Over the next few weeks, we’ll see one ski area after another spin their lifts for the final day of the season. Some have already wrapped it up, and the handful that go on will see the snow and the skiers gradually disappear. If past seasons are any indication, the snow will outlast the skiers. There will be a few diehards that will climb for their runs at various ski areas, especially those with higher altitude base elevations, such as Sugarloaf and Wildcat.

But the true hardcore types will head for Mt. Washington.

Most skiers are familiar with Tuckerman Ravine, even if they have never set foot on the mountain. They may have read about skiing there, gazed into the bowl from the trails at Wildcat, or heard about the runs from friends. When skiing out west, I have been asked about Tuckerman Ravine. While most skiers only dream of someday skiing there, many make it an annual goal, a pilgrimage, indeed, a skier’s Mecca.

For me it was an annual trek.

We would leave in darkness, planning our arrival at the AMC headquarters in Pinkham Notch between 6 and 7 a.m. Joining other skiers in the parking lot, we would arrange our backpacks, lunch, snacks, beverages, and extra clothing. Oranges and bananas along with water would go in the side pockets for breaks on the way up. Skis were lashed to the side of the pack supported by a pack frame. Boots could be mounted in the bindings or stowed at the bottom of the pack.

Before heading up the fire trail, we would check the large sign board on the porch of the AMC building, which listed conditions in the various runs — Hillman Highway, Lower Snowfield, Little Headwall, Left Gully, Right Gully, Headwall, Gulf of Slides, East Snowfields, Lion Head, Huntington Ravine and Oakes Gulf. Mostly, the signs simply told us whether or not the various areas were open or closed. They would either be “Open” or “Closed, Avalanche Danger.”

The other valuable information would be the weather in the ravine and at the summit. We might be starting our climb in T-shirts in sunshine with temperatures in the 60s, but at the summit temperatures were below freezing with high winds. In Tuckerman Ravine on the lee side of the mountain with the sun reflected around the bowl, we could expect it to be much warmer. But climb over the lip of the Headwall, sweating in a T-shirt, and feel the need for a parka.

The climb in is basically an uphill hike. The fire trail climbs a little over 2,000 feet in two-and-a-half miles to the Hermit Lake Shelter (Hojo’s, a reference to the high prices of snacks at the old shelter in a day when Howard Johnson restaurants had the reputation of high prices). Hojo’s is a jumping off spot, and there are a number of lean to type shelters at that level just below the timber line. Some skiers head south to ski Hillman Highway, a 40-degree pitch,1,500 vertical foot drop off Boott Spur. Others choose to ski the little headwall and the lower snowfields, but most continue climbing another half mile and about 500 feet of vertical to the floor of the big bowl that is Tuckerman Ravine.

Stash your pack by Lunch Rocks, just below the Right Gully and change from your hiking boots to your ski boots and prepare to climb and ski. Above tower the Headwall and the Lip, with the Chute and the Left Gully to the south, skiers are advised to bite off no more than they can ski. As they climb, the pitch gets steeper, 40 degrees in the gullies and 55 on the headwall. The number of runs in a day depends on conditioning and they all come after the hike in. Also, if you get there early enough in the season, you might be able to ski down the Sherburne Ski Trail all the way back to the highway. This 2.4 mile trail drops 1,900 feet with a 35-degree pitch, a narrow winding run through the woods. You’ll know how far down you can ski by when you first hit snow on the hike in. In May, we start our hike on a nice dry trail. Eventually it becomes muddy and later snow.

The best source of information is www.friendsoftuckerman.org

That’s also the site to check out an up coming competition, the Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon. Named for the famed Inferno, which in the 1930s was a top-to-bottom race down across the snowfields, over the Headwall, down through the Ravine and on to the Sherburne to Pinkham Notch, this is a five-leg race. It starts at Storyland with an 8.3-mile run, followed by a six-mile white water kayak leg, 18 miles by bike, a three-mile hike into Tuckerman and a one-mile ski race to the finish. The Tuckerman/Tuckerwoman competition is for the real iron athletes, one racer, all five events. This is open to 20 of each sex. There will be 30 teams of five, with at least one of the opposite sex required. Tuckerwoman teams of five will be five women. The Dynamic Duo category is for two people, each performing at least one event.

The event takes place April 15-17, with registration and welcome party at the Eastern Slope Inn Friday evening, and the race at 7 a.m. Saturday morning and Sunday an alternate race day. The website has all the information about how to sign up and for spectators the best places to watch the times. You can also learn how you can help support preservation of Tuckerman Ravine. The Inferno is a fundraiser for the organization. You might catch me on the slopes in the next few weeks. If not, look for me in these pages in November.

 Dave Irons is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.