Quick report
This observation is from tours on Apr 18, 19, 21, 24, and 25. Much has certainly changed since then, and certainly will change even more from when I’m writing this on Apr 27 So I include numerous caveats, and any reader should probably add more caveats too (plus of course read the latest avy updates from the MWAC). For tracklogs, pictures (including those of my family in Florida, sorry!), and color commentary (mainly in the picture captions), see my Strava feed: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1583171 West Side - Monroe Brook had a great season (totally unlike last season), and was skiing from its absolute maximum elevation on Apr 24 (far skier’s left). The ski traverse from LoTC hut is totally gone, but the hiking descent from the other end of the Monroe summit ridgeline wasn’t bad at all. However, the water holes just above the bail point to the exit glade (which is in good shape) have probably become somewhere between Scary and Unnavigable since then. - Cog on Apr 18 was skiable the entire way from the summit down to ~200’ vert above the bridge with just two short portages along the utility line (in the usual wind-scoured locations), but those lines were often thin and narrow, hence totally gone by now. As viewed from Bretton Woods on Apr 23, snow was still clinging to the far skier’s left in many places, and along Jacob’s Ladder looked pretty good. The Sun Apr 27 snowtorm will help, but for the rest of the season the remaining snowpack should be considered just a transportation-skiing aid as an exit from Great Gulf, rather than an objective in itself. - Burt still appeared to have some short skiable stretches as viewed from Bretton Woods on Apr 23. On Apr 18 I skied ~100’ vert as a diversion during a Cog descent. Perhaps another ~100’ vert would have been available above where I started (had I switched over to skier’s right of the Cog earlier than I did), and perhaps another ~100’ vert would have been available below where I bailed back to the Cog. Still though, more like a nice little variation when returning from Great Gulf via the Cog, rather than an objective in itself. Oakes - The lines on the western side were still skiing about as well as they ever do on Apr 24: the steep rollover of the Main Gully was fat, the moderate-angle line from LoTC hut was fine, both left and right Double Barrel had plenty of room to maneuver, with decent tree skiing all the way down to the Dry River. - Getting into Oakes via the ART is fine, although don’t plan on any advantage from skinning, and do plan on using real boot crampons for the steep pitches below treeline. Getting out of Oakes via Monroe Brook, see above, hence getting into Oakes via ART is similarly not advised, unless planning to hike down ART (ugh). - Getting into Oakes via Left Gully is a long walk, but a rather casual one along the Camel Trail if the winds are relatively calm. Just don’t plan on picking up any snow ribbons leading into the steep convex rollover of Main Gully (unless perhaps they are renewed by the Sun Apr 27 storm). - On the eastern side, Airplane Bowl starts off beautifully, but quickly fades out, and the usual ski traverse from the furthest eastern entrance no longer connects. So from the top of Left Gully, best option is probably to aim toward Davis Path, then at the junction with Camel Trail, downhike straight toward the top of Airplane Bowl. Attempting to ski right toward the runout of Half Pipe Gully would probably be an exercise in frustration: on Apr 21 this route was okay, but we bailed instead to Main Gully on Apr 24 (given our arduous ascent up from the Dry River crossing earlier in the tour), and the trees have probably become even tighter since then. The various fingers descending from Airplane Bowl might still be okay, but be mindful of undermining. GoS - GoS #3 was excellent on Apr 21, even down lower, perhaps in part from an avalanche this season. My partner, a professional architect who is also an avid amateur woodworker, thought one snapped-off tree had 15 rings, so that would be a once-every-fifteen-years avalanche for that line. - GOSST was already getting marginal in many places even just down to the Graham connector trail on Apr 21, so probably a complete two-way hike by now. - Graham is never in good condition, since if it has enough snow to be in good condition, then skiing all the way down to PNVC is a better idea. But it has some rough blowdowns this season, and already on Apr 21 it had lots of bare sections with the snow-covered sections on the north end covered in forest debris (same as TRT). Tucks (and access/exit) - TRT has no skinning advantage, given the bare sections and dirty snow, plus the usual consolidated snow (and snirt) that makes trail runners just as fast and efficient (or perhaps even more so). - Sherb closure rope moved up significantly from Apr 24 and 25, with only ~600’ vert skiing. And much of that was just transportation skiing, with some portages. - LH summer route on Apr 25 was quite good overall with consolidated snow or bare rock, and the consolidated snow often filling in the boulder gaps nicely. However, the steep avalanche-prone snowfield was not trenched in at all on Apr 25, and my track is probably now obscured by the Apr 27 snowstorm (as well as avalanche-prone again). - LH winter route looked done for in a picture posted to FB on Apr 27, which makes all the more baffling the two hikers I met about to descend it in trail runners (sans hiking poles are anything else apparently), who had somehow ascended it earlier in the day. - Hillman’s is excellent, no water holes emerging yet on Apr 25. Could still connect with the trail below w/o removing skis, although a short portage is probably necessary by now. The walk over from the top of Left Gully was still about half skiing on Apr 25, and will probably be renewed by the Apr 27 snowstorm. - Bowl on Apr 25: Left Gully was excellent, Chute was so fat as to be undeserving of its name, Lip was still okay but with rapidly emeerging water holes (making its bootpack seem ill-advised). Right Gully makes for a fun short run, but no longer a viable exit from the Bowl (let alone an entrance) given the long burnt-out section up high. - Summit snowfields are excellent, with a big refresh likely from the Apr 27 snowstorm and ensuing winds. Some sections are definitely steep enough to slide though, and with the auto road open midweek just for this week, that creates the potential for some sort of record to be set for the east (or perhaps anywhere in North America?) for proximity of a fatal avalanche to the victim’s parking spot. Great Gulf - Did not get in there on any of these tours, but brief glances from the auto road showed everything from Airplane Gully from Activator looking good, which would be expected given the generally favorable conditions on east aspects after the most recent storm, with an ongoing refresh from the Apr 27 storm.