This past Easter weekend we crossed our fingers and headed north to Mount Washington. Specifically Huntington Ravine. Recent reports had claimed that winter still had a firm grasp on the ravine and its ice was fat. We started up the Tuckerman trail under warm sunny skies threading our way through the swarms of skiers and snowboarders heading to Tuckermans Ravine for some spring skiing. Temps were warm and the snow was soft. A quick stop at Harvard Cabin to say hi to the caretaker confirmed the reports that Huntington was in fact back in and there was good climbing to be had. Our route of choice, Odell's Gully. A multi pitch WI2-3 grade climb. Starting up the fan revealed soft snow and our route was definitely in, as well as most other routes in the ravine. Some icefall was witnessed undoubtedly caused by the warm temps. Our first anchor was built with a picket and Brian started up the first pitch. The ice was soft to allow full depth sticks but still seemed to take screws well. The second pitch was a fun dehiedral with a left exit over a off balanced bulge which made for some fun moves. Above this was some soft low angle ice leading into the scree and brush above. Brian belayed me up and we scrambled up to the alpine garden when snow began to fall and the upper mountain became enveloped in the clouds. We began the slog down the Lions head winter route when we encountered a couple and their dog stuck just below tree line. The couple had made it up the route to the Alpine garden after having to lift the large dog up some of the vertical rock and snow sections.
When the weather blew in, they made the wise decision to bail on their plans to tag the summit and descend via the auto road. This left them with only one choice, to descend via lions head, the easiest route up or down the east side of the mountain. When we first ran into them they were about 20 ft below treeline, seemingly unprepared with tennis shoes, improper clothing, and a lack of anything resembling crampons or an ice axe. Let alone having a dog weighing an estimated 75 lbs or more on a route involving vertical sections of rock and ice, scrambling, and avalanche terrain. The dog was extremely frightened. Not wanting to see the dog nor the owners getting hurt trying to coax the dog down the mountain, we offered assistance. The dog had a harness which simplified the rescue effort. I anchored to a small tree and dug my crampons into the snow. The rope was lowered to the dog and I instructed the owner to clip the carabiner to the back of the harness. The dog was put on belay and the owner began the slow process of coaxing (lifting) the dog down the near vertical slope when he slipped. He slid nearly 15 ft down before catching himself on a protruding root.
At that point the decision was made for Brian to attach himself to the rope, hold the shaking pup, and be lowered along with the dog. Directional anchors were placed around the small trees to try and control the descent line. At this point there was a "traffic jam" of roughly 10 climbers either watching the rescue or trying to descend around the rope. Some offered assistance by relaying messages back and forth to Brian and I. At this point we were well out of sight of each other and I had passed the half mark on my rope. Finally after roughly 45 minutes the "off belay" command was relayed up to me and the pup had been safely lowered approximately 150 feet down the route. Anchors were broken down and after a photo opportunity with "tucker" we continued down the Lions Head trail. The couple was extremely grateful offering us dinner and drinks in return and I hope that they learned an extremely valuble lesson. We were glad that the dog didn't suffer any injury due to their poor decisions. We reached the Tuckerman trail where the climbers who witnessed the rescue cheered and offered us chocolate and a sip of port. We continued down to Pinkham notch and made the 7 mile round trip in 7 hrs with roughly 5000 ft gain/loss (including the hour long canine rescue lol). We finished off a great day with chili and beer at "The Moat" in North Conway. The spot tracking beacon worked flawlessly. Tucker made it down the mtn, his owners didn't loose appendages to frostbite, and great climbing was had under sunner skies. All in all a wonderful day...till next time.
