Trip report:
On March 31, 2023 I did a speed attempt effort on Mt Washington from the Pinkham side on skis. I managed to lower my previous fkt time (1:29:59) a bit.
This was a solo, unsupported attempt.
Overall conditions were ok, but not great. The lower part of the mountain was in good shape and I was able to skin all the way to the base of the bowl. I was ahead of my previous FKT pace at that point by a minute or two. Right gully was a mix of very firm/icy snow and recent windslab. I had to set my own boot back in the slab and tried to mitigate avalanche risk by staying on the icier stuff where possible.
The snowpack above Tucks was pretty abysmal. Very icy and wind scoured and I had to transition to booting quite early. I also took a bit of a circuitous route so I ended up getting to the summit about a minute or so slower than my last attempt (1:15).
I decided to try to make up time by skiing directly down to Tucks rather than around the East snowfields as I did last time. This was a debatable decision. I ended up ruining a ski and having to pick my way through rocks. The sastrugi and ice were also pretty rough, so there is a significant amount of time to be made up from faster snow conditions - but it was more direct.
Going directly towards Tucks brought me to the Lip so I decided to just descend that. It was fantastic. Smooth, untouched wind board. Really fun turns.
Unfortunately the bottom of the bowl and Little Headwall (LH) were in rougher shape. I was able to ski LH but had to pick my way through. The rest of the Sherburne was in great shape.
Note: I used the bridge over the Cutler river right next to the avy training zone at Pinkham as my start and finish line since that is one reliable place everyone has to pass through.