I skied the summit snowfields of Mt. Washington, NH on Sat. I have skied them before many times, as well as other spots, Tuckerman Ravine, Hillman's Highway, Gulf of Slides, Great Gulf, Monroe Brook, Ammonusuc Ravine. Mt. Washington has fantastic spring skiing. It is unique in the east in having a large alpine zone above treeline with many steep adrenaline pumping lines that no (US) ski area would open. There are just rocks and snow and it is wise to keep the two separated.

The summit snowfields have the mildest skiing in the alpine zone. They do not exceed 30 degrees, roughly the pitch of Extrovert at Blue Knob or Outer Limits at Killington. Last year I skied them on junkboards in perfect corn that hissed softly as I skied it. On Sat. the snow was almost gone; perhaps 150 vertical feet remained whereas last Mem. Day it was about 500. I also had to find the snow and some friends scheduled to be there after driving up the auto road in dense fog. After a bit of a wait 2 of the guys showed up and we hiked down over the rocks into the fog and found it. Our first runs were very conservative. The corn was just a few mm over ice in several places. I had the Junkboards again (a snowboard cut in half with tele bindings) which have no steel edge on one side. As junk, I use them for early season conditions so as not to put good skis at risk.

After one run the fog began to clear and I had gotten a feel for the surface and decided to let the skis run a bit. I lost it on an icy patch, fell, and began to slide. I quickly rolled over and executed a pole arrest. Almost. The pole tip was not enough to stop the slide, no matter how hard I leaned on it. The slide continued and speed increased as the pitch increased. And, holy [censored], I'm wearing a baseball hat not a helmet and there are big jumbled rocks down there. I hit hip first, to my great relief, hard enough to remember but not enough to cause injury. I have some impressive multi-colored bruises now.

Call me dumb; you're right. I am a far more experienced skier than to have done that but there it is. A week ago I would have sworn that the summit snowfields were not a no-fall zone. But that would miss the point, which is always respect the mountain, no matter what.

Glad you're still around to smell the lilacs Denis!

Some pics here, although I somehow managed to avoid being in any of them,
http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewto...b098b6ce86c490c

Close call, Denis. I'm glad you're OK. I'm surprised the summit snowfields are that steep. That's nice to know. If I ski it some day I think I'll wear a helmet.

Memorial Day 2012, woot.