They're Called Rock Skis For A Reason - 11/24/25

By Greg McMillan

Since I was too lazy to get up and ski before work yesterday, I recruited Kyle and Chris for an off day mission into Tuckerman Ravine. We set out from the parking lot a tad before 9, making our way up the bottom few pitches of the Sherb before crossing over onto the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. There are a fair amount of rocks poking through on the TRT however we were able to navigate them all without taking skis off. The trail conditions greatly improve once you reach the first of the two upper bridges.

Once at Hermit Lake we took a snack break, layered up, and headed towards the Ravine via the TRT. We spoke with a passing skier who said a wind slab was triggered in the upper reaches of Left Gully, but could not confirm its size due to the lack of visibility. Once at the floor of the Ravine we discussed our options and chose to stay out of the south-facing aspects, which have become quite firm due to last week's solar effect. 

We opted to head towards Chute to begin our ascent. Snow was falling and wind was howling however new snowfall remained unconsolidated in the areas we found ourselves in. There is still a good amount of soft snow lurking beneath a firm top layer which made for tough booting conditions every once and a while. We opted to turn around about 2/3 of the way up Chute given the decreasing visibility and knowing the best skiing was below us. Sugary snow blanketed a chalky surface which made for decent turns that increased in quality below the hourglass choke of the line. 

Once we were down the apron of the Ravine we decided to check out Left Gully. As we made our ascent we encountered similar conditions compared to Chute, no slabs encountered or red flags observed. Visibility greatly decreased towards the top of the line and winds were steady so we opted to transition a little below the top. The skiing was better in Left Gully however we couldn't see the snow we were turning on top of so took it slow. We enjoyed a few powder turns in the lower section of the gully before hooking left and skiing down toward Hermit Lake.

After another snack break we took on the Sherb, the most dangerous part of the day. The top third is firing on all cylinders however things begin to take a turn about halfway down, where it becomes quite firm in places. The bottom third is a warzone and some side slipping was required. That being said, we did ski to the car without taking skis off. Rock skis are a must and I have a hard time calling the Sherb "in," but hard to refute it when you can slide all the way down to the lot.