Avalanches don’t happen all that often on the East Coast, but when they do, Mount Washington and Tuckerman Ravine is often a part of the conversation.
A video from the Mt. Washington Avalanche Center (MWAC) shows a snowboarder avoiding a small snow slide on November 29, 2024. The incident took place on 'Chicken Rock Gully' in Tuckerman Ravine, according to a report on MWAC.
While the slide didn’t result in any injuries, it was a good way to showcase just what can happen when the snowpack conditions are unstable after early-season snow. Press play on the video below to watch.
"It's really rare that we catch these on video," said Patrick Scanlan of the Mount Washington Avalanche Center to WUMR. “If you were to trigger this at a steeper angle with a lot of rocks or cliffs or trees, the consequences could be devastating for this.”
A skier was swept down the mountain at a similar time last year, with more devastating results. The skier had to be airlifted out of the area.
“I think it’s really important for people traveling into the backcountry to be ready for dynamic early season conditions,” Scanlan said. “All it takes is snow to sweep you off your feet to hit rocks, or hit trees, and potentially bury you.”
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center has not started to provide mountain weather forecasts this season. Those will start in late December, once the winter snowpack starts to build. Of course, it’s vital to be riding with your avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe, when heading into the backcountry, but an awareness of the snow conditions is just as important.
Photo: Mark Renson/Acadia Mountain Guides
Avalanche professional Mark Renson observed an avalanche from the Tuckerman Ravine floor on November 30, 2024. “Climbers ascending Center Headwall reported some 25 centimeter crowns halfway up,” he wrote in his report. “Mini refrigerator sized blocks at base of Open Book from Chicken Rock Gully.”
While it’s been a slow start to winter in some areas of New England, leading to the delayed openings of several ski areas from Connecticut to Maine to New Hampshire, Mt. Washington has already received about a foot of snow. Another foot is expected on December 5 as a storm will hit areas of the mountain at higher elevations.
Fewer resort openings can lead to more skiers and riders entering the backcountry in the early season. These times, as much as ever, it’s vital to be educated on responsibilities in the backcountry. In March 2024, 20-year-old Madison Saltsburg died after falling down Tuckerman’s Ravine.
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