Trip Report
===========

June 7, 1998
Mt.Washington via Huntington Ravine
Conditions: off and on rain, occasional grauple,
            little to no wind, 30f - 40f
            
            
My buddy Dave S has joined us for a visit so we took
a day and drove north for hike. We left Boston at 5:30
and got to Pinkham around 9:30. Dave had led (dragged?)
me up the Mountaineer's Route on Whitney a few years
back and I wanted to return the favor as much as these
NewEngland mountains would allow.

We creaked up the trail tasting the sour joy of aging
joints and softening metabolisms. My legs finally got
moving by the time we hit the junction with the Huntington
Ravine trail. 

At the base of the headwall, the trail winds around,
under and over a jumble of cabin sized boulders. The
whole effect is reminiscant of a short version of
Mahoussac Ravine -- a jungle gym for big kids. We
took shelter under one of the overhanging boulders
and layered up, downed some food and I stowed the
hiking poles for the upcoming scramble. 

The crux of the route is large angled slab that you
need to traverse up and over to the right. The slab
is located at the top of large scree fan. As we 
ascended the fan, we discussed the possibility of
turning back at the slab. Several cascades were running
off of the slab and downclimbing it would be nuts.

We found the slab to be more of a mini-cascade with
run off from the rain. But, our soles were giving us
very good grip despite the water. Further, the forecast
for the summit was for little to no wind and most
surprisingly, the weather was coming at us from
the east (Huntington opens to the east) so we knew
we wouldn't get blindsided by bad weather and forced
to downclimb the ravine. So, we slowly and deliberatly
went up and across the slab.

The rest of the climb up the trail is a classic use-your-
hands-to-climb kind of scramble.
The slab is not the only point that would be hard or
impossible to down climb, especially in the wet weather.
At one point, higher up, there is a large awkward step
over to the left that drops you into a short, tight
and somewhat exposed chimney. In the middle of the chimney
is a yellow blaze. It's a sick joke. I reminded Dave
that this is not a climbing route, it's a hiking trail!

We crested the top of the ravine around noon and after a 
brief look around the rim, we started the long slow grind
up the Nelson Crag trail towards the summit house. Back
down at Pinkham, they had been talking about a large
"ryme event" and as we gained altitude and become more
exposed to the prevailing westerlies we saw what they
meant. The cairns up on Bald Crag has as much as 2 feet
of ryme on them. Even the rocks on the ground all had 
ryme on them. It gave the whole northern side of the
summit dome a spotted or motled look. Very odd.

At the summit, we checked out the train and then went into
the summit house to enjoy hot tea, cold pizza (from Denley's
Garden) and occasional views of the northern peaks. While
we were finishing up, the ranger asked for volunteers to
assist in a rescue in Tuckerman Ravine. A snowboarder had
managed to launch himself into some rocks and had given
himself enough of a head injury to be puking. He was moving
under his own power down out of the bowl to Hermit Lake
where the ranger's on site wanted to stablize him before
doing a litter evac. We had been planning to go down
Lion Head anyway so we agreed to stop in at Hermit Lake
to see if they needed extra bodies.

The rain and clouds closed back in as we descended off
of the summit cone. By time we got to the upper overlook
on Lion Head, the rain had let up and we could see Wildcat
but the ravine was still full of clouds. Finally when we
got to the lower overlook, the clouds cleared enough in
the ravine for Dave to finally see it. 

Tucks is still holding snow but it looked reeeaaaal ugly.
Left gully has snow on its middle third, the chute has
a bit in the middle and there are smaller shots over
near the headwall rocks. But I could see the dirt and
debris in the snow all the way from Lion Head and
there is absolutely no run out on any of the shots.
Screw up or fail to hit the brakes at the right time and 
you take a 40 degree burner in the rocks. I can see how 
the snowboarder got nailed.

When we checked in at the hut, they had already taken
the kid down the Sherburne. Splitting a pop-tart before
the last leg out, we both noted the Forest Service sign
reminding folks that under NH state law, you can be
prosecuted for reckless endangerment if you screw
up in the mountains and require evacuation by rescuers.
"Glad you're alive. Here's your bill.", I guess.

We stopped in at the Scarecrow before heading home.
Out of nowhere Dave smirked, "Hiking trail?! Unbelievable."


Copyright 2004 by Dave Mann