Every year, on average, 25 people who are injured while climbing, skiing and mountaineering on Mount Washington require some type of assistance from rescue groups such as the US Forest Service and the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol. The incident summaries listed below are provided as an educational tool in order to help prevent future accidents. The accidents range from sprained ankles to multi-systems trauma, to avalanche burials. The reports and analysis of these accidents have revealed some interesting insights into winter mountain safety.
Hiker Long-Sliding-Fall in Tuckerman Ravine, 5/11/24
Overview: Around 10am on Saturday, May 11, a hiker experienced a long-sliding-fall resulting in non-life-threatening injuries while attempting to climb to the Mount Washington summit via the Right Gully area of Tuckerman Ravine. The party of two did not have the ability to self-evacuate due to the nature of the…
Near-miss fall into Little Headwall 4/9/2024
There was a near-miss 4/9/24, when a skier fell into an undermined hole on Little Headwall area of Tuckerman Ravine and was unable to extricate themself. A separate group of skiers were departing Tuckerman Ravine and chose to descend Little Headwall, terrain and hazards this party knew and understood well….
Long sliding fall fatality; Tuckerman Ravine, Mount Washington
At approximately 2:30 pm on Saturday, March 9th 2024, a party of two ascended Left Gully with the intention of skiing a slope in Tuckerman Ravine. The party traveled on foot across the top of the ravine towards an area above The Lip when both in the party slipped…
Human-triggered avalanche; Airplane Gully, Great Gulf Wilderness
Summary:At about 11:30am on Saturday, December 9th, a backcountry skier triggered an avalanche while descending Airplane Gully in the Great Gulf Wilderness. The skier was caught, carried, and not buried, but they sustained serious injuries during the fall. The skier’s partner and a bystander were able to effectively provide assistance…
Snowboarder falls into Tuckerman Ravine Waterfall Hole
Overview: On Saturday, April 15, 2023, a snowboarder attempting to descend the Tuckerman Ravine Headwall, lost control resulting in a fall into one of the deep, open waterfall holes that forms each year from water runoff and melting. The person ultimately was uninjured and able to extract themselves from the…
Skier-triggered avalanche; Wildcat B / Carter Notch
Overview: On Wednesday, March 15th 2023 at approximately 10:00 am, a skier unintentionally triggered a large avalanche on Wildcat B in Carter Notch. They were caught, carried, and critically buried for over 6 minutes before being extracted by a partner and found uninjured. The party of two was able to…
Human-triggered avalanche, Tuckerman Ravine
Overview: At about 12:00pm on Saturday, February 25, a party consisting of one skier and one snowboarder was involved in an avalanche incident on The Lip area of Tuckerman Ravine. One of the members of the team was caught, carried, partially buried, and uninjured. The avalanche was a large, hard…
Stranded Hikers on the Lip, Tuckerman Ravine
STRANDED HIKERS At approximately 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd, two hikers called 911 after descending into Tuckerman Ravine and becoming stranded in the Lip / Sluice area. Incident Two Mount Washington day hikers estimated that they reached the summit of Mount Washington around 4:00pm via the Lion Head Trail to…
Long Sliding Fall; Chute, Tuckerman Ravine
Events: On Saturday March 26, 2022, a 25 year old male (Patient) took a 500’ fall while attempting to ski the skier’s left side of Chute. The patient reported that the cause of the fall was due to one of his ski bindings releasing in the upper part of the…
Skier-triggered avalanche; Sluice, Tuckerman Ravine
Type: Hard Slab Trigger: Artificial, Skier Size – Relative to Path: R3 Size – Destructive Force: D2 Slope Aspect: Southeast Start Zone Elevation: 5000 Average Slope Angle: 40 degrees Slope Character: Convexity in Sluice Gully Summary Description On the morning of March 4, 2022 around 11:30am a skier triggered an…
Human-triggered avalanche in Left Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
SYNOPSIS: On December 5 at approximately 12:00 pm a skier triggered a shallow soft slab avalanche near the top of Left Gully. The skier was caught and carried, and a short distance later triggered a 2nd, larger avalanche. The skier was carried 800 vertical feet, unharmed and landed on…
Sliding Fall, Tuckerman Ravine
Events: On Sunday May 30, at approximately 1:20pm, a Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patroller radioed the USFS lead snow ranger to report that a skier had taken a sliding fall down a 35 degree snow slope into Lunch Rocks. A short time later, the ski patroller made contact with the…
