Ryan DeLena of Sudbury, Mass., is an outdoor education student at Northern Vermont University, an aspiring mountain guide, and co-author of “Without Restraint.” DeLena ski tours regularly on Mount Washington.

Every spring, thousands of skiers visit Tuckerman Ravine. Throughout New England ski history, it has been a rite of passage to hike from Pinkham Notch to ski the long-lasting snowpack in “The Bowl.”

With millions of New England residents living within driving distance of Mount Washington, Tuckerman Ravine and crowds have become synonymous in the spring. The idea of a reservation-based parking system to help reduce crowds and also avalanche-related accidents on Mount Washington would not solve these problems — in fact, it would actually create more harm.

Skiers, uninformed on current avalanche hazard, may be likely to follow other skiers into terrain, assuming it was safe. While the “Expert Halo” and “Social Facilitation” heuristic traps can cause this phenomenon to happen, a reservation system would not solve this.

Reservation systems are not qualitative, and therefore, an inexperienced skier could just as easily reserve a slot as an avalanche professional. Creating a reservation-based system would ensure that only those who had access to the internet during the moment reservations opened would be able to climb the mountain, whether they have sound judgment or not.

In addition to this, crowding on Mount Washington would not be solved by a reservation system, it would simply shift crowds elsewhere. Kurt Niiler’s “Presidential Skiing” guidebook lists 12 different ravines and gulfs, most of which host good spring skiing. While Tuckerman Ravine is the most popular, it is also the most fit to accommodate large crowds.

The Tuckerman Ravine Trail is cut wide, hosts multiple bridges, and has a separate descent trail for skiers, the John Sherburne Trail. There is also a visitor center where tourists can view posted weather and avalanche reports, as well as purchase gear and food if they forget it. Limiting parking in Pinkham would not stop spring skiing, instead, it could flood other areas that are less equipped to handle it with traffic.

King Ravine, for example, has a much narrower approach trail, un-bridged water crossings, and more consequential ski terrain. Not to mention there would be ski traffic, colliding with hiker traffic, as they share the same trail. This would only lead to more accidents in the backcountry if inexperienced skiers in large numbers flocked here instead. Not to mention other spring ski areas have longer approaches and lack the volunteer ski patrol presence that Tuckerman Ravine has. More complicated terrain and limited resources only exacerbate the nature of rescues.

Furthermore, Tuckerman Ravine is not the only show in town when it comes to Pinkham Notch. Gulf of Slides and Huntington Ravine both utilize the same parking area, but suffer far less from issues of crowding. A reservation system would unfairly affect locals who are interested in skiing terrain outside of Tuckerman Ravine.

This includes guides teaching avalanche courses out of Pinkham Notch. This would make it harder for guides to organize parking with their clients, thereby not only failing to eliminate the problem of safety concerns in the ravine, but hindering the education of those who seek to understand the hazards and make better decisions.

Implementing a reservation system on New Hampshire’s most popular outdoor space would open the door for a fundamental shift in how the outdoors is managed. Creating more barriers that prevent people from accessing nature is a slippery slope. Crowds, and the damage they cause, are undoubtedly an issue that outdoor spaces are affected by. However, the solution to human impact does not need to limit these spaces further.

So what is the solution? Rather than push for a reactionary solution such as a reservation system, the solution should be to expand opportunities for education. A reservation system harms locals, disrupts work for guides, and moves impact to other places. Education benefits guides who offer these types of courses, and teaches people to avoid rescues through their own decision-making.

While most springtime visitors to Tuckerman Ravine are unlikely to enroll in a full AIARE Course, having educational resources online could help. Take this hypothetical solution for example. Rather than have a reservation to park in Pinkham, you would acquire a “Tuckerman Ravine Pass.”

This pass would be free of charge, but only become available after new visitors watch a series of 5-10 minute videos, each about the various hazards on Mount Washington. This would include brief explanations of the avalanche problems, glide cracks, long sliding falls, hypothermia, and what gear is recommended for a trip.

After watching these videos, a short quiz would grant you access to a printable pass online, and you would be directed to opportunities to take an AIARE Course, hire a guide for the day, or take an LNT Course. Thus encouraging more extensive education, without requiring it.

While a solution like this is not ‘the’ answer, it’s certainly more likely to keep visitors safe than a reservation system.

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