Tuckerman's Ravine, Pinkham Notch NH

Well, I can't say that I really boarded Tuck's. Remember, I work for an insurance company which makes me by nature, risk averse. Several years ago (maybe a decade), a friend and I hiked up and camped out in the bowl in one of those lean-to shelters with sliding doors to keep out the wind. Basically, everybody is packed in and lined up in their sleeping bags like a can of sardines. I remember that night well. My friend snored louder than a freight train. All sorts of grumbling and complaining from complete strangers about the racket, but I just pretended to be asleep.

I made a major error in judgement on that trip. Not wanting to pack up a thousand pounds, I decided that the plastic boots that I had rented from EMS had enough flex in them to substitute for my real snowboarding boots. Egads. They worked fine for the hike up but when I stepped into the board - it was like I had a plank strapped to my feet. I still managed to board a little bit of Hillman's Highway and a bunch of the lower bowl.

The view in the bowl at dusk looking up at the surrounding mountains was most incredible. The mountains stood so tall and majestic with their white coats. Still chokes me up - god, what a sight.

We woke up (for those who were able to sleep) to a drizzly morning but the temps were cold and had frozen the snow. Thank goodness for crampons. We encountered one young fellow on the way down who kept losing his footing. We found him on his back like a beetle who can't get up. We helped him a few times but realized he was not going to make any progress in his sneakers on ice until the temps warmed up.