Great Gulf
Great Gulf is the deep glacial basin enclosed by Mount Washington and the northern Presidential peaks. Its walls extend past Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, while the West Branch of the Peabody River drains its floor. The basin lies within the Great Gulf Wilderness, designated in 1964.
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13 items
Sphinx Col Gully
Backcountry descentStinkbug
Backcountry descentStinkbug is a narrow, steep gully in the Great Gulf with a rock band lower in the line that can be hidden from the entrance. The confined fall path carries a skier toward that band.
Activator Gully
Backcountry descentSpacewalk
Backcountry descentSpacewalk is a traverse that joins Airplane Gully in the Great Gulf around 5,200 feet. From that junction, the Airplane descent continues into lower gully terrain; conditions at the entrance do not establish stability below the traverse.
Airplane Gully
Backcountry descentAirplane Gully is a steep, northeast-facing descent into the Great Gulf, meeting the Spacewalk traverse around 5,200 feet. The confined lower terrain makes a loss of control consequential, especially with exposed rock and ice in a thin snowpack.
Turkey Chute
Backcountry descentTurkey Feather
Backcountry descentDrainpipe
Backcountry descentDrainpipe's lower choke can interrupt a ski descent into the Great Gulf. In Andrew Drummond's April 29, 2025 field report, passing that section required lowering through vegetation. He also describes an entrance that is difficult to identify. Verify the intended slot and lower choke rather than judging the line from the rim alone.
Mother In Law
Backcountry descentCarousel Gully
Backcountry descentPipeline Gully
Backcountry descentPipeline drops from Mount Clay toward the Great Gulf. An icefall can separate the gully from its apron in limited snow coverage, with a boulder field below. That lower connection can require mountaineering travel rather than continuous skiing.