Weekend update

[notjustanotherboarder]

Hey, I am posting this to update you guys on conditions up on Mount Washington (11/30/02).

Yesterday's events are most unfortunate and very sad. It also makes us that more attentive to safely on the mountain. Always travel safe.

My friend and I hiked up to Hojos. There really was not enough cover to skin. From Hojos, we could see that Hillmans had almost no cover. The bowl had cover on the lower half of most of the runs. However, there are still a lot of exposed rocks. We did not venture in the ravine, as it was obviously that it might be not stable enough-It snowed the day before and the sun appeared for a bit to make things a little that much unstable.

However, I must say that after hiking up to HOjo's, the sherborne was great!! There was an icy/rocky http://timefortuckerman.com/ubb/smile.gif base with a lot of trigs. But on top was all powder. We had first tracks down. A great run. A few skiers had skinned up it to ruin some of the freshies. But it was still a good time.

I took some pictures with a disposable. I will develop them during the week and post them (It was too cold, I think, of the digital). I think with a couple of more storms things will be looking good!

I plan to head up again around Xmas. I will let you know what I see.

[notjustanotherboarder]

This was posted on mountwashington.org/avalanche today-Crazy! Accidents happen. But you can't be this careless:

ANOTHER AVALANCHE ACCIDENT OCCURED YESTERDAY IN TUCKERMAN RAVINE INVOLVING 4 PEOPLE! THAT BRINGS THE TOTAL TO 8 PEOPLE CAUGHT IN THE PAST 3 DAYS. After being spoken about the new avalanche forecast, the upper end of 'Considerable' heading toward 'High', 4 climbers decided to check out their climb in Tuckerman anyway. In high winds and very low visibility they moved into the Ravine. Their accounts of the incident vary so it is hard to say where they were exactly, but they intended to climb the 'Sluice' ice which is between the 'Lip' and 'Right Gully'. 2 stayed on top of the debris and were uninjured. 0ne was partially buried with only her head area buried and sustained neck injuries. She was flown to the trauma center in Portland from Memorial Hospital. The last climber was buried with only a hand showing and was immeadiately dug out. He sustained only minor injuries. What is quite interesting about the incident is that these 4 witnessed the accident 2 days previous and helped us in the rescue! What pushed them to try climbing in an adjacent area under worse conditions is unknown. We have found that very often people who witness accidents or participate in tragic events stay conservative for a long period of time. Obviously this wasn't the case in this situation. What is most interesting about the 2 accidents is none of the 11 people involved had any avalanche gear, but they were skilled in the sport of climbing. Some had almost 20 years of experience, but in all those winters never took the time to learn more about SNOW!. The medium they travel through every time they're out! To have more fun pursuing your sport and be around to enjoy it longer please learn about snow, stability, and how to be safe in avalanche terrain. Once again a thank you goes to the AMC and MRS for helping us in many ways to accomplish the rescue successfully.

[skibum]

Hey NJAB,

Are you going to be heading back up on the Friday the 13th? Did you stay at Hermit Shelters during your last visit?

I am heading up with a friend on Friday 13th and am planning a night hike in. Should arrive at the shelters by 9:00. I don't know how much skiing we will get in, instead we may hike up Lion Head on Saturday. At the very least I'm hoping for a nice powder run down the Sherburn.

The conditions seem pretty servere and I not looking to be a statistic. It is indeed very sad. I just can't believe people would plainly ingnore the warnings and advice of others and put themselves in the situation in the first place.

[notjustanotherboarder]

hey Bum, I like that! NJAB!

I don't think that I'll get there until the Period between Xmas and New years.

I couldn't post the pictures. I ran into some problems. But I read that the revine is loading quit nicely with all the wind up there. And if its not sable enough, the sherborne is absolutely ridable. There are a few rocks and sticks. But last week it was all pow.

If I get up earlier, I'll let you know.

OH, and no, I didn't stay overnight. I hiked early morning. That's my usual method. Its cold enough in the daytime http://timefortuckerman.com/ubb/smile.gif

Let me know what you see.

[pwadsworth]

Keep us posted on Sherborn Trail Conditions!
Looking forward to doing some turns soon.
Thanks,
Pete

[skibum]

December 14th: The Sherburn Trail is completely covered. The only visible water crossing has a bridge that held when skied over. Their was about three to four inches of heavy snow due to rain that had started mid day on Saturday. I would estimate the base to be about 12 or more inches in most places. Even the steeper sections of the trail had great coverage and has not be totally scraped away with the recent traffic. I would expect that after one or two more snow the trail will be in excellent shape.