ski
Powder Day At MRG
With the recent storm having dumped 12-16″, I decided to spend my morning today at MRG. Although things got tracked out more quickly than I would have hoped for, the skiing was great and it turned out to be a beautiful bluebird day.
I randomly bumped into my buddy Josh as I was heading up from the parking lot and took a first lap with him in the morning. We decided to jump into the deep end, so to speak, and found some awesome snow. Afterwards I joined up with my buddy Peter and his friend Andrea, who I’d been planning on meeting up with. We had a great time poking around the mountain for a little while. Oh, and I also had a superb beer by Lawsons – a maple imperial stout. Yum!
Anyways, I didn’t stop to take too many photos, but here’s what I’ve got from the day.
[Edited to add photo by Josh on 2/4]
Josh sends it.
And rips through pow.
Likewise, I enjoy ripping through pow! (Photo by Josh).
Later in the day and unfortunately with poor light, Peter found some freshies. It was, well, you know, just ok….. 
What a fun day! After this storm and the potential for another one on saturday, I can’t wait to get back into the VTBC – I can’t even imagine how good it must be right now.
Perfect Powder In The BC
I met up with my new buddy Dalton today and we had some good fun in the woods of the VTBC. It was snowing quite well the entire time we were up there, and the snow, oh man, the snow was awesome. Perfect powder. I couldn’t really ask for much more.
A short skin led us to this zone. Meadow-skipping goodness!
Bo was super stoked to be out playing in the snow, just as we were.
Dalton coming down through the trees.
Even after being seriously injured last spring, this dude rips!
YES!
Likewise, I had a lot of fun out there (photo clearly by Dalton).
Although we were only out for two short laps, this was a spectacular day! Many thanks to Dalton for showing me this awesome spot. I’m sure I’ll be back soon enough.
Stoke-Meter: Pegging So High!
Having been out touring a lot recently, my friend Krysta was wondering what all the fuss was about – why bother working your ass off to walk uphill only to ski down when we have perfectly good lifts? Well, I decided that there was no better way to tell her than to actually show her. So we took the day on sunday to go back into one of my new favorite zones for Krysta’s first day of back country skiing, ever.
It was a rather cloudy day, with light snow (very light) falling the entire time we were out there. When we got up into the zone, we found a fresh few inches of fluff had fallen, just enough to refresh everything. Even better, the snow underneath seemed to have gotten better from the previous time I had been out in this area, when it was somewhat heavier (due to the warmer temps on friday). In short, the skiing was spectacular – very surfy, very soft, very fun.
First time skinning for Krysta and it seems to be going alright so far.
Closer to the top and she’s still smiling!
Every once in a while I like being artistic.
Once we changed over and had a quick bite to eat at the top, it was time to ski!
Krysta making her first BC turns. Not a bad canvas for one’s first BC turns, either.
Krysta was enjoying the open lanes through the woods.
On our second lap, I decided I needed to step my game up a notch or two.
And so I did.
Being somewhat stretched for time, we didn’t take too many more pictures, but it was a great run down. Pushing our luck with the time, we decided to put our skins back on and head back for one more run. We made it to the top with a few minutes to spare, changed over, and headed down and out for the day.
So much fun.
After this day, my stoke-meter is pegging so high! Krysta’s first bc/touring experience was an awesome one (smiles all around), the VTbackcountry is skiing so well right now, the snow is both plentiful and of amazing quality, and it’s looking like we’re about to get hit with another big storm! STOKED!
Friday Afternoon Fun
Having friday afternoon free, I decided to meet up with my brother to show him around my new favorite bc zone before he heads out west for a week in JH (lucky bastard). We had some good times.
The snow was a bit heavier than the last time I was in there, although this was somewhat to be expected given the warm temps in the upper 20°s.
Marc ripping on our first lap.
And sending it.
He’s fast.
Myself coming off the bench.
Kinda poor form, but I’m working on it.
Lower down we saw a really nice looking pillow. As Marc hit the pillow, all the snow just slid right off of it. Literally, down to the rock.
Fun times, fun times. The skiing in VT has been great lately, but we could really use a few more feet out there. Hope for snow!
Keep Moving, Keep Warm
After yesterday’s adventure, we all woke up a bit more tired and sore than expected. This lethargy coupled with the very frigid temperatures outside led to a slightly later start for what we were hoping was going to be yet another great day of touring around the VTBC.
We headed back to the same area as yesterday and ended up having some great fun today. The snow was still superb and surfy, and the sub 0° temperatures (I would actually guess it didn’t get about -5° where we were touring) weren’t too bad, as long as you kept moving. So the theme for the day quickly became don’t stop.
[2/4 edit]: Here’s the video that Paul put together from the entire weekend. If you wanna see it in HD (you do), check it out on Vimeo.
