Parts of this year’s course have been forced to change due to permitting problems.
The annual Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon — a Swiss-inspired adventure race — will take place in the White Mountains this Saturday, March 15. And, due to last-minute changes, the notoriously difficult event will feature extra ski mountaineering this year.
The Tuckerman Inferno is a world-class skimo race. The course features three up and two down stages that can be tackled as an individual, dynamic duo, or relay team.
The actual course is determined in the week leading up to the race, but the five stages include a hike/skin to treeline, an alpine snow climb with a single pitch of fixed line, a ski descent with a section of giant slalom gates, a second alpine snow climb, and a final ski descent all the way to Pinkham Notch.
This year’s course had to be altered as race organizers were wrapping up final permitting for the race. Organizers discovered that the Avalanche Brook Ski Trail crosses a corner of the Dry River Wilderness, and events and races are expressly prohibited within designated wilderness areas.
That meant there was no feasible way to connect a ski run to Jackson, so organizers had to eliminate the Nordic stages of the race.
Instead, they doubled down on the ski mountaineering aspect of the race and added a second climb and ski descent, transforming the new inferno into a world-class ski mountaineering event.
The Tuckerman Inferno is a fundraiser for the Mount Washington Avalanche Center. All proceeds from the event support the Mount Washington Avalanche Center Foundation, which works to support the center.