Huntington Ravine Floor (4,100ft)
Elevation Gain: 2,100ft
Distance: 5.2 miles roundtrip
Trails: Tuckerman Ravine, Huntington Ravine, Fire/Service Road
Not my usual hike to a summit, but above 4000 feet for
sure. The Huntington Ravine floor, commonly known as “The Fan” was my
destination for this morning. I had originally planned to hike this yesterday
but today the forecast called for a sunny, deep blue sky day. 'The Fan' is a huge
open boulder field below the headwall that spreads out like one of those old
hand fans. Normally you would have to
navigate around, over, and in between some huge boulders in the scrub to get to
the Fan. But the snow and ice make it easier to get around.
I was pretty surprised at the amount of skiers and
boarders at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. The parking lot was packed so I
ended up parking on the side of the road just outside the entrance. Tuckerman
Ravine Trail was packed with folks of all ages with downhill and XC skis, snow
boards, sleds and butt sleds. Lots of dogs hike this trail to the ravine as
well. Even on my descent there were folks hiking up. It was pretty cool to
watch skiers come down the John Sherburne Ski Trail. I used information on Marc
Chauvin’s website to plan my solo hike: http://www.chauvinguides.com/hunticeguide.htm
Crystal Cascade Waterfall from Tuckerman Ravine Trail
Tuckerman Ravine from the fire/service road
A peek of the ravine - Central Gully
First Aid cache just below the floor of the ravine
The mouth of Huntington Ravine
Yale and Damnation Gullies
Pinnacle and Central Gullies
Odell's Gully
South Gully
Escape Hatch Gully
Overall this was a great solo hike….well, not so much solo
as Tuckerman’s Ravine Trail was packed. The snow was packed well but on my descent, with warm temps, the snow was a slushy and slippery mess.
I was blown away when I got into ‘The Fan’, the views were phenomenal! I was glad to experience the immensity of the ravine. There were climbers making their way up Damnation, Yale, Central and Pinnacle gullies and a few glissading down the Escape Hatch gully. I hiked the entirety in my ice climbing boots and I’m not ever doing that again. They are super stiff and my feet started aching ¾ of the way up. Anyways, hope you enjoyed some photos that I took of my visit to the Huntington Ravine floor! Here’s a short video from the ravine floor.
I was blown away when I got into ‘The Fan’, the views were phenomenal! I was glad to experience the immensity of the ravine. There were climbers making their way up Damnation, Yale, Central and Pinnacle gullies and a few glissading down the Escape Hatch gully. I hiked the entirety in my ice climbing boots and I’m not ever doing that again. They are super stiff and my feet started aching ¾ of the way up. Anyways, hope you enjoyed some photos that I took of my visit to the Huntington Ravine floor! Here’s a short video from the ravine floor.