Tuckerman Ravine has tempted Brown skiers while they train at Wildcat Mountain. It has tempted New Englanders for decades. This year a few alumni got together to conquer the piste. The gruelling hike (for those out of shape) was rewarded by some glimpses of the sun and relatively warm weather. When we reached the base of the Ravine at the rest spot known as HoJo's we strapped on warmer clothes and ascended into the clouds that covered the Headwall. As we approached the Lunch Rocks the clouds got thicker and we could hardly see forty feet in front of us. For neophytes to the Tuckerman experience, this meant three guys with absolutely no idea
where the top of the mountain. The climb to the top was difficult as we kicked boot holes into the ice. As Coach Mike suggested afterwards, "it's really more like mountaineering in ski boots." John Gillis accurately pointed out that at Tuckerman Ravine everyone is a liability as the talent pool at Tuck's is, to put it politely, diverse. Accordingly, as we hiked up, we kept on our guard - unsure as to whether the person in front of us might slide down the whole face of the mountain and take us out in the process.The snow was bumpy ice and comparing it to the Birds of Prey downhill is not an exaggeration. The clouds made it nearly impossible to have any sense of the direction we were skiing. Eventually the clouds did part, to the cheers of the onlookers below, and we learned a lesson on why not to bring snowboard Tuckerman Ravine (see video below). We ran into a fellow alumnus David Lavallee '87 on the ascent, but didn't see him again at the end of the day, so we hope he made it down. After the three runs we took the descent on the ski trail at full speed. There were numerous streams to jump and grass covered hills to ski down. Hoping to make this event an annual proving ground for old Brown Ski Teams. Hope to see you then!
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