Dousing ‘The Inferno’ as a Racer and as a First Responder – by Chris Peter

2023 race- Descending out of Tux – Dan Houde/Wiseguy Creative

‘The Inferno’ is an endurance race in a category of its own…

This March, I geared up once again for one of the most unique races in the country, held on Mt. Washington, Tuckerman Inferno – ‘The Inferno.’ This race is highlighted by a harrowing ski descent down the mind-numbing, leg-shaking and bowel-moving, steep, glacial cirque known as The Tuckerman Ravine (‘Tux’ or ‘Tucks’ more familiarly). The pitch in Tux makes the hardest double black diamond at any ski resort look like a bunny slope. Expert skiers throughout New England and southern Canada are drawn to this bowl because of its raw beauty and jaw-dropping steepness that sears into every skier’s memory that dares to attempt it. The Inferno, which has always highlighted a ski down Tux, has undergone multiple different formats over the years and decades, with roots reaching back to 1933. The race has, at times, featured backcountry skiing, running, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and even whitewater kayaking.

2023 race- skiing into Tux, with racers hot on my heels – Dan Houde/Wiseguy Creative

In the latest two editions of this race, I had the good fortune to wear multiple helmets, in 2023 as a racer and this year as a ski patroller. Both experiences gave me a deep appreciation for this one-of-a-kind event. During the 2023 race (the most recent race prior to this year) I struggled with how much gear and how many transitions were needed as a solo racer. I started at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on a fat bike, pedaling over soft snow for 6 miles, transitioning into cross-country skis for another 6 miles, then lashing on racing snowshoes for 4.5 miles of unpacked, soft snow over to the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, where I ditched the snowshoes for backcountry skis with skins, avalanche safety gear and sharps (ice axe, crampons) to make my way 3 miles and 2,400 vertical feet straight up to the base of the Ravine, where I strapped my skis to my pack and crampons to my boots and ascended an even more vertical Tux, where I finally clicked into my skis to descend Tux and the Sherburne trail (The Sherb) to the finish line. Apologies for that run-on sentence, but hopefully it gives you a closer connection to the endurance and diversity of the Inferno.

Chris Peter transitions from his snowshoe gear to his backcountry ski gear at the 2023 Tuckerman’s Inferno Pentathlon on March 18. (RACHEL SHARPLES PHOTO)

This year, the race reverted to its ski-mountaineering roots. The course took anxious and exhilarated racers up from the base of Mt. Washington to Tux, donning crampons, ice axes and harnesses to climb straight through one of the steepest sections in the center of the bowl, known as the ‘Lip’. Racers then made their way to the summit of Mt. Washington, climbing over 4,000 vertical feet, and transitioned to downhill skiing, descending off the summit cone back into Tux down the terrifying Lip. Some have likened this line to skiing off a marble, where it starts off with a gradual pitch and builds into a near-vertical drop. Once at the base of Tux, racers unclenched their hands and glutes, then made their way to the slightly less steep Hillman’s Highway, boasting one of the longest gullies in the Presidential Range, where they once again boot-packed up another steep gully with crampons, transitioned one final time at the top, and descended down to the finish line in Pinkham Notch.

3rd place racer, Ed Warren, skiing down Hillmans this year

The two races had completely different flavors and spice-levels for me because of the different formats, weather and roles. In 2023, I felt like I was redlining during each stage and mode of transportation, just trying to hang on for the next one, which I was hoping would bring me reprieve, but never did. Instead, each consecutive leg got harder, with the final stage featuring a 3,000-foot technical descent, with two racers hot on my heels, burning a new and unforgettable level of pain into my quads that still haunts me today. In contrast, this year I was taking ‘party pace’ laps on Hillmans, embracing my new, less-cardio demanding but medically-attuned, role as ski patrol.

I recently joined NH Backcountry Ski Patrol (NHBSP), a group of passionate and skilled skiers and boarders, volunteering their spare time to backcountry events across the state. In this year’s race, NHBSP was deployed across Tux and Hillmans, providing triage medical treatment and transport in case of injuries.  And there were a couple. One unfortunate racer fell several hundred vertical feet while skiing down the Lip in Tux, snapped both of his skis and fractured his lower leg. He was treated and transported off the mountain by a combination of first responders, including another racer who happened to be a doctor, Mahoosuc Search and Rescue and NHBSP.

2025 patrol took care of all cfeatures…

Another incident occurred after the race (to non-racers) on the lower section of the Sherb, when my group of patrollers came across a disturbingly thick and long trail of blood. We quickly followed it and came upon two snowboarders and two dogs.  One of the dogs had a severe and life-threatening laceration to her hind leg from being clipped by a board or ski edge. But the dog was uncomplaining and the group oblivious to the injury and trail of blood behind them. Fortunately, our patrol group just happened to be nearby and immediately triaged the blood-loss with a tourniquet and pressure-dressing.

After the bleeding was under control, however, we quickly realized we faced more complications. First, carrying the dog off the mountain. Second, the dog owners did not have a car available. And lastly, finding a vet near the remote Mt. Washington who would be able to treat this life-threatening wound on a Saturday night. Luckily, we were met with good fortune and friends to overcome all of these challenges. The ~60-pound injured dog was exceptionally kind and cooperative, allowing us to hoist her on the owner’s shoulders making short work of the final half-mile ski descent. Once the dog was in transport, I ‘washed’ the blood off my hands in the snow, and started texting a friend to find us a vet. She immediately came to mind because she is a dog owner, lives nearby and volunteers with NH search and rescue for dogs (NH Paw Patrol). Sure enough, when we reached the bottom of the Sherb, my phone dinged, alerting us that a vet in Littleton was able to take our critically injured dog. Also at the bottom, a fellow race volunteer and medically trained guide with a large SUV greeted us at the bottom, ready to transport the dog and owners to Littleton.

I’m happy to report that the dog was safely and promptly delivered to the vet and the injured racer was similarly transported off the mountain to a nearby ER thanks to many well-trained and caring individuals contributing to the effort. After incidents like these, I’m reminded about how dangerous skiing in Tux can be, and also how dangerous skis and snowboards can be to dogs. PSA: Please use extra caution to protect our furry friends as owners and passers-by.

My friend Steve (human, not bovine), taking an extra lap on Hillmans after finishing this year’s race (10th overall)

Not to be lost in all this, I want to thank the race organizers for putting on a spectacular and one-of-a-kind race that celebrates the history of recreation and mountaineering in NH, fundraises for the critically important Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, and allows crazy people to do crazy sh**! I also want to congratulate all the racers who attempted and completed this equally grueling and terrifying course. Over 60 racers completed the Inferno this year, including a 14 year old who beat almost half the field…unbelievable! And lastly, I want to acknowledge the great community of first responders we have, most of them unpaid volunteers, who take their own time to help support these races. Many of these first responders also patrol at resorts throughout New England. Others volunteer for search and rescue (SAR), responding to incidents in the wilderness throughout the year working with New Hampshire Fish and Game, who leads SAR in NH. These responders leave their homes, often at night and in terrible weather, hiking or skiing into the wilderness to triage and transport injured people (and puppies) to safety. Please see below for more details and ways to support these great organizations.

• NH Backcountry Ski Patrol
• Mt Washington Avalanche Center
• Mahoosuc Search and Rescue
• NH Fish and Game
• NH Paw Rescue

NH Backcountry Ski Patrollers at this year’s Inferno

The Inferno: Blood, sweat and tears