Dodge’s Drop

Dodge’s Drop is a very steep, committing ski line on the north face of Boott Spur above Tuckerman Ravine, just skier’s left of Hillman’s Highway. The line starts in a rock-walled couloir and rolls over quickly into a no-fall zone with small cliff bands and a rocky runout below. It is one of the steeper, more serious descents in the Mount Washington backcountry and sees far less traffic than Hillman’s.

From the Hermit Lake area, follow the Hillman’s Highway approach, then cut left into the obvious side gully that leads toward the Boott Spur north face. The lower gully is brushy and can feel like a slog; above, the walls tighten into the main rock couloir. In lean years an ice bulge can form at the choke, and in fatter years it can fill in with snow; either way, you want solid cramponing and two tools if you’re not fully comfortable soloing steep snow and low-angle ice.

The upper face steepens and often splits into two similar variations, sometimes guarded by a cornice on the Boott Spur plateau. Cornice size and stability are highly variable season to season, and the line typically burns out earlier in spring than Hillman’s, so timing is critical. This is classic Presidential Range avalanche terrain: recent incidents here have involved small wind slabs that still carried skiers toward rocks, underscoring that even modest slides can have high consequences in this gully.

Skiers usually access Dodge’s via an ascent of Hillman’s Highway and a traverse into the top, or by booting the line itself when coverage and stability allow. Treat it as a full alpine objective: you need current Mount Washington Avalanche Center information, a solid read on wind loading, and a conservative plan for managing the roll-over and choke. Most parties who are not fully dialed on 50-degree terrain opt for Hillman’s instead and leave Dodge’s for firm, predictable spring snow and a day when everything—weather, stability, and coverage—lines up.