So, last week, several of my younger ski pals made the trek from Western Pa. up to Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire to ski the famed Tuckerman Ravine. One group was a father and son duo, Eric and Jes Sauereisen. Eric and I have been friends for a long time, and it was his first trip to Tuckerman. He and I have talked about it for years but he finally got to ski it with his son. Great experience that they will never forget.

The second group that was there at the same time and didn’t know it, was the trio of Jason Eshleman( of Chair Report fame), Jason’s long time Vermont friend -Makaio Maher, and John Gerardi. John and Jason are excellent skiers and Makaio is a skilled snowboarder. Skiing/riding Tuckerman for the first time was just what the doctor ordered for them at this time of year.

Seeing all their posts on Facebook brought back a flood of memories for me. I skied Tuckerman Ravine 7 times and twice one year- returning on the Fourth of July. I would meet my pal Eric Durfee up there and we would climb up Sunday night, get situated in a shelter at Hermit Lake, and spend the week. As many of you know, there are no lifts and every bit of vertical feet that you ski, you earn by climbing.

Lots of memories, like when we skied Dodge’s Drop without climbing it first. We broke our rules that we had to climb everything that we skied. We were caught in the fog up top and skied down Dodge’s. Little did we know that we had to slide down on a frozen waterfall until we reached the snow again to finish the run. We laid the only tracks in Dodge’s that day and people were commenting on that from the Hermit Lake shelter area. We smiled. Eric did it with a cast on his wrist which made the most challenging run ….even more challenging.

Storms roll in and out on Mt. Washington, and one time, I sunk in up to my waist climbing Hillman’s Highway. I was a little scared because if I had sunk all the way through, they might have found me in late spring. Eric pointed out the storm behind me rolling in and said we had to get a move on. He was unphased by my precarious position.

You had to be careful to watch for falling rocks and ice as the days would warm up. One day, a Volkswagen sized rock bounced right over our heads. We ducked to the chorus of some people above us yelling at us to get down on the ground. One year- we watched as a group of people had a rope lowered into the crevasse that always opened up below the headwall. Seemed like some guy accidentally skied into the crevasse and it took a team of rescue workers to get him out. They might have found him in the spring as well.

Tuckerman Ravine( not Tuckerman’s- common mistake) has a lot of history too. Back in 1939, an Austrian tucked the headwall and skied on to the Sherburne Trail to win the famed Inferno race. His run was legendary, and you can read all about it. I had the good fortune one year to meet him and hear him tell the story for the New England Ski Hall of Fame. Lots of famous skiers have made that trek. You can somehow feel that history every time you are there.

But getting back to my friends, you have to hand it to them. Not too many people from around here make the 13 hour drive, climb up the Sherburne Trail to the base of the Ravine and keep climbing to the top to ski. It is a rite of passage for New Englanders ,but for those of us from Western Pa, it is not a regular stop. Lots of driving and work to get there, but oh so worth it. Jason and his gang are definitely going back, and I am sure the Sauereisen’s will be returning as well. These days I am happy to live vicariously through them and hear their tales as I dream about my past exploits there. I am happy with chairlifts these days, and comfier weekday living spaces. LOL! North Conway and Pinkham Notch are special places and I am glad that my friends got to experience the climbing, the history, and the skiing. Cheers to them for sure. Thanks for reading.

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