Adrian (again, not me) heading up the skin track.
Laryssa nearing the top of the zone.
We dropped into lots of fun stuff like what Adrian’s skiing here.
Paul got some nice lines in as well.
This little alley along the cliff was awesome.
Adrian threading the needle between the big birch and the much smaller pine.
At the end of the day, Paul and Laryssa had headed back due to the cold. Adrian and myself decided to take one last run, however this time we decided to head up a bit farther to see what we could find. There’s zones like this all around!! I’m s stoked!!
After a bit more uphill travel, we decided it was time to head back. Here’s myself on an absolutely dreamy descent.
What a great weekend! I’m super stoked that my friends finally made it up to VT (past Hunter) and got to experience some of the awesome VTBC firsthand. I’m also very happy to finally have gotten a chance to explore this zone, as I’ve been thinking that there’s lots of potential in there. Hopefully they’ll be back sometime later this season for some more skiing and shenanigans!
Fresh Snow In The VTBC
So this weekend a few of my friends, Adrian (not to be confused with myself), Laryssa and Paul, from NYC came up north with the intent of doing to backcountry skiing. Things had been looking pretty grim for the VTBC for a little while, but as their trip approached conditions only got better and better. By the time they showed up, all of NoVT had been skiing spectacularly. On friday they hit MRG, where I met them for the afternoon. We had a good time skiing (and riding with the Point, for half off!) around there that day, and clearly ended the day up at the Alchemist (as most days should end).
We all awoke refreshed on saturday and after getting ourselves together, headed out to one of my favorite BC spots. It was cold, but not too bad, and the snow out there was great. We found conditions to be very surfy. There was maybe 5″ of ultra light snow on top of a more firm, but still very agreeable base. We took one mellow lap and then the real adventuring began.
[2/4 edit]: If you would like to watch the video from the entire weekend that Paul put together, check it out on the next post.
Yup, we were adventure skinning. Remember, this is how you know it’s New England at its best.
After a surprising amount of time spent adventure skinning, we finally found something worth skiing. Adrian (again, not me) was stoked.
It was awesome.
Paul couldn’t help but to agree.
Adrian hitting a little drop.
Laryssa enjoying the snow.
Adrian was stoked. VTBC really is what it’s all about
After this lap, our time was running out so we went in to one last area to check it out. I’d spent some time in here poking around during the summer, so I was really pleased to finally get in here during the winter.
Yea, this is a cool zone with lots of mini-golfing potential.
What a great day touring about the VTBC. I’m glad that we’re going to be doing it all over again tomorrow!
A Cold Day At The Snow Bowl
I spent the day today at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl. Never having skied there, I really had no idea what to expect. It’s by no means a large hill, but it’s a great one with some neat shots, if you’re willing to poke around in the woods a bit. When I arrived with Krysta in the morning, it was a chilly 0°F. However, there wasn’t any wind at all and it was a perfect bluebird day, so we layered up and headed out.
The snow was great all around, especially in the trees, which still held a little bit of fresh! We skied around with my folks in the morning and then were lucky enough to have my brother, Marc, guide us around for the afternoon. Being a patroller at the Snow Bowl for the past few years, he knows all the good spots to hit. Needless to say, we had a blast today.
Looking across the way at the Daks. What an amazingly brilliant day.
The snow was excellent. Marc was clearly enjoying himself.
As was my father.
A little later on, Marc guided us into this neat spot. The snow was so good.
And so light – an absolute dream to ski.
Krysta agreed.
Lots of smiles and lots of high-fives were had today. Now that I know a bit more about the Snow Bowl, I’m sure I’ll be back.
Friday At MRG
Here’s a quick shot from today at Mad River Glen.
I got up for the afternoon and the skiing was great, but in a very MGR way – they could definitely use a additional foot or two, as there are lots of barren spots. It was a truly great and reflective afternoon, ripping around on my teles.
No gnar, no sickness, just a nice scenic of one of my favorite trails anywhere overlooking the Mad River Valley at the end of a great day.
There Are No Words
Today was the best day I’ve had in years, if not of my whole life. There are no words to accurately describe how awesome it was out there.
I randomly met up with my buddy Josh and we started heading up soon thereafter. There was already a nice coating down here of absolute blower powder.
Getting higher, getting deep. This is looking really good.
Right before the top, we found a drift that was this deep. My pole is 125cm… so this drift was 4.5ft deep. WHAAAAAAT?!
Finally time to ski! It’s deep.
And out of control. This is the 4.5ft drift. WOW.
Pure stoke and bliss.
Cold smoke.
And a few of myself a bit lower. Photos obviously by Josh.
I need a snorkel – I was choking on snow.
