Catching the Bluebird In the Gulf of Slides – by Ham Mehlman

“Bluebird days” with quiet winds are rare in the alpine zones of New Hampshire at this time of year, even rarer with a four-foot snowpack underfoot and a cold night to dry out the surface to a fine powder dust. When it happens, and you are a skier, you pick a destination and go.

February 19 was such a day. And for me the destination was the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail on the east side of Mt. Washington. The trail begins at the AMC visitor center in Pinkham Notch and ascends to the Gulf of Slides, a glacial cirque looker’s left of Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington.  For the AT (Alpine Touring) crowd, the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail is a perfect offset to the hustle and bustle of the far more famous and trafficked Tuckerman Ravine Trail.  Remote and quiet no matter how jammed the parking lot.

Gulf of Slides Ski Trail is a classic New England original.  AMC member Charlie Proctor, architect of many of the first ski trails in the White Mountains, designed the trail to track generally parallel to the New River funneling into “Main Gully” in the Gulf of Slides ravine.  The Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) cut the trail, per Proctor’s design, in 1935.  The Gulf of Slides ravine and its access trail dwelt in relative obscurity compared to the routes to and from the better known and more spectacular Tuckerman Ravine.  But the backcountry ski community has certainly rediscovered the trail’s line with the growth of AT backcountry skiing.  And deservedly so.  It is a spectacular tour, masterfully navigating a fall line with all the twisting and turning character of the best New England ski trails.  It is arguably a black diamond by most resort standards, owing more to its relatively narrow width, generally 20 or so feet across, than to its 22% average grade.  And if the width doesn’t intimidate, perhaps the moguls will.  Last summer, the AMC, Friends of Tuckerman Ravine and Granite Backcountry Alliance (GBA) jointly received Federal approval to restore the trail pruning back years of overgrowth to its original dimensions.  This work was readily evident.

This tributary to the New River, 400 or so feet from the trailhead, is perhaps the biggest obstacle to skinners later in the spring with its waters filling many a boot. But not after weeks of continuous freezing temperatures.

As a true sign of the surging popularity of backcountry skiing and other backcountry adventure, the main parking lots in Pinkham Notch were full.  Years ago, even during school vacation weeks, you could pretty much park anywhere you wanted on a cold day in February, with space only a concern during the peak spring weekends.  No longer.  Even with expanded lots, Pinkham has trouble accommodating the masses on most days throughout a decent snow winter.   The best advice on bluebird days, get there really early or really late.  In my case I rolled in at 9:00am, not all that early, and the walk was long.  The temperature was only 9 degrees.  I still carried skis down most of the length of the lot to the trailhead with spaces filling fast.  Of course, probably only a few would turn left up Gulf of Slides Ski Trail with the majority heading to either Huntington’s for serious ice climbing, Hermit Shelter below Tuckerman Ravine for a ski lap down the Sherburne, perhaps hiking the winter route up Lion Head to the upper snowfields on this perfect day or just snowshoeing on the many routes throughout the  Notch at lower elevations.   

The elevation of the trailhead at the AMC Visitor Center in Pinkham Notch is approximately 2,030 ft.  I topped out at approximately 4,100 feet at the base of Main Gully, about a 2,000 ft. elevation gain over approximately 2.2 miles.  The surface was dry and grippy, good for skinning.  And deep, starting with about 26 inches of cover at Joe Dodge increasing to nearly 46 inches on average per NOAA’s Snow Data Assimilation (SNODAS) data. 

In past years, I’ve always skinned up the trail.  This year, whether because of the deep snowpack or the result of the recent trail work, I ascended via a separate uphill track for much of the bottom half of the trail.  There is no mention of a separate skinning route in David Goodman’s description of the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail in his definitive reference book, Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, suggesting that this track is new.  But with typical NE backcountry purity there are no trail markers for the uphill route.  You just hope the track points in the right direction.

As with most terrain up Mt. Washington from Pinkham Notch, it is generally east facing picking up the morning sun to rapidly warm the trails on the rare bluebird day.  During the winter months clouds seem to fiercely guard this terrain but today the clouds took a break.  Not quite t-shirt weather but it was warm going up and I drained most of the liter I brought with me. 

My top was the base of the Main Gully in Gulf of Slides, not always the most intelligent place to hang out since, as the name implies, “main gully” is the natural avalanche path for the ravine.  Clearly, it’s been an active winter with the early and plentiful snow.  The gulch leading up to this small plateau is filled with 15-25 feet of blow-in and avalanche slough. 

Above stretches the main bowl, offering relatively open alpine terrain.  To lookers right are a number of chutes off the Boott Spur ridge, all skiable but with totally unimaginative names like “Gully 2”.  There were no tracks on any of this terrain.  Perhaps the wind filled them in.  More likely, the ravine’s reputation, implied in its name, deters people from skiing the bowl at this time of year.  And for me too, the upper terrain was something to save until the spring warmth stabilized the snowpack.  The Mt. Washington Avalanche center rated the risk low at all elevations on this day, but local slides are always a risk in mid-winter.  The trail itself is enough of a reward today.  No need to push any limits. At least that’s my excuse.

My legs protested a bit negotiating two miles of bumps on the way down.  But nothing that a bluebird day skiing one of the great New England trails can’t make you still smile about.