New Hampshire Skiers Trigger Two Large Avalanches in White Mountains

I don't know much about avalanches but I do know they are terrifying. In 2020 I visited Park City, Utah, where it snowed so much that they enforced something called "Interlodge" and which is a shelter-in-place order that's issued when avalanche danger is too high to go outside. We were stuck inside for 15 hours! Thank god the Airbnb we stayed at had board games.

How often do avalanches occur in New Hampshire?

Avalanches are more common than you might think in New Hampshire, especially in Tuckerman Ravine in the White Mountains. According to an article by the Mount Washington Avalanche Center, the Presidential Range has the most avalanche terrain east of the Rocky Mountains. On average, 25 people per year are injured on Mount Washington and require rescue due to an avalanche. 

This week multiple avalanches occurred in the White Mountains, all were triggered by skiers.

In Hillman’s Highway, a solo skier triggered a large avalanche and was caught, carried, and critically buried. A second solo skier, in the same avalanche path, was able to move out of the way, and witnessed a small part of the buried skier out of the snow, and immediately helped that skier! The buried skier suffered non-life threatening injuries but imagine they were very shaken up!

Read More: Person Accused of Stealing $25K from New Hampshire's Tuckaway Tavern Has Been Arrested

And then another group of skiers triggered another large avalanche in the fan of Central Gully that spread across the ravine towards the Harvard Bulge. They were not caught or carried by the avalanche and are uninjured.

In an an article by NHPR, the skiers are quoted to say they were " shaken up, and even embarrassed, the experience was incredibly educational and a serious reminder that will deeply influence our judgement moving forward.”

Why are they embarrassed? Did they know they were skiing in avalanche terrain and did it anyway? Perhaps it's a similar feeling to when people hike Mount Washington and are underdressed for the elements and don't bring enough water and they require a rescue. A little research could avoid this whole big thing. Thankfully everyone is okay and this was definitely a teachable moment for all parties involved.