Long sliding falls, Tuckerman Ravine
Tuckerman Ravine, 04/02/21 The current snowpack at mid and upper elevations in the Presidential Range presents widespread hazards of long sliding falls. These hazards are a result of warm weather and rain followed by a refreeze. Looking at the MWOBS F6 for March reveals nearly a week (03/21 to 03/26) of…
Sliding Fall; Right Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
Tuckerman Ravine, 03/21. Right Gully is right of center, with numerous groups congregating below around Lunch Rocks On the morning of Tuesday, March 23, an individual was descending Right Gully in Tuckerman Ravine. The man, 70 years old and traveling alone, was equipped with extra layers, crampons, and an ice…
Long fall in Tuckerman Ravine
Events: On Sunday, March 21, multiple skier falls occurred in Tuckerman Ravine as skiers tested themselves in this extremely steep terrain. Snow conditions varied that day between boot-top deep soft, wet corn snow with firm crust in the shade or where swept off by skiers and riders. While on patrol,…
Long sliding fall on Lion Head Winter Route
Events: On Sunday March 14th, at approximately 5:15pm, a hiker took a long sliding fall while descending a steep section of the Lion Head Winter Route. The group of three were wearing lightweight hiking boots with microspikes and carried ice axes. A local guide and paramedic/ER nurse was descending with…
Benighted on Yale Gully, Huntington Ravine
At approximately 6:30 pm the USFS MWAC team was notified of a party of two climbers unable to continue in Yale Gully, Huntington Ravine. Temperatures at the time were in the negative single digits F with winds from the northwest at 33 mph. Avalanche danger was low, with icy hard…
Long sliding fall; Right Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
A 62 year old Brookline, MA man was reported missing to USFS personnel at 11pm Saturday night, Feb 20, 2021, when he failed to return from a summit hike via Boott Spur or one of the Lion Head Trails. Temperatures on the summit were -6F with northwest winds 35-50 mph…
Avalanche fatality; Ammonoosuc Ravine, Mount Washington
Synopsis: At approximately 7am on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, a NH Fish and Game officer contacted the lead snow ranger at the USFS Mount Washington Avalanche Center to ask for assistance in locating the vehicle of an individual who was reported missing on Tuesday night, Ian Forgays, a 54…
Dislocated shoulder; Sherburne Ski Trail
On January 25, a group of skiers was descending the John Sherburne Ski Trail. Around 2:40 pm, just above crossover #7, one skier lost control due to a waterbar and dislocated their left shoulder during the fall. The individual had reportedly dislocated the same shoulder multiple times before and had…
Human-triggered avalanche; Left Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
Events: On January 22 at 3:20 pm, a skier was caught by an avalanche triggered by his party and carried from near the top of Left Gully almost to the floor of the ravine. A ~six inch slab of new and wind deposited snow released from the uppermost start zone…
Disoriented in whiteout conditions; Lion Head, Alpine Garden
Events: At 11:50 am on Saturday, January 16, a 911 call was relayed to snow rangers at Hermit Lake by the AMC Front Desk that 3 climbers had lost their way while descending from a climb in Huntington Ravine. Coordinates provided by location services from the caller’s phone placed the…
Long sliding fall; Lip, Tuckerman Ravine
Events: On the morning of Saturday, January 9, 2021, two 20 year old males were ascending the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Around 11 am, witnesses noted these two individuals on foot, falling near the rollover at the top of the ravine. Both individuals fell around 500 vertical feet, impacting exposed boulders…
Long sliding fall; Chute, Tuckerman Ravine
March 9, 2020. AMC Hermit Lake Caretaker reported seeing a person falling end-over-end “tomahawking” the length of Chute in Tuckerman Ravine around noon. The Caretaker and Snow Ranger responding were pleased to find that the patient had no apparent injuries. The skier walked downhill to Hermit Lake and was assisted…
Avalanche, Tuckerman Ravine
Date of Observation: January 2, 2020 1:30 PM Location of Observation: Tuckerman Ravine: Sluice, Sluice Buttress/Ice area Human triggered soft slab avalanche. E Slope, approx 30 degrees. Party of one, snowboarder, triggered, caught, carried, not buried as reported by said snowboarder. Crown line starts low in Sluice spans under Sluice Buttress/Sluice Ice….