Awesome.
Yea… Yea. I think back about it and I’m just at a lack of words… And I can’t stop grinning
You’ll Never Know Until You Go
Over the course of thursday and friday, a storm came though New England. When I woke up on thursday, it was 32.2° and raining in Norwich. Needless to say, it was rather unpleasant. Making things worse, it was only getting warmer, meaning that the mountains were probably going to get some rain as well. I held out hope for snow though, as I was really jonesin’ to get out skiing during the weekend.
I didn’t hear too many positive reports from the mountains over the two days, but feeling antsy for an adventure after an especially long week, I decided to go take a hike up Mt. Mansfield to find out for myself. I mean, you’ll never really know what the conditions are like until you go.
It was quite overcast from the time I left Norwich, but there were a few spots that the sun was shining through as I was heading up. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
Heading up past the sugar shack and into the clouds.
Smuggler’s Notch, hidden by the clouds.
The top of the gondola is just barely peaking out.
After I made it up to the Octagon, I ate my apple and decided to press on a bit further, if only to see the snow stake. It was somewhat sad to see it so low, especially considering how it was the last time I saw it, back in April, but I suppose it is only early November.
All suited up and it’s go time!
The ski down was, in a word, rough. The snow was rather awful – light fluff dust on seriously hard and irregular crust. Oh man. And between your skis breaking through and catching in the curst and the total irregularities of the surface, not to mention the water bars, the the skiing was rather technical. Frankly, if this hadn’t been my second day of the season, I probably would have turned around sometime after hitting the snow line on the way up. All that being said, I had some good fun, and that’s about all I could have hoped to have gotten out of this day.
Conditions like these keep you on your toes in November.
I stopped skiing right around here. I could have gone further, but there were lots of rocks.
Yea, the skiing kind of sucked, but it was still fun to get out for the day, especially after the week I’ve had. Hopefully it’ll snow soon!
Twofer Tuesday
During my outing on sunday, I knew that it had been snowing a little bit up in the hills of Vermont. I even saw a little bit of snow on top of the hills as I was driving past Middlebury Gap. However, I didn’t really think much of, having read the forecast that was calling for at most 1-2 inches. That night, I found out I was quite wrong – it had snowed a fair bit up near Stowe. I realized that I might still have a shot at getting some May turns in, if the weather would hold out for for another few days for me (unfortunately, I had work to be doing on monday).
On monday evening, I saw more photos that showed that there was in fact still snow left up in them thar hills. And so, I made plans to head out on tuesday morning to get some May turns at Stowe. It was somewhat ironic that I would be skiing on this day, as this was the day that I was finally getting getting rid of the snow tires and putting the normal summer tires back on my trusty steed. But hey, when Ullr gives us a May dump, we might as well go out and play in the snow!
After a bit of hiking, I spotted my objective, National, from below.
Wait, I’m supposed to skin up this?!
The skinning was thinning. (Heh-heh-heh).
Nearing the top of Nosedive.
Looking out towards Smuggler’s Notch with more of Mansfield on the left.
I passed some neat icicles on the way up.
And before I knew it, I was at the top, sitting out on the deck of the octagon and enjoying my lunch – a peanut butter, jelly and granola wrap. It may not sound great, but trust me, they’re delicious. Especially after climbing a mountain.
Mt Mansfield and Smuggler’s Notch looking awesome.
The outdoors make me happy. Very happy.
After my lunch, I decided to ski down part of Nosedive and then go back up to hit my main objective, National. I only skied down a little bit, but it was glorious. My tracks are the ones on the left.
A closer view of my tracks (on the left), including the spot that I fell. As I was skiing down, wearing my baseball hat, I was musing to myself about the fact that I’d never before skied in a baseball hat (if you’ve seen any of my photos from winter, I always wear a helmet – the few times I’ve skied recently without a helmet, it just feels weird – I don’t like it). Just as that thought was going through my head, lo and behold my hat flew right off my head. I tried quickly stopping, but due to the stickiness of the snow, that turned into falling down the hill. I did manage to stop myself before I went too far down, quickly grabbed my hat, and continued down.
After those too few turns, I switched over to skinning and headed back up. Soon enough, I was back at the top.
Looming in the distance is Mt Washington and the Prezzies (left) and Franconia Notch (right). Click to enlarge. The photo isn’t the greatest (due to the haziness), but trust me when I say it was really impressive.
After a brief rest, I skied off the top and hit my main objective of the day, National. I even had a chance to open it up a bit and make some bigger turns – what great fun. It was quite challenging skiing though since the snow was really getting baked under the intense sunlight. My tracks are on the left.
I finished skiing down National and was able to make it a bit farther down, including a stream crossing in skis, before I had to take the skis off to hike the last little bit. Here’s the end of the snow.
