Our prayers for snow have been heard! There is finally enough snow in the NH woods for a backcountry ski trip! That said, the snow cover might be light, and there will be exposed rocks, roots, and patches of ice in certain areas. This is why we will focus on taking our time on the downhills, to make sure we all (and our gear) have fun and most importantly make it down safely.

We’ll start with a morning briefing in the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center gear room. Once we’ve discussed our route and organized our gear, we’ll ascend via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. At ~2.5 miles, the Tuckerman Ravine Trail comes to the Hermit Lake hut, where we will transition our equipment to downhill mode and ski down the ~2 mile John Sherburne Ski Trail. We will go over the basics of backcountry skiing, yet it is important that you have extensive downhill experience feeling in control of your skis even on double black diamonds.

For those that are new to backcountry skiing please be aware of the following:

• You will not get to “warm up on a green” and may have to start off on black-level (steeper) terrain.
• Conditions are unknown and objective hazards (exposed rocks, bushes, etc.) may make runs narrower or more difficult than slope indicates. For instance, you may have to navigate a slope that has exposed rocks because of low snow coverage.
• Skinning up is equal in difficulty to a strenuous hike (i.e. a continuously steep uphill climb) with the extra weight of skis on your feet, so good fitness is important.

Please note that we will have an early start in Boston (5am-ish) and might get back very late.