TR: Central (EC, Huntington Ravine, not that other one)

[samthaman]

Not that other one out west...

Monday 4/7/08 soul_skier, allenataylor, and myself skied central in huntingtons ravine. Central gully is something I've been completely obsessed with since my last day of skiing last season Here. I've been essentially stalking the weather over there for months now waiting for the snowpack to be just right. On monday it was, to say we timed it perfectly is a huge understatement. This is a very deep snow year in HR, and we hit it on possibly the first skiable day of the season, so we got the most coverage. It was warm, totally bluebird and there was no wind in the chute itself. To top it off it was covered with a perfect 2 inch layer of corn on the snow, not too icy, not too slushy: perfect.

Hiking up, it got hotter and hotter and the solar gain on the snow was turning the tux trail into perfect corn, I began to think that we might finally get a chance to ski (forecasts had predicted that wind would ruin the corn). Then we saw this

Central from far away


and the hillmans area from the same angle on the way in


we hiked into the floor and switched to crampons and started hiking up. I brought two ice tools and a whippet. I'd heard that the ice bulge in the middle was small, but i wasn't about to get stopped by having the wrong gear. We cruised up central in amazing snow and the ice turned out to be no big deal at all, I didn't even need the other tool. The only place it was icy at all was the top that was exposed to the winds sweeping across the alpine garden.

allen and i topping out


It was summer in the gully and winter as soon as we topped out, I went from sweating to shivering very quickly.

soul_skier snapped this shot of Hillmans


and the obligatory wildcat shot


we all sideslipped and jump turned through the icy drop in, then waited by a fixed anchor for wes to get part way down and pull out his camera.

me extremely stoked to finally be skiing my dream EC run


first turn - see if you can spot soul_skier lower down in the chute


another lower turn


me dropping in from below


mid way down


killing speed by the rocks


turn by the rocks


i sideslipped slowly above the crux while chatting with wes and staring down the ice bulge


staring down the apron


gettin ready to drop


let 'er rip


allen dropping in


allen by the rocks


allen by the ice


allen skiing the crux


allen down onto the apron


me ripping the apron


soul_skier happy at the bottom


spirits were high as we pulled out of pinkham


parting shot - it was probably already too icy to ski again. we had hit a perfect 3 hour or so window to ski and climb the one that had obsessed me for months.


Aesthetic is a word that gets thrown around a lot in climbing, but I believe central had it all, amazing weather, phenomenal snow, good friends, great skiing, and a view. In addition I skied it just the way I had always planned too; opening it up as much as possible, straight-lining the ice bulge and then wide open turns down the apron. It was a wonderful feeling to ski something that had been a goal for so long, but it was somewhat bitter-sweet. I've never really understood a phenomenon that's frequently mentioned in climbing literature until monday. That is, when you finally achieve your goal, its somewhat of a letdown and not what you'd built it up to be in your head. I'd been obsessing over this for so long that I built it up into the most hardcore, scary run i'd ever do. In reality it was well within our abilities and a downright pleasant experience. I've had far more pucker skiing icy chutes in the notch. That being said, this probably checks in as one of the best days of my life, everything went as well as it possibly could have, and to sweeten it just a little more, it was my 100th day skiing this year, and my first time ever reaching 100.

thanks for looking,

Sam

[powder11]

nice job, that one doesn't get skied very often.

[grubbers]

FKNA

nice job, your TRs never fail to provide the best ec stoke.

[uppernotmaster]

Very nice indeed. Congrats!

[Tick]

sweet report.
that gave me just the boost in stoke I needed to commit to calling in sick tomorrow and skiing gulf of slides!

[GoEhuge]

Nice job Sam... looks almost too sick to be back East.

I can't really tell from the pics, but how steep was that bad boy?

[strawjack]

nice job!

scored a perfect day! thanks for sharing.

[samthaman]

Originally Posted by GoEhuge

Nice job Sam... looks almost too sick to be back East.

I can't really tell from the pics, but how steep was that bad boy?

thanks,

I'm not really sure, I didn't take out the clinometer. I have heard sustained 50 above the ice bulge and flattening fast after that, and i've also been told its a 5.3 rock route in the summer. Honestly though, it didn't feel like 50, but that could just have been because of the great conditions. The last time i measured 50 was in the notch on a shorter, but far narrower and iced up cute while skiing solo, so it might have felt scarier than it actually was.

[jtran10]

Nice. Way to make use of the nice weather.

I might be getting up in Tuckerman next weekend if the weather does its part.

[bumpskier]

Super sweet! Thanks for sharing.

[hartzejr]

me ripping the apron


That's sarcasm right? I hope so.

But nice TR and good on ya for timing things right. Thanks for posting.

[Ireallyliketoski]

sick ec stoke

[roark]

Nicely done indeed.

[Powdah]

Hell yeah, glad you got that one checked off. I saw lots of post by you on t4t looking for beta, great job.

We're gonna have a long spring!!

[altabird92]

SICKNESS

[_Aaron_]

Ive been eyeing that up for a while too. Way to get after it.

[altabird92]

parting shot - it was probably already too icy to ski again. we had hit a perfect 3 hour or so window to ski and climb the one that had obsessed me for months.


Is the chute to the right skiable?

[buckethead]

congrats...
looks like a great day indeed.
thanks for the pics and nice write-up

[samthaman]

Originally Posted by altabird92

parting shot - it was probably already too icy to ski again. we had hit a perfect 3 hour or so window to ski and climb the one that had obsessed me for months.


Is the chute to the right skiable?

yeah, its called diagonal, its on the list too.


hartzejr: yeah, it was sarcastic. we celebrated gaper day on saturday, it was still on my mind.

[jumpturn]

Dude, maybe put a photo into the steep skiing thread. Over 50º ought to qualify, even if it is on the EC.

[Huckwheat]

You guys pull off some amazing stuff, and you tell a great story about it. I am super impressed with the lines you all find. Have never really seen other EC trs to match.

This is going to sound negative (and I have always been a West coaster, and have only visited NYC....sad I know), but the TRs from your crew are really the first time I have wanted to ski the East.

[samthaman]

Originally Posted by jumpturn

Dude, maybe put a photo into the steep skiing thread. Over 50º ought to qualify, even if it is on the EC.

are we calling it 50? i really wasn't sure, you've been up there far more than i have.

Originally Posted by Huckwheat

You guys pull off some amazing stuff, and you tell a great story about it. I am super impressed with the lines you all find. Have never really seen other EC trs to match.

This is going to sound negative (and I have always been a West coaster, and have only visited NYC....sad I know), but the TRs from your crew are really the first time I have wanted to ski the East.

thanks, I really don't know what to say, thats very flattering, especially coming from you. Your TR's really make me want to go west, but then so does just about everything. If you ever get lost and find yourself in Vermont, hit us up, we'll be happy to show you around.

[homerjay]

Do you always climb in wife beaters? That's bad-ass!

[StormRider]

Nice work guys! It's great to see TRs of quality EC skiing. Congrats on skiing a coveted line and on the 100 day mark.

[Will]

Sweet. Nice job.

Originally Posted by GoEhuge

I can't really tell from the pics, but how steep was that bad boy?

As an alpine climb it gets AI 1 or 2. Generally considered 40-50 degrees, with the ice bulge going at 50 degrees. Of course, conditions matter.