And when I got back to the car, I had a wonderful IPA waiting for me. Mmmmmm…
Although I was done skiing for the day, I wasn’t ready to head home just yet. I decided to finally get out on the water and spend a few hours trying my luck on the Cotton Brook, a small stream in Moscow, VT.
Nice looking water.
It was good to be out again, if only to work out the kinks from not having fished for around 6 months or so.
Beautiful water.
Alas, I wasn’t able to catch anything. I do think that the water was a bit too cold for much fish activity, especially since most of the runoff feeding this stream was in the form of melted snow. Oh well, maybe next time.
All in all, it was a great day. I got some May turns in (making this the 6th consecutive month on skis) with beautiful weather, was able to spend a few hours on the river, and after all that, I finished it out with a beer or two at the Alchemist. And really, any day ending at the Alchemist is a good one, if you ask me.
How Much Snow?!
Monday was a pretty average day for me – I was working on some stuff until around 9PM. When I got home, I made myself some dinner and then went to check out some things online. This was the moment I first heard of the snow storm that was to be coming in the later portion of the week. I initially wrote it off, figuring that there was no way that enough snow could fall to make much of anything (outside the MTW region) truly skiable again.
When I woke up on tuesday, the predicted snowfall totals were up. I started getting jittery, thinking of the possibilities of skiing pow in late April. As the day went on, the predicted totals kept on climbing, up and up. I could feel the ski stoke surging through my veins again, and oh, how good it felt. Hearing a report from the FIS crew that Stowe had already received around 11″ by tuesday evening got me even more stoked than I had previously been. At that point, it was on for sure. I was going skiing. :D
As jittery as I was, I managed to get to sleep that night, and after a morning class I was quickly off to Stowe to earn some turns in the delightful late season snow. I got up there around 1PM or so, and it continued to snow for another hour or two as I skinned up the mountain. A lot of snow had fallen in those ~36 past hours. Although I’m not sure, I feel fairly certain that this was one of the biggest 24h snowfall events Stowe had gotten all season – figures that it comes at the end of April. I’m hard pressed to put a number to how much snow was up there, but the FIS crew estimated 20-30″ (there’s some super awesome pics there, so you should check it out), and I wouldn’t disagree with them. It cleared up a bit for the last bit of my skin and the ski back down, although it was really windy out there. Anyways, here are some of the photos I got of the day – hope you enjoy!
I made sure to remember to bring a few beers this time (I wasn’t going to make that mistake again). Alas, there was no IPA to be had in my fridge.
And up I went.
Slowly but surely gaining elevation.
Stoked.
I took a short break in a sugar shack. For real, it was a sugar shack, where they collect the sugar maple sap in order to make maple syrup.
A cool view of Smuggler’s Notch.
After a little while, I finally made it to the top!
The winds were ripping, but there were some cool clouds around.
After a short break, I decided to head up a little bit further just for kicks. Even though the last time I’d seen it, the snow stake was much higher, I’d say it was doing pretty well for April 28th.
Thanks to whoever put in the skin track (FIS crew?).
Nearing the top of my climb.
I made it!
One moment, I was still skinning on up.
And the next I was ready to go down. (Yeah, it’s corny. I know.)
With such high winds ripping around Mt Mansfield, there were some sweet sastrugi around.
Some nice turns I laid down in the awesome wind-buffed snow.
So much fun.
The bottom was pretty schralped.
And back to the car. I decided against another lap as I wanted to get a beer at the Alchemist, and a second lap would have set me back just a bit too late.
Although not of the India variety, I did enjoy that pale ale after the skin and ski.
A solid day, especially given the late April date of this excursion.
And to top it all off, a Heady Topper at the Alchemist. So delicious.
It was an awesome and unexpected day out at Stowe. I’ve never skied this late into the season, so it’s a real treat for me as well. Let’s just hope the snow will stay around until the weekend – I wanna get some May turns in!
Closing Day At Stowe
All good things must come to an end, if only to make space for more good things.
Alas, closing day has come for Stowe. I hadn’t been to Stowe for a about a month for a variety of good reasons, including being out west, so when I got there in the morning, I was truly shocked at how much snow had disappeared. I suppose a week of some seriously high temps (I think there was one day with the thermometer peaking around 80°) will do that though. Even so, it’s sad to see the season ending so early. Oh well, life goes on.
Lifeline was pretty barren down low. You might have had to walk the last ~200 yards. It might not have been “open,” either.
This was the end of the snow. Rest assured that I skied all the way to the end – the lowest patch of snow on this photo.
A few random skiers making their way over the interesting spring conditions on lower Lifeline.
Oh Spruce Peak, where did all your snow go?
