS trail and a selected few sopts up high can get snowless and/or muddy pretty quick. Get in early for best results :D
Rider.Steve
03-09-2009, 10:06 AM
Try some rental or second hand snowshoes...full price is a killer these days, even with the ridiculous sale prices.
The lower GOS trail and a selected few sopts up high can get snowless and/or muddy pretty quick. Get in early for best results :D
This may be a too-obvious comment, but GOS is in fact a slide zone just as much as Tux (it's a perfect pitch angle for slides), there have been avi fatalities there, and the WMNF snow rangers do not patrol there. Some folks who post on this site are comfortable with their assessment skills to ski there relatively early in the season, but that is a private decision.
My ideal would be to go up with knowledgable friends, check relevant reports, bring avi gear, and know how to use it.
I'm definitely heading up there this spring when GOS is ripe, hopefully early enough to have a nice ride out.
Steve
drewvw
03-09-2009, 10:33 AM
well said...
Don't front on the GOS. Its not immune to avalanches just cause its not patrolled. You figure that out quick when you get there and see all the snapped trees and debris everywhere, and the cache for the two dudes who died there in 1996.
MitchVT
03-09-2009, 12:09 PM
This may be a too-obvious comment, but GOS is in fact a slide zone just as much as Tux (it's a perfect pitch angle for slides), there have been avi fatalities there, and the WMNF snow rangers do not patrol there. Some folks who post on this site are comfortable with their assessment skills to ski there relatively early in the season, but that is a private decision.
My ideal would be to go up with knowledgable friends, check relevant reports, bring avi gear, and know how to use it.
I'm definitely heading up there this spring when GOS is ripe, hopefully early enough to have a nice ride out.
Steve
read quite a bit on gos but again am a noob which is why I am asking the questions here, if anything I am overly cautious. I appreciate any and all information / comments no matter how obvious they may seem.
lacman
03-10-2009, 05:27 AM
Can't ever get there w/o snow shoes or skins. Post holing the trail ruins it for everyone else, and yourself on the ski down. If there isn't snow then you are just helping the erosion.
Keeping in mind the others comments about avalanches, and particularly going with a knowlegable buddy, it is possible to access GOS without skins or snowshoes...just boot up Hillman's Highway go across the ridge and drop in. It's a longer round trip but on a sunny spring day is quite enjoyable, especially since Hillman's gets morning sun.
For the record, I'm in the never-posthole-the-trail camp with the others.
If you don't want to use snowshoes - wait until spring conditions where things soften during the day and harden up at night. You should be able to boot up in the morning before things soften. I've done that but will usually bring snowshoes in case the conditions warrant them.
Rider.Steve
03-11-2009, 11:47 AM
GOS, Sherburn and Tux trails are some of the best trails in New England for a splitboard when there is snow - sustained ascents and descents without much in the way of technical skinning. Snowshoes are a weaker option in most every respect.
winters2short
03-12-2009, 08:31 AM
Please be considerate of others and please DO NOT boot up the trail. It was designed by the CCC for skiing and sliding, not for hiking. It is much narrower in most places than the Tux trail, and holes turn into chasms when the trail begins to melt.
Because it is more remote that Tux you are largely on your own and need to respond independently of rescue.
I beleive that the lesser aspects and angles accumulate more snow and fracture less often than in Tux. So it is more likely that you may be the human trigger rather than someone before you. Be wise and ever vigilant. Because of the topography of the chutes there is fewer places to bail out. It doesn't offer the openess of slope that Tux does.
It is truley a beautiful place and a real suprise just around the corner, when you have only been into Tux.
MitchVT
03-12-2009, 10:02 AM
Please be considerate of others and please DO NOT boot up the trail. It was designed by the CCC for skiing and sliding, not for hiking. It is much narrower in most places than the Tux trail, and holes turn into chasms when the trail begins to melt.
Because it is more remote that Tux you are largely on your own and need to respond independently of rescue.
I beleive that the lesser aspects and angles accumulate more snow and fracture less often than in Tux. So it is more likely that you may be the human trigger rather than someone before you. Be wise and ever vigilant. Because of the topography of the chutes there is fewer places to bail out. It doesn't offer the openess of slope that Tux does.
It is truley a beautiful place and a real suprise just around the corner, when you have only been into Tux.
I will never, ever, ever boot up gos trail, thanks all for the comments and information -
M
ILOVE2SKI
03-12-2009, 11:58 AM
I will never, ever, ever boot up gos trail, thanks all for the comments and information -
M
What about late spring when all the snow leading to the base of the GOS is gone?
twintipper
03-12-2009, 12:11 PM
What about late spring when all the snow leading to the base of the GOS is gone?
then you must tour with your rock skis
MitchVT
03-12-2009, 12:19 PM
What about late spring when all the snow leading to the base of the GOS is gone?
was part of my original question, "would like to go in the spring when it is bootable in, generally speaking, when are you able to get in there without skins or snowshoes and how long does it take?"
......
pulverschwein
03-12-2009, 01:15 PM
What about late spring when all the snow leading to the base of the GOS is gone?
The GOS trail, particularly down low, goes through some very wet, boggy areas with sensitive vegetation. It is a ski trail, not graded for hiking and if you should do so during mud season, you will find it a muddy, grassy morass and will likely damage / destroy some of the growth and contribute to erosion. You can access 1st gully or 2 from the trail, but anything further involves considerable bushwhacking through some really dense spruce in low / no snowpack conditions. I would recommend approaching / departing via boott spur / davis path if you want to hit up the gullies late season, of course being careful not to damage the alpine vegetation up there.
Don't bother, tho, as GOS sucks anyhow.
The snow departs a bit early at the very top in the GOS. So there sits about 700-800 feet of vert with bogs below and exposed alpine vegitation above.
The Boott Spur trails are about the only way in at that point. Every other trails option is way longer. But, if you are prepared to pick your way, rock-by-rock, down to the snow, it certainly can be done.
I'd rather be three cirques North or on the East Snowfields when the GOS is like that, but to each their own. Hell by then it's auto-slacking time.....hey!
...that reminds me. Memorial Day BBQ and Slackfest 2009 is starting to nudge the corners of my mind... The 2008 affair was an excellent adventure in delights both glisse and gustatory. No doubt we shall see a few more of unusual suspects. My grille was sort of overwhelmed last year, so each carload might want to bring a grille...
Rider.Steve
03-12-2009, 04:19 PM
...that reminds me. Memorial Day BBQ and Slackfest 2009 is starting to nudge the corners of my mind... The 2008 affair was an excellent adventure in delights both glisse and gustatory. No doubt we shall see a few more of unusual suspects. My grille was sort of overwhelmed last year, so each carload might want to bring a grille...
I learned at the slackfest 2008 that when you are exposed to Mt. Washington winds, there are grilles, and then there are GRILLES.
Let's just say that RR's cooker puts the "Grrrr" in grille.
Seeker
03-12-2009, 09:39 PM
And RS, I think we need to work on our rig to help out with the festivites. It's not fair to put that burden on RR alone. Let me just say that this has also been crossing my mind of late. In fact, I will have A LOT of free time after March 31 and should be in reasonable form by Memorial Day. :cool:
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