Gulf of Slides, last ski trip this season
Emilie Phillips
Last weekend, I said it was my last ski trip of the year. This weekend is definitely the last ski trip. We wouldn’t have bothered, except the Mount Washington Ski Patrol needed some volunteers to haul the rescue sled back up to Gulf of Slides. (See the incident reports.) We volunteered as did some of our friends. We heard that the Gulf of Slides trail was skiable 90% of the way down. Tyson decided he couldn’t bear getting up to Gulf of Slides and not having skis. So we brought our skis. The sled ended up being really light. The other folks in light hiking gear easily outpaced Isaac in his ski boots. We saw the last of them at the second stream crossing.
Lots of snow had melted since the prior weekend. We hiked most of the way up to Gulf of Slides carrying skis in our packs. It’s not fun hiking with that heavy of a pack. Nor is it fun hiking on a muddy trail in ski boots. Tyson and I tolerated it. Isaac was sure this was the worst day ever. Once we finally made it to the snow, the skiing was pretty good. The snow was soft, even when the sun went behind the clouds. We caught up with Brian and Ted leading another AMC group. Isaac practiced using his new crampons and ice axe. He felt a lot more secure than on Hillman’s with microspikes. Tyson and Isaac both did their first run on the Main Slide. I am pretty sure I have skied it before, though I am not quite sure when. We ran out of energy before getting around to practicing self arrests with the ice axe. Summer vacation to a glacier?
The difference in snow this year compared to previous years is shocking. April 7, 2019 we skied from the parking lot with good coverage.
Lower trail, early April 2019 
lower trail, early April 2021
April 15, 2018, the main slide had 6 more feet of snow. These pictures show we were standing on top of the trees three years ago. This weekend we were down in the trees at the same point in the ravine.
Main slide April 2018 
Main slide April 2021
All Photos
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- Whole group crossing the New River -- Comments (0)
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- Marty pulling the sled -- Comments (0)
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- Carrying the sled across a stream -- Comments (0)
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- Early April 2021 -- Comments (0)
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- Shelf fungus -- Comments (0)
More ...
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- A little bit of snow and a lot of frustration with hiking so far on ski boots -- Comments (0)
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- More snow, but not quite enough to ski on -- Comments (0)
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- Still hiking -- Comments (0)
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- Moose? -- Comments (0)
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- Finally skinning on the Gulf of Slides trail -- Comments (0)
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- Sled transport group returning back down through the first slide -- Comments (0)
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- Skis off to cross the first slide in Gulf of Slides -- Comments (0)
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- Some snow on the ridge -- Comments (0)
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- Main slide April 2021 -- Comments (0)
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- Skiing up the Gulf of Slides main gully with very little snow -- Comments (0)
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- Lunch a little ways up Main Gully -- Comments (0)
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- Lunch a little ways up Main Gully -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac leading up Main Gully in Gulf of Slides -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac, Tyson, and some other folks climbing the Main Gully boot track -- Comments (0)
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- View back down to the folks behind us -- Comments (0)
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- The spur below Slide Peak -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac happy with the snow -- Comments (0)
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- Half way up the Gulf of Slides Main Gully -- Comments (0)
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- Brian descending Main Gully -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac and his ice axe -- Comments (0)
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- View of no snow -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac ready to ski Gulf of Slides -- Comments (0)
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- Yeah it’s kind of steep -- Comments (0)
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- Tyson earned his turns -- Comments (0)
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- Telemark turns from the top -- Comments (0)
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- Emilie -- Comments (0)
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- Tyson and Isaac avoiding the ice bulge -- Comments (0)
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- Tyson doing nice telemark turns -- Comments (0)
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- Soft corn snow -- Comments (0)
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- Gully getting narrow -- Comments (0)
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- First aid cache with the returned sled -- Comments (0)
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- Tyson and the second first aid cache -- Comments (0)
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- Emilie still looking for turns -- Comments (0)
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- Still on skis -- Comments (0)
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- Still on skis -- Comments (0)
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- Still trying to ski -- Comments (0)
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- The end of the snow -- Comments (0)
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- View up the Sherburne ski trail -- Comments (0)
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- Back at Pinkham Notch -- Comments (0)
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Reply to “Summer vacation to a glacier?”
https://www.frontrangeskimo.com/blog-1/2018/6/7/snowy-range-pass-and-medicine-bow-peak
but this summer’s trip is already planned.