Oh Mt Mansfield, where did all your snow go? If you really want to be sad, see how this comers with Mt. Mansfield on March 6 (protip: have this picture near the bottom of the screen and you can still see it when the other one opens up).
Not too much snow left near the top of the quad. Sad.
Mt. Mansfield shining in the late day light, as I was taking my last run down the same run that I started the season out on, Nose Dive (and no, it may not have been “open” either time).
Goodbye, Mt Mansfield. Until (hopefully) October…
Sad to see all the snow gone, but that’s what happens come this time of year. I am glad though that I can now go trail running again, and climbing will get going soon, as will fishing. I do still hope get a few more ski days in – it’d be nice to end the season with 65 days!
Going Solo For Big Lines
Even after the crazy warm spell that we’ve had recently in the NE, there’s still some snow left in them thar mountains if you go searching far and high enough. So I went a searchin’, and I liked what I found.
Unfortunately all my potential partners for today bailed on me (for good reasons though, so I can’t blame them), and so I was left to go at this alone. By no means the smartest decision to head out there on my own, but I felt alright with the good weather giving me a much greater than normal margin of error should shit really hit the fan. Also having my SPOT GPS satellite messenger along with me added another layer of safety (my parents long ago realized just how crazy I was, and as such got me this before I went on a cross country road trip this past summer).
I had planned on a super early start, but when I woke up around 5AM I felt awful, so I decided to sleep in a bit longer. Well, a bit accidentally turned to a lot. After all was said and done, I finally arrived at the parking at at the crack of noon to find that it was 74° and bluebird… Not exactly what one would hope for on a ski day, but you’ve got to take them as they come.
I had a lot of gear to bring. It was absurdly heavy. To give you some idea of what was in there, I had my skis, boots, skins, 3L of water, camera, a few extra layers, two wraps for eating, sunscreen, gloves, ice axe, shovel, etc, etc. There was a lot.
Starting on the trail up. Is there really snow up there?
Passing by a rushing stream. I bet the water’s really cold from the run-off.
Making my way along. The pack is stupid heavy with all my gear.
A little bit higher up I found some actual snow starting to show up.
And then all of a sudden, my objective came into view. Ooh yes.
So stoked. 
Nearing the last push towards the summit.
And before I knew it, I was on the summit!
Oddly, it was nearly devoid of snow on the summit. I guess it all got blown/melted off.
Check out the views: very sweet. (Click to enlarge).
I’ll bet that mountain back there is just one big ol’ pile of rocks.
Scoping out my line from the top. I like the rollover. (Yes, it’s really steep).
And from the side of the line, giving a bit of a better perspective on the how steep the couloir was. The one I chose to ski was the highest line coming out of the main snow field on the right. It the line that goes straight down the mountain. If you’re still confused, check this out.
Almost ready to ski.
And dropping… Here are my tracks coming off the top section. It was quite steep (some estimates via Google Earth give me around 44°), and the snow was nice and soft.
And what I have to look forward too (don’t mind the cracks on the sides).
As I was coming down, I had to be weary of ice bulges, amongst other hazards (see the cracks in the above shot).
I just skied that! Hell yea, so stoked!
Uh-oh. Continuing downward, I realized that this might be turning bad quickly.
And it did turn bad all too quickly. In the above photo there are at least a few places where there were big holes down to the water underneath. I kept skiing a bit and was then forced into the tight pine forrest due to there not being enough snow on top of the water anymore. I managed to ski through that a ways until it was too thick to even try to keep skiing. So I was forced to cross the river.
Crossing this river was a daunting task in my ski boots, as at this point I was still trying to stay dry. Once I threw my skis over to the other bank (the one this picture was taken from), I was committed to making the crossing. But I managed it just fine.
Unfortunately, things only got worse from there as I was making my way out of there. I was able to ski a bit more on some of the dirtiest snow I’ve ever seen (littered with pine needles, small and large branches, and just generally all sorts of greenery) until the snow effectively ran out (12-18 inches is not enough to ski through woods like these). So I switched out to my hiking boots, woefully put the skis and boots back on my pack, and my pack on my back, and was on my way down through the wicked dense pine forrest. If you’ve never bushwhacked thought an eastern pine forrest, I recommend you never get the chance. It’s shear misery. The trees are very tight. There’s lots of them. Progress is slow at best. And worst of all: your skis or boots (or anything hanging off your pack, for that matter) keep catching and catching and catching on ever single possible branch within a two foot radius of your body. This further complicates the moving fast issue.
