Mountain Journal

This entry dates back to the time when we rode our sleds down the main trail. This has since been disallowed, and we now sled down the Sherbourne Ski Trail.


February 21, 1994-Bob drove to the mountain this time. We got to Pinkham at
7PM, and started walking at 7:30. There was a half moon shining, and the
temperature was about 30. We dressed very lightly for the hike to Hermit
Lake. We made it to the Huntington cutoff in 45 minutes. I felt great. We kept pushing and got to the Lionhead cutoff in another 45 minutes. That was about as fast as we've done that section of the climb. We thought we might head up the right gully, but
according to the report at Pinkham, there was some avalanche danger. It
turned out that we could easily have done it. It would have saved us from
walking the saddle from Lionhead to the cone. Anyway, we started up
Lionhead at 9:30PM. It was a great climb! The snow was pretty hard in most
places, making axes and crampons mandatory. With full packs it ended up
taking an hour or so to get up to the lip. It was still warm, but the wind
started picking up. By the time we reached the top of Lionhead it was
blowing a steady 80MPH with gusts of 100. The temp was still very moderate
though, and you could stand with your face into the wind without freezing.
It was blowing so hard, you could lean halfway over without falling. We
decided to push on to the cone. The walking was very slow, and would have
been impossible without ski poles. Rather than walk a straight line, we
were constantly blown from side to side by the intense winds. It was very
exciting, and because of the unusual temps was actually very comfortable.
The wind really slowed us down though, and it took us nearly 2 hours to
cover a distance that usually takes 40 minutes. We kept going. I knew the
wind would subside when we reached the base of the cone, and it did. We
started up the first snow field. By this time the moon was settling down
over the other side of the mountain, and it was getting darker. By the time
we got to the split rock it was almost 1AM. We were very tired. There in
the protection of the rock, it was pretty calm. When we tried walking
through the split we were exposed to the wind again. At this point we were
about 30 minutes from the summit. After some discussion we decided it would
be smart to bivouac at the split rock. Bob took the level spot, and I dug
out a spot around the corner. I shaped my sleepspot like a recliner and
spent a very comfortable night. The spot was so steep though, that I drove
my ax in beside my bag and looped a strap around myself inside the bag.
Just a little insurance against waking up down the hill. We slept till 8AM,
and people were already coming up the mountain. The weather was beautiful!
Other climbers were impressed by our bivving out on the side of the
mountain, and this inflated us enough that we made the summit in 30 minutes.
We put our names in the book at 10AM and headed down the right gully. It
would have been a nicer descent if there hadn't been some overly cautious
people in front of us! While sitting at the bottom of Tucks, we watched
skiers, a snowboarder, and some people butt-sliding. I decided I had to try
sliding down myself and left Bob with our packs while I climbed halfway up
the bowl. It was great! Just sitting up there surrounded by the huge white
bowl of snow made the climb worth it! And the slide down really topped it
off. I'm glad I did it. The sled ride down was good except there were so
many hikers coming up that we couldn't go very fast. All in all a VERY good
trip.

Mountain Journal

9/16/93 - Very late with my entry. It's half a year later, but I remember 
that last climb pretty well. We started walking reasonably early. I think by
8:30. We got to Hermit lake around 10 and talked to a drunk guy for a few
minutes. Feeling pretty good, we pushed on and decided to try the right
gully in Tuckerman Ravine. It was fantastic! We're carrying full packs and
it's around midnight, and it was DARK. When I turned my light on Bob, it's
like he's standing underneath me because of the steepness of the slope. We
took a few steps at a time with ax and crampons, and finally made it out
of the gully. The weather was excellent. About 30 above and no wind. We
decided to sleep above the Alpine Gardens, and set up our sacks just beyond
the trees at the base of the cone. It was a great night. Very comfortable.
   The next morning we made it to the summit about 10AM. Another beautiful
day. The walk down was quick! And the sled ride was excellent. All in All,
a very good trip.

Mountain Journal "A Cold One"

1/20/92 4:38PM - What a weekend!! 32 below zero at summit w/ wind chill at
-103 and below. Winds were gusting well over 100MPH.
                 We left Bob's house at 7 Friday night. Had a good ride up
with a little heavy traffic on route 16. When we got to Pinkham Notch we got
out to check the snow depth because from the looks of things in Conway, we
may not be able to use the sleds. There was enough though, and I wanted to
head up a ways and sleep out. Bob thought it would be better to stay in the
truck, get a good nights rest and start early Saturday. I agreed so we
headed back a ways and slept in a turnout. The winds were ferocious, but we had
a pretty comfortable night at about zero degrees in the cap. Had a cup of coffee at Pinkham, and hit the trail about. 8AM Sat.. The main trail was icy so we used our crampons right from the start. Slow going though. We didn't pull into Hermit Lake till noon. By now the temp had gone from 4 above to 8 below, and the wind was whipping
light snow at 50MPH. We opted to stay in a 4 sided shelter with 4 other
guys, three of whom were in their sleeping bags at 2PM. I don't think they
were out of them more than 30 minutes total to cook and pee. Needless to
say we didn't get to know them very well. The guy next to us was a little
more active and seemed to be interested in photography. Well anyway, I
wasn't going into my bag yet, and talked Bob into heading up Lionhead. It
was a lot of fun, and kept me warm another 2 hours. Bob turned back with
sore hips, but I made it to the end of the trees, where the big winds
start. It took ice ax and crampons the whole way up, and I butt slid most
of the way down.
    When it came time to cook supper, I went out to get water. The ranger kept a spot on the stream open by constantly digging it out to expose the running water beneath. When I scooped up a pail it immediately started to freeze. By the time I got back to the shelter it was half frozen. That night we cooked up our chicken and veggies. It was great! Also kept us busy for a while. By 5PM no one had any desire to go
out, so it got pretty boring. After cleaning up from supper, I got into
my bag and puttered around awhile before finally settling down at 7PM.
It was so cold and windy out that no one wanted to go out to pee. There
were a few jokes about empty bottles and such. I went out about midnight
myself. Just couldn't hold it any longer. The wind blew so hard that night it seemed like the shelter would shake apart, and snow found it's way through the front wall and into the small breathing hole in my bivy sack. We weren't the only crazy people there. The ranger told us there were about 18 campers. I'd bet everyone of them asked themselves the same
question. I know our group of 6 did. "What are we doing here?"
    We all started to stir around 7AM Sun., and after some
half serious checking on everyone's' vital signs, all came to the same
conclusion. "Let's get off this iceberg!!" So by 8AM, Bob and I were ready
to head down without even considering a try for the summit. The wind was
still howling, and the temp. was about 10 below, having reached 20 below
inside our shelter that night. We knew there was no chance of getting past
Lionhead and no one was interested in trying even that. The sled ride down
went really well though. We both had good control and made some pretty
long runs. I guess we got down about 8:30AM Sunday. We didn't make it to
the summit this time, but it sure was an experience.