ABOVE: On April 4, 1937, the first giant slolom race in the U.S., the Franklin Edson Memorial Race, was held. Intended to begin at the summit, the race began halfway up Right Gully as two recent surface avalanches hinted to potential trouble on the headwall. Photo by Harold Orne. RIGHT: The Avalanche Center crew pauses in front of the avalanche informational board. From L to R: Patrick Scanlan, Jeff Fongemie, Charlotte MacDonald, Kate Moynihan.
HISTORY OF THE RAVINE Tuckerman Ravine is known as the birthplace of extreme skiing, according to Patrick Scanlan, an avalanche fore caster and snow ranger at the MWAC. In the 1930s, people were skiing in this backcountry area before anywhere else in the U.S. For this reason, the ravine has become a legendary location. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) noticed that bility, and just the historic spring atmo sphere at Tuckerman,” says Moynihan.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE CENTER Every year, from December 1 to June 1, the MWAC leads SAR operations in the Cutler River Drainage area of the White Mountains. In partnership with the USFS, it provides expert mountain forecasting, data based on research collaborations, picture, which is another data point used to assess risk. These reports should only be used as a tool, not a gospel. Scanlan says, “We paint the picture of what the hazards are, and it’s up to the user to decide how they are going to use that information to make their decisions.” This past February, we joined the crew into the field to witness how they perform a compression test to assess ava
In 1952, they created a snow ranger program so someone could be up there managing the area and informing the public of potential hazards to prevent accidents. It started as a one-man crew, then became a team, known today as the Mount Washington Avalanche Center. It was the first backcountry avalanche center in the U.S. and the only one east of the Rocky Mountains.
people were getting hurt in the bowl. In 1952, they created a snow ranger program so someone could be up there managing the area and informing the public of potential hazards to prevent accidents. It started as a one-man crew, then became a team, known today as the MWAC. It was the first backcountry avalanche center in the U.S. and the only one east of the Rocky Mountains. “Our avalanche center is one of the more unique ones in the country because of our search and rescue (SAR) responsi and enhanced safety efforts through outreach programs and talking events. The team creates a model of what they think the avalanche risk is by looking at different weather sources and taking field observations, which are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, or low to extreme. Then, they post forecast updates on their website and Avy: Avalanche & Weather Info, their app that was recently released. The crew also collects information from the public, who can submit observations through the app. This could even just be a lanche risk, which was 3 out of 5 that day, or “considerable.” Fresh snow was falling heavily, as Moynihan dug a ditch in the ground and formed a wall of snow—ex posing different layers and the story each layer told about previous snowstorms. We watched as she continuously applied pressure to the snow. After consistent effort, a small avalanche occurred. “Snowfall amount, as well as what density of snow you have, are both im portant for understanding your avalanche conditions,” says Marin MacDonald, the
MWVvibe.com / @mwvvibe