Description

When you picture a lobster claw, what do you think of? One main arm that splits into 2 at the joint.

Well this is exactly what Lobster Claw is, a narrow chute that splits into 2 about half way up.

Considering that Tuckerman Ravine is at the heart of New England, it seems only fitting that at least one line is named after lobster.

Lobster Claw is considered one of the easiest descents in Tuckerman Ravine, although it is narrow, with a sustained pitch of 25-30 degrees it is not very steep.

This makes Lobster Claw one of the best places for first timers to start.

There are 2 ways to ski Lobster Claw, the left branch and the right branch.

The lookers right branch is the easier of the 2, this is the one most people climb when they ski the Lobster Claw.

The pitch is consistent and you can see all the way to the bottom of the chute while your skiing it.

From where you drop in, the chute starts wide, then quickly becomes 8-12 feet wide consistently.

After the first 150 feet, The right and left branches of the chute merge and the rock wall to skiers left becomes a line of shrubbery.

by the time you get here, the end of the gully will already be in sight.

The run out of the Lobster Claw is low angle and very open until you reach the bottom of the bowl.

If you are skiing the lookers left branch, the whole dynamic of the chute changes.

This chute is tighter, it twists and turns and it doesn’t get nearly as much sun.

You can hike over from the right branch, but it’s better to climb from the bottom to check it out.

The first 8-12 turns take you through a narrow gully similar to the right branch, then suddenly a big rock wall juts out, creating a tricky choke point.

Sometimes this section is rocky, if you don’t have a lot of chute skiing experience, you may want to sideslip this section.

The chute quickly curves back left and spills into the main body of Lobster Claw.

The hard part is over and now can enjoy some nice turns down the run out.

Lobster Claw is a good run to help you get comfortable with chutes, you can start with a run on the right branch and then work your way up to the left branch.

Even if you’re an experienced big mountain skier, you can have a great time in Lobster Claw.