Since I had gotten a late start, I was in somewhat of a rush to get down while it was still light out. And I really wanted to get out of there while it was still light outside. So I continued down in my hiking boots, post-holing my way through around one foot of snow in the tight trees until all of a sudden I found myself in a spot seemingly closed in by very steep and absurdly thick descents in the general direction I was heading. This was one of the more flustering moments of the trip, as I searched around for a few different ways down, none of which held any promise. Consulting my map, I figured I had to back track a bit and I could find an easier slope to descend. Of course the only slope I was able to find was still plenty steep (trust me when I say that you wouldn’t want to walk up it).
I got down alright and was then confronted with yet another issue. Man getting out of the backcountry can be a serious pain! I found that I landed myself right next to the raging river of run-off and there really wasn’t too much dry land on my side of the river, especially downstream of my location (ie: where I wanted to be going). All of the accessible and walkable land was on the other side of the river. Awesome. So I spent some time looking for a good crossing spot where I could keep myself dry. Quickly realizing that there was no such thing (and even if there was, with the flow of the river down there any crossings of this sort would have been ludicrous), I got ready to take a dip. Even just finding a good spot to cross with my boots on proved difficult, but after a few minutes I found a nice and wide spot in the river. Now that my feet were wet, I knew I was on somewhat of a timer to get out of those woods…
On the other hand, my feet being wet also afforded me many new options heading down as I could veer slightly into the river if it looked to be much easier than an alternative route around. Having dealt with most of the issues, I soon found myself in an area with easy access back to the trail, so my situation was markedly improved.
(Also, you’ll note the lack of photos from this section of bushwhacking. Well, it was awful, I was in a bad mood and I couldn’t be bothered to take pics. Trust me when I say it wasn’t fun though.)
Still, post-holing my way along this wasn’t the greatest thing ever, although I was able to move relatively quickly. On the other hand, my skis and boots weren’t constantly getting caught on trees, so I was surprisingly alright with my situation at that point.
After that stretch ended there was one final bit of short bushwhacking. However, this was bushwhacking through saplings, which are very bendy, as opposed to pine branches, which are decidedly not bendy. So that was much easier to work through.
Within a few minutes, I found myself back on the trail and along that same stream pictured near the top of the TR.
And finally I made it back to the car, 7.5 hours later, probably 8 miles or so, and with around 3k+ gained. Nothing spectacular by any means, but a good day for me. However, I’m still trying to take this journey all in, even as I write this up a few days after the fact. After all was said and done, it ended up ok, but there was some serious potential for disaster while I was out there. I probably should not have gone out solo into an area that I’m not very familiar with, nor should I started my day at noon. On the other hand, the weather gave me a very wide margin of error. Not that this margin of error makes up for the other issues, but it certainly helps. I’m still trying to figure it all out, but I do know that I probably won’t be heading back to this area on any solo missions until I have a much better understanding of the terrain around there. Bushwhacking through those tight pine forests, ended up on top of a sort of precipice with no clear way day, having to walk through a very fast and cold river, post-holing down a trail in the woods, skiing over snow when you hear the water just rushing underneath you, it all wears you down, and it wears you down a lot more than you might expect. I guess the end point here is to always always always remember to respect the mountains.
Now if only I had had an IPA waiting for me at the car…
Last Day Powder Day At JH!
I woke up at 7:15, very reluctantly to hear my alarm going off. I got up, checked the website and saw that the mountain had reported only 6″ of fresh. Normally this would be awesome, but with the huge bumps and heavy ice everywhere, I figured that there was no way that it could be enough to cover that sort of nastiness. I went back to sleep for an hour…
When we finally got out, we found that the snow up high was actually much more than 6″, and even though it was still really rough and crusty in spots below, a lot of places were skiing awesomely! We even made it up the headwall twice. It’s been a while, for whatever reason, since I’ve been up there.
Enough words, let’s look at pretty pictures.
Marc coming around a few rocky spots.
Pops liked the fresh stuff too!
And Marc continued to eat it all up.
The weather was nice and there were very few tracks down the headwall so we decided to go up for a short hike to ski it.
Marc’s chilling up top, waiting for the rest.
I needed at least one corny A-frame shot for the winter. Of course on the day that I forget my violé strap. Oh well.
The “older folks” can even make the hike. 
Marc enjoying the fresh snow. Conditions were just so much better than they had been for the previous few days…
Pops enjoying the ride down.
And me just the same, rockin my new and bright steeze. Photos by Marc.
Jim coming through a few small trees.
It was so nice up on the headwall that we decided to take another lap before they closed it.
Myself coming through a steep spot with some nice snow.
As Jim was coming through the steeps, he fell. Marc was positioned taking photos right below Jim. Made for an interesting few seconds as it’s quite steep up there.
Luckily Marc scootched out of the way and Jim quickly stopped just a bit lower.
A bit lower down, and I’m loving the powder. It’s so awesome.
And the money shot of me taken by Marc.
