USA - New Hampshire - Tuckerman Ravine

Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire.

Sent by Alyssa, a postcrosser from New Hampshire, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Tuckerman Ravine is a glacial cirque sloping eastward on the southeast face of Mt. Washington, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although it draws hikers throughout the year, and skiers throughout the winter, it is best known for the many "spring skiers" who ascend it on foot and ski down the steep slope from early April through late May. In this period, the temperatures are relatively mild but the natural snowpack — which averages up to 55 feet (17 m) in a typical winter — is still adequate to ski most seasons. The record-setting high winds atop Mount Washington scour a massive amount of snow from the surrounding highlands and drop it here or in the adjacent Huntington Ravine.

Literally thousands of people have been known to ski Tuckerman in a single spring weekend. Skiing or ice climbing is not limited to this time, but the avalanche danger requires special training to assess and navigate the ravine safely during the winter. There have been 10 avalanche fatalities recorded (including one expert rescuer during a 1982 search) from 34 avalanche incidents in the area in the past 60 years.

The ravine is most easily accessed from the AMC lodge on Route 16 at Pinkham Notch, via the moderate 2.4-mile (3.9 km) lower section of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. This trail is maintained in winter and spring as a "cat" trail, and parallels the Sherburne Trail used for ski and snowboard descents. It is a 1,850-foot (560 m) elevation drop from the foot of Tuckerman to the lodge.