My next trip to the White Mountains would be to tackle the famous Huntington Ravine. Generally considered to be one of the more difficult non-technical scrambles in the area.

I decided that rather than summit Mt. Washington, I would cross over the Alpine Garden and descend via Lion Head. This would afford some wonderful scenery and easily return me to the car parked at Pinkham Notch.

Huntington Ravine scramble – 8 hr, 9.3 mi, 3500 ft ascent, 3rd class

I knew that the scramble could be quite slow going so I decided on a 20L pack with food and water, water filter, emergency kit, and mountain boots. The next time I do this in the summer I would go with approach shoes for an advantage on the slabs. The forecast was for high temps and sun with lots of potential for UV exposure.

Approaching the steep North wall of the ravine

The initial hike out of Pinkham Notch on the Tuckerman Ravine trail is an excellent fitness builder and I’ve been back several times just to do laps of this section. When conditioning experts talk about building “Muscular Endurance”, this terrain is ideal for it.

Breaking off towards Huntington, the trail is well marked and several narrow ski/rescue access paths wind along the same route up into the ravine. The steep North wall was looking bigger all the time as I picked my way across the boulder field called “The Fan”.

Looking West towards The Pinnacle, can you spot the climber?

Eventually I came to a solid rock slab with three fixed pitons that marked the start of the real scrambling. The route follows a rib with Pinnacle Gully dropping off to the left. Looking across the gully I could see a climbing party headed up a route on The Pinnacle.

First section of scrambling

Proceeding upward there are plenty of opportunities to choose one’s own adventure and some variations may prove significantly more difficult than others. Many sources describe this as a 3rd class rock scramble and I believe that’s a fair assessment. Not something to take too lightly or get stuck on in a storm.

The terrain is generally slabby with big features. I managed to get myself into a couple stances that pushed the edges of my comfort zone but everything went well. At one point I came across some flowing water and filtered a liter to replace what I had consumed.

The climbers I had seen earlier were now on top of The Pinnacle and called out to me that “I was almost there”.

On top of the lip of the Ravine looking towards the Alpine Garden

Near the top, things revert to talus and rugged trail before finally popping out on the plateau of the Alpine Garden. I took a seat on a large boulder and mixed up some sport drink as the mountain breeze licked at my sweat saturated clothing.

The Alpine Garden was absolutely beautiful. This area is a small swath of true intact alpine ecosystem so please stay on the rocky path if you choose to visit. As I made my way towards Tuckerman ravine and my planned descent I couldn’t help but reflect on what I had just done and my constantly evolving place in these hills.

Looking across Tuckerman Ravine with Boot Spur in the distance

I was feeling a bit spent so I took a moment at the edge of Tuckerman Ravine to re-focus for the descent. Proceeding down Lion Head, I helped a couple find the “Summer Route” and my energy was on the upswing.

By the time I reached the steep, rocky, switchbacks above Pinkham Notch I was shirtless with pants rolled up and descending at a full mountain boot run, a broad smile plastered to my face. I imagine that I must have been quite a sight.