# Left Gully and Hillman's Highway - 4/30/2011



## David Metsky (May 3, 2011)

Monica and I stayed up in Gorham so we could get an early start for Saturday, which promised to be a nice weather day.  We grabbed breakfast at McD's and pulled into Pinkham right around 7:00, which was good enough to get a spot on the right side of the main lot.  We booted up and headed out by 7:20.  Monica was on alpine gear so she was carrying skis and boots and wearing hiking boots.  I planned on skinning in tele gear so I had my tele boots on and carrying skis for the bottom section.  I was able to skin from about 1/3 of the way up to Hojos.

*Monica on TRT*






*Me, skinning up*





It was raining slightly as we left Pinkham, and it gradually turned to snow as we climbed.  The hiking/skinning temperatures were great, we didn't over heat or get exhausted, reaching Hojos in 1:25.  Just a short break there as we wanted to beat the crowds and we climbed up to the Bowl, arriving by 9:15 or so.  Left Gully was our objective so we headed up to some rocks below the Chute and started our change over.  There were some folks up in the Bowl but not that many, only a few people we skiing already.  The Crevasse below the Lip was nasty looking and I was amazed at the people climbing below and through the area.

*Arriving at the Bowl*





*Before the crowds*





We spent some time rearranging packs and leaving unneeded gear before headed up the empty boot ladder.  There were only a few folks above us, maybe a dozen at most.  The climb was as usual, steady, slow, and enjoyable.  Just below the top out was quite steep; we were using our hands in the foot holds above us.  By the time we reached the top there was nothing but sunshine; a completely blue bird day!  We watched a few folks who had arrived before us drop in while we rested and hydrated.  Eventually the top was clear so we put our skis on and got ready.  Monica skied the run without stopping so I have no pics of her.  I took my time with a few stops along the way.  Conditions were prime; soft corn on top of a pretty firm base.

*Left Gully boot ladder*





*Steep section at the top of Left Gully*





I met up with Monica at the bottom of the run and we marveled at how many people were now streaming into the Bowl.  The TRT looked like the line for Space Mountain and maybe it was.  We picked up our gear and dropped a bit lower so we could eat lunch out of the wind.  By then the boot ladders were filling up for Left Gully, Chute, and Right Gully.  Very few folks were attempting the Lip or Lobster Claw.

*Getting ready to drop in*





*Well earned rest*





*Crowds arriving in the Bowl*





*Chute boot ladder*





After lunch we headed down to Hillmans which promised some great skiing and fewer people.  Ran into Marta on the hike down to Hojos (Little Headwall was not an option) who confirmed our decision.  Stopped only for a few seconds at Hojos before heading up to Hillmans - this would be my first run ever there.  Ran into a work buddy coming down after his run, small world.  We again reorganized our packs for the climb and started up.  The climb was further than either of us really expected, but there wasn't a huge amount of traffic on the boot ladder so it was OK when we wanted to rest.  Topped out in the beautiful sun and took a well deserved rest.  We both knew this was our last run so we enjoyed the beautiful weather.  It was so much more quiet here in Hillman’s.  We had taken the right fork, although the left fork also looked quite good.  Enough waiting around, time to ski!

*Goodbye to the Bowl*





*Hello Hillmans*





*Topping out at Hillmans*





*Summit snowfields*





Hillman’s was also skiing fantastically, a little heavy up top but nothing to mess you up.  It is a nice long run, more enjoyable than Left Gully but without that pucker factor up top that is so alluring.  As I stopped to take photos of Monica I heard my name from the boot ladder, and chatted with Greg a friend from NET.  He was on his 4th run of the day (Hillmans, Duchesse, Dodges, and Hillmans) so I tipped my hat to the energy of youth and kept going.  We had a great time on the run, but the moguls at the bottom finished me off.  That was all I had in me that day.  Ran into Marcia and Rich (Harvard caretaker) at the bottom of the run and caught up a bit.  We drank more water, ate more chocolate, and started down.

*Monica ripping it up*





*On Sherby, Hillmans in the background*





You could carefully pick a line down from Hillmans to the Sherby, and then cruise pretty well until the rope about halfway down.  Some folks took skis off at the two muddy patches but I did some careful grass skiing and kept them on until the rope.  Big crowd there taking off skis, very festive atmosphere.  The TRT was much softer than in the morning as we descended, first on snow and then dirt/rock for the last ½ mile.  A beer in the parking lot was extremely welcome, lots of tired bodies and smiles all around.  We finished around 4:45 under beautiful sunshine and minimal wind.  Couldn’t ask for a better way to end April.

All the Pictures  Sorry for the large image size.
Lots of video to follow.


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## thorski (May 3, 2011)

Awesome


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## WoodCore (May 3, 2011)

Awesome trip report! Got to get my butt up there ASAP.


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## bvibert (May 3, 2011)

Great TR and pics!


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## skiadikt (May 3, 2011)

great report. way to get some.


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## bigbog (May 3, 2011)

Nice pics DM.........


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## David Metsky (May 3, 2011)

*The next day at Cannon*

The next day we had a late breakfast at the Moonbeam in Gorham and headed over to Cannon for some more turns on our way home.  It was a spectacular day, even warmer than Saturday and much fewer people.  We met a boarder in the parking lot who was headed up to the top, we weren't sure yet exactly where we were headed.  The snow started a short ways up from the base lodge, but was thin in a few places.  We had to carry twice and then met up with some folks coming down under the main quad who let us know we could follow the snow from there all the way to the summit.

*A little sketchy down low*





*Solid snow from here on up*





We were pretty tired from Saturday so we decided to just go part way up Profile and get some nice turns in the sun.  There was a skin track going nearly straight up and we ended up following it for most of the climb.  Profile was still holding on fine, except for the one choke point.  We went a bit over half way up Profile before deciding to call it a day.

*Skin track on Profile*





*Some lovely turns*





*Beautiful Corn*





*Monica lower down on the mountain*





We had a great run, having to stop at the big gap and walk a stretch before getting a few more turns lower down the mountain.  It felt great to ski without helmet or kneepads, just shorts, t-shirt and shell pants.  I'm planning to hit Slackfest in a few weeks but this really felt like the end of the ski season for me, especially just two weeks after the marathon (note the shirt I'm wearing).  We finished up and headed to the car for a beer and the sunny ride home.

*Headed to the last patch of snow*





*It was worth it*





All the pictures are here - http://www.hikethewhites.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=2156

Video to come.


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## snowmonster (May 4, 2011)

Thanks for the report! Tux looks fat. Hope it holds up well into June. That picture of the conga line heading into the Bowl and up Chute looks scary. Yikes! All it takes is one slip.

Good on you to take on Cannon! That's a crowd scene I like.


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## JimG. (May 4, 2011)

In addition to the usual complete TR with photos, it is a pleasure to see you posting here again David.

I always enjoy your reports and I hope you continue to stick around and contribute.


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## snoseek (May 4, 2011)

Sounds like a nice complete weekend. Thanks for sharing!


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## David Metsky (May 5, 2011)

The video from Saturday


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## ski_resort_observer (May 5, 2011)

Nice pics! Thanks for the uber report. So nice when mother nature gives such a great day. Back a few decades ago we pretty much just skied HH.


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## Johnskiismore (May 5, 2011)

Awesome trip report!


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## David Metsky (May 6, 2011)

And Sunday at Cannon:


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## kingslug (May 10, 2011)

Awesome TR..and it saves me from posting my own as it would be almost the same...except we climbed up and over from left gully and made a long trek to Hillmans..a long trek.......my first time there...


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## ski stef (May 12, 2011)

Looks like an amazing day!! Awesome!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk


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