The Pit

There’s always a lot written in the daily avalanche advisory, but there’s usually much more discussion that can’t possibly fit. So after a few months of back and forth we’ve decided to carve out a spot here online to accomodate that overflow of information. Somedays it will be a short video, maybe a paragraph discussing hoar frost or how graupel is affecting stability. And then on other times we just have something interesting about the mountain that’s pent up inside itching to get out and The Pit, a hole dug to seek information and answers to questions, is the best place to let it sing. So….welcome to “The Pit“.

ATTENTION AUX RANDONNEURS!

Une section du sentier du Tuckerman Ravine est présentement fermé à toutes les activités.

Wet Slab Avalanche in the Lip, 4-19-2013

There was an unexpected avalanche in the Lip area today. In all honesty, I’m more than a little humbled by what happened, so I thought I’d do a quick post to let you know what happened, but also to provide some insight from my own perspective. I’m always amazed by the dynamics of avalanches, and [...]

Upslope Snow

Thanks to the Mount Washington Observatory and particularly Rebecca for putting together this discussion on Upslope Snow. We asked her to do a short piece on the subject after her stellar presentation at the Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop. Rebecca has been working on the summit for several years and is very quickly becoming the [...]

It can happen to anyone

Every year the USFS Snow Rangers, Mt. Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol, and AMC caretakers get a front row seat to the action in Tuckerman Ravine. Through the years, we’ve seen a lot. At best, we see talented skiers and riders making the even the hardest runs look easy. But much of the good stuff that [...]

“Moderate” danger and avalanche accidents-respect and awe.

Over the last several years we have seen an increasing number of avalanche related close calls involving skiers and climbers. Between better equipment and getting out more during the midwinter avalanche season, incidents have been increasing. Of the different accidents that we routinely deal with, I believe avalanche accidents will slowly increase as part of [...]

Dogs in Tuckerman–from our perspective

At about a quarter to five on Saturday, I called over to Dave, the AMC caretaker, to see if he was coming over for the traditional springtime spaghetti dinner. During the call he asked if I’d seen the dog stuck up high in the Lip area. Sure enough, through the binoculars from the cabin I [...]