What a great way to end yet another few days skiing the awesome mountain that is Rendezvous Peak. I already can’t wait to be back next year when hopefully there will be more snow.
More Fun In The Sun At JXN
Well, that snow that started falling previously never quite materialized, but on the other hand the sun came out! And when the sun comes out it melts everything and makes the skiing ever so fun. Unfortunately this only happens for the last 2-3 hours of skiing. So it’s best to get a nice late start and work the north facing steeps and the groomers until then.
My father at the bottom of Hoops Gap.
And Marc.
And Jim.
Hoops Gap was so nice we had to do it again. Have you seen how Marc rips?
And Jim. I like the paraglider in the background.
Ah, the end of a good day. Drink some beers, eat some food, sleep and repeat. Luckily the next day was a bit warmer, so we had more time to ski more fun stuff. The snowpack is quickly and disturbingly disappearing, but I guess that’s spring for you, especially in the 3rd worst snow year on record.
Two nice shots of my mom coming skiing through some boulders.
And skirting the shadows in the late afternoon.
My father skiing down under Corbet’s Couloir (right) and the S&S Couloir (left).
Marc coming through the boulder field.
He’s fast.
Jim maneuvering his way through the boulders.
The skiing through the boulder field lead us to the beautifully sunny cirque.
It was awesome there. Sorry for overkill on the tree shots, but the tree is awesome.
We even found a few interesting spots right along the cliffs… (The next three photos of me are by my bother).
Just point ‘em and go. Don’t miss the turn.
And Marc on something equally fun. Note Sleeping Indian in the background .
And my father skiing by some big cliffs.
A good end to two awesome days of spring skiing. Not too sure of what the forecast calls for us here, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be as good as this. Oh well, I’ve only got one more day before I have to head back east. Such is life.
Some Sun And Some Snow In JXN
And to begin, a panorama of the Gros Ventre range of the east side of the valley. Click on the image for a larger version.
And now for some skiing. Here’s my brother Marc skiing near some small cliffs.
And his buddy Jim.
Now Marc’s coming down the same chute that we were going through the other day. It’s rather rocky and can’t last much longer.
And through another tight chute. When I first skied this a few days ago, you could make a turn through it. Now you’ve got to just point ‘em, but that’s fun just as well. Marc pointing ‘em:
And he’s gone.
Myself pointing them through the tight chute. Photos by Marc.
Myself coming around an old dead tree.
After this lovely and warm day, the weather changed for the worse. It was colder for a day or two, and somewhat cloudy. The unfortunate reality of such spring conditions is that once they get going, you’ve either got to have warm temps or a big dump of snow to keep the skiing good. Otherwise, everything is just rock solid ice bumps, and everyone knows that’s no fun. So we skied mostly groomers for a few days, until the conditions began to change when it started to snow again!
Everyone’s stoked about the falling snow, including my father…
My brother (and me too, in the reflection!)…
My mother…
And my brother’s friend, Jim.
Taking advantage of the afternoon snow, we decided to ski some north facing stuff that we’d mostly been staying away from due to the lack of sun exposure (ie. rock hard ice bumps).
Here’s my father coming through some trees.
My brother rips.
And just like that, he’s gone…
And my brother’s friend, Jim.
And this last batch of photos is from Marc. It’s not too often that I end up on the other side of the lens these days.
Me with my new steeze going through some freshly fallen soft snow. Still pretty firm underneath, but the few inches of fresh made it much more bearable.
And another of me, freeing my mind as I free my heel . Haha.
My father enjoying the new snow.
Jim milking it for all it’s worth.
And another rare appearance from my mother.
It’s been a good few days, and hopefully the snow keeps falling, although I’m not terribly optimistic about it given the forecast. Either way, any day skiing, especially in Jackson (have I mentioned how much I love Jackson yet?), is better than a day of work.
Jackson Hole: The First Few Days
I’m finally on my spring break! Thank god I can finally take a break from all the awful work that I’ve had recently and just focus on nothing but skiing.
It’s so nice to be back out in Jackson. It’s been a while, especially since I didn’t have a chance to get out mid-winter this year. I got out here on friday and with the exception of Sunday (when I was finishing off my last exam for the winter term) I’ve been skiing lots since then. However, the unfortunate fact is that this year at Jackson they’ve got the 3rd worst snow pack ever. Some places around here don’t even have 60% of the average annual snow pack. Oh well, the law of averages says that not all years can be above average. Plus, any day skiing, even if it’s on very little snow, is better than even the best day doing work.
In spite of the lack of snow, the first few days have been a lot of fun with some great spring conditions, as long as the sun is around. It has been quite warm (the warmest day was upwards of 50°), but that’s been keeping the skiing good. I don’t even want to think about what it’s going to be like if it gets really cloudy or cold again…
Anyways, here’s a few shots from the first few days. Not too much as there hasn’t been too much to take photos of, but it’s been a whole lot of fun. Let’s just hope the snow stays around for the rest of my trip out here.
