The Most Villainous, Breakneck Route, chapter 10: A Santa Claus Tragedy

The gully and Airplane Snowfield

Because of their proximity to Tuckerman, these gullies are sometimes visited by skiers who come in from the “other side”, but I like our approach better; fewer people, a shorter route, and less climbing. Of course we haven’t seen either Central Gully or Airplane this season, as will be the case at the end of the day when we exit through Monroe Brook.

“Airplane Snowfield” intrigues me. It’s a surprisingly convenient run to Tuckeman Ravine if you’re on the east side for the day, especially connecting through Hillman Highway, one of Tuck's classic runs.  I don’t think I’ve skied Airplane but once. Like the gully of the same name in The Great Gulf, “Airplane Snowfield” gets its name from a plane crash. This one occurred in November, 1969.

MWOB photo

No one survived the 1969 crash and stormy weather hampered the search for two days before the wreck could be located. Mount Washington Observatory employees Jon Lingel and Al Oxton were the first to the site, hiking down from the summit as soon as a co-worker had spotted the downed plane through breaking clouds. I learned a little more about the crash from an article Al wrote for the Observatory News Bulletin that next month. They found the plane about a quarter-mile south of the junction of the Davis Path and the Camel Trail, at an elevation of about 5350'. At the time of the crash, it was foggy and snowing.
Here the story gets interesting. When Lingel and Oxton arrived at the downed Cessna 172, they discovered, along with the dead pilot, two parachutists wearing Santa Clause suits. Later, the news reported that one Santa had already jumped that day into a Rumford, Maine shopping center and the two of them were en route to afternoon jumps in Keene, and Bennington and Burlington, Vermont.

Phil recalled how his father was involved somehow in the initial recovery effort and may have been the guy who carried out the airplane’s logbook. The summer after the wreck, the Lakes hut crew scavenged the propeller for a hut trophy, then rolled the wreckage down into the Oakes Gulf krummholz where few people will find it today. Since Geocaching is forbidden in the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness Area, this is one mountain plane wreck that gets few visits.
chapter 11: Troubles Come Not As Single Spies