Our guests wanted to know if we could at least provide oversight and some training in Tuckerman Ravine. Redline Guide Debra McCown doesn’t often ski the backcountry so providing an actual ski guide wasn’t on the menu (our ski guides weren’t available), but that was okay. Debra could bring a wealth of insight and oversight offering an added layer of knowledge and safety. Our guests included a mom that didn’t ski the backcountry but was there in consideration to our Youth Protection Policy. With her was her 15 year-old son. He proved to be a skilled ski racer who was ready for this. They had a great day in the mountains, as you’ll see in the photos. But first, Debra has a summary to share…
This young teen guest had his ski skills down but lacked some additional skills that are needed to safely tackle steep backcountry terrain: crampon use, ice axe use, self-arrest skills, and transitioning from crampons to skis in a steep gully.
Skiing Tuckerman Ravine was at the top of his East Coast bucket list. Though I’m not a ski guide, I regularly guide and spend time in the gullies on Mt Washington, so it was a pairing that worked.
Once we reached the Ravine, I showed him the relevant skills, which are typically part of Redline Guiding’s Mountaineering Skills class, then went with him up Right Gully, where we talked about spotting spring snow hazards and other considerations for safe decision-making.
He got to ski down Right and then Left Gully before the sun dropped fully behind the ridge. It was a great spring day with amazing weather and soft corn snow — a taste of backcountry skiing that will undoubtedly bring him back for more of what Mt Washington and the Presidential Range have to offer. —Debra