The new tram looks real nice. In the background is the Grand Teton, shrouded in clouds. It’s the second highest peak in Wyoming, coming in at 13,775ft.
Another look towards the north from Rendezvous peak, with the Grand again in the background.
Looking south from Rendezvous peak at Cody peak (the one on the right) and a few others.
Enjoying some lunch outside Corbet’s Cabin, on top of Rendezvous Peak.
Me ripping down one of the lower faces.
And a few panoramics off the summit. Click on the images to see them larger. (They’re pretty large so you may have to scroll to the right to see the whole image or even close the zoomed in view).
Looking towards the south.
And looking towards the east.
Pops coming through on some nice and soft snow.
These rocks on the left are normally covered up… It’s really a low snow year.
I love skiing down tight, rock lined chutes. Here’s my father coming through the chute on what was likely it’s last day. The rocks in the middle of the chute are normally covered up by snow. They were getting more and more uncovered, visibly so, even in the course of a single day.
I really like the whispy clouds in this one.
Gotta make those turns or you’re gonna mess up your skis really badly. There’s rocks everywhere.
I like to catch some airtime every once in a while, especially when the landings are nice and soft.
It’s been a great first few days. I’m just hoping that the sun stays around and keeps warming the snow from it’s rock solid state in the mornings.
Straight Up Awesome
Up until today, I had not been up in the alpine zone for a few weeks due to a variety of reasons (skiing in the backcountry or at Magic and Mad River Glen or on days when the alpine would have been extremely dangerous due to avalanche danger) and I’d been jonesin’ pretty hard for a little bit of time, especially with all the snow that had fallen a few weeks ago. I knew the forecast for the day looked good and I knew that my work forecast looked beyond awful, so I just had to take advantage of this opportunity.
I got to Stowe relatively early for a Saturday, or at least relatively early for me, as the weekends tend to be rest days. Waking up at 5:45am on tuesdays and thursdays along with too many hours spent doing work (thursdays are almost always 18+ hour days) takes its toll on one’s body. But I digress… When I got to Stowe it was warm and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. A terrifically beautiful day. The stoke was in full swing!
I met up with a new ski buddy, Peter, right out of the gate at the base of the Gondi (as a side note, Peter’s a great photog – check out some of his work here or on his Flickr stream). We took one quick cruiser to warm up the legs and then were off to the lovely alpine environment of Mt Mansfield.
Peter earning his turns. It’s what all the cool kids are doing these days.
Looking across to the face of Mt Mansfield.
Looking west, we could clearly see the Adirondacks behind Lake Champlain. Not quite as clear in the photo, but it was an amazing day up there!
Turning towards the south to look down the spine of the greens. This was probably the clearest day out skiing of the whole winter.
And now turning towards the east, the Whites are quite visible. On the left are the Presidentials and on the right is Franconia Notch. I especially like how just about every peak has it’s own lenticular.
Peter enjoying the view from the highest point in Vt.
Now it’s time to ski! Peter coming down.
Yes. One of my best shots of the year.
These trees are otherworldly.
Peter enjoying the soft snow. It was really warm and everything had softened up rather early. Quite nice to ski through.
We went back up again for a second lap as not only were the conditions great, but it was just such a beautiful day up there. The next few shots are of my enjoying the snow from the top. (Pictures obviously by Peter).
Oh yes.
Those little bumps in the background are actually trees that are around 15ish feet tall.
Here’s a few more of me coming off the top. Again, pics by Peter. I like to ski fast in the steeps:
Love how the snow is billowing behind me.
Peter coming through a choke point in the woods.
Mt Mansfield looking awesome at the end of an awesome day.
What a day, what a day! It was by far one of the nicest days of the season, with barely a cloud out. Sure seems like spring is in the air, especially with how warm it was. Oh well, I think I’m getting ready for a (hopefully) exciting spring in the Whites!
Magic And Mad River Glen
What a weekend. My folks came up for the weekend to enjoy some of the great skiing that is to be had in VT these days, especially after all the snow that has recently fallen. It was nice to see them as I don’t get to see them that much anymore, now that I live in NH, and it was great to see my dog Moose again.
We skied at Magic Mtn the first day, which somehow or another was my first time ever at Magic. And I loved it. The snow was plentiful and great.
The next day we spent at Mad River Glen, which was also great. Aside from powder days, this was some of the best snow I’ve skied all year long. All sorts of fun. I also got a chance to try out my father’s BD Verdict telemark skis. Even though they’re the biggest and some of the stiffest skis I’