Tuckerman Ravine Hike and Sled

GayOutdoors Winter Olympics! Hill Climb, Luge and Jenga!!! Keep reading to find out who took home the Gold!

We had our Winter Olympics and it was a blast. We hiked up 2.4 miles up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center with a brief stop to the Hermit Lake Shelter. It was sunny at lower elevations but as we climbed higher it became cold, cloudy and windy. Sylvain from Canada took the Gold medal for the hill climb reaching the Hermit Lake Shelter before anyone else; Jon took the Silver medal for the USA and Rob the Bronze medal for the USA.

We decided not to continue to the Tuckerman Ravine Bowl due to poor visibility and very cold conditions. We had lunch at the Hermit Lake Shelter and then prepared for luging down the Sherburne Ski Trail.

The Sherburne trail is 2.5 mile ski/sled trail. It is very wide (20-30 ft), and is below tree line. Sherburne has a grade all the way to the bottom so we could sled all the way down! It's got a good mix of straight-aways, turns, downhills into snowbanks and little jumps. The round-trip time was 3+ hours with breaks. We took our time heading down. We did not see anyone ski or ride down the whole time we were luging down.

The upper part of the trail was icy with some exposed rock so in certain sections, we just walked down to play it safe. The lower half was softer snow and much easier going – we had a great time.

Most of our sleds were similar and everyone’s sled performed well. However Stephane’s and Rob’s sleds managed to get a crack in them on the descent…probably from going over some exposed rock…thankfully they were OK! Stephane decided to play it safe and hike the rest of the way down; while Rob took some risk with his sled shattering near the end…we have a good video of it.

Jon from USA took the Gold medal being the first with finishing the luge run before anyone else; Mike took the Silver medal for the USA and Rob the Bronze medal for the USA. It was an American sweep!

We all then drove back to the Mad River Lodge, our house, for some wine/beer beside the fireplace with appetizers. We then played a competitive game of Jenga for the Gold medal. Each of us ended up knocking it down so we decided to call it even. All of us took home the Gold for Jenga!!!

Jon cooked a delicious dinner of Pork Loin, mashed potatoes, rice, seasoned pumpkin with maple syrup, homemade Focaccia bread, and a side salad. Rob shared his Mom’s homemade, Canadian recipe of Pork Pie; to die for!  Stephane and Sylvain were from Canada and the rest of us had French-Canadian heritage so it was a memorable weekend getting back to our roots with our Canadian friends.

We threw in the Winter Olympics angle as a joke; everyone was a good sport about it.  This was a non-competitive weekend and we all just went with it. Unbelievably great fun! This was one of the best winter trips we’ve been on. SUCH A BLAST!!! We would totally recommend it again. Definitely worth becoming a tradition.

Click Here If You Would Like To View Our Pictures AND VIDEOS

If you have never sledded, you may have not experienced fun! We did this two years ago and vowed we would repeat it again someday. We’ll have a magical climb to Tuckerman's Snow Arch and then sled down Shelburne Ski Trail! We will start at the base of Mt. Washington from Pinkham Notch and hike up the wide tractor path called Tuckerman's Ravine Trail. After two miles we'll reach Ho Jo's where we'll get our first view of the Tuckerman Ravine Bowl. If the avalanche conditions are safe, we'll climb .75 mile to the headwall and the Snow Arch. We'll have lunch here. We'll then start sledding down the Shelburne Ski Trail. It’s more fun that a barrel of snow Monkies!!

Here’s our pictures from the last we did this – check it out

Bring one of those large plastic sleds that you see in one of our pictures and use a bungee cord to attach it to your pack. You can buy these for $10 at WalMart but don’t wait until the last minute because they sell out. The hike will be 2.75 miles with a 2,300' elevation gain.

This trail is always packed so all we'll need is traction, i.e., Micro Spikes. Bring hand warmers for your gloves. Wear winter-insulated boots on your feet, warm socks, dress in layers [no cotton], gloves [mittens are best], warm hat and headlamp/flashlight. Some guys like to have a scarf/neck gaiter to keep their neck warm, gaiters for their boots to keep snow off their boots, ski poles and small thermos for something hot to drink. Don't forget water, lunch and snacks.

After Hike Fun: Everyone is welcome to join us for an early dinner at the Red Fox Grill in Jackson, NH.

Lodging Option: We have 8 bunks available at our house near Waterville Valley, NH for Friday and/or Saturday night at $25 per night. Coffee/bagels each morning and linen/blankets/towels are provided. We have limited space in the fridge to store your beverages/food so it's best to bring a small cooler. Space is limited so email us ASAP to reserve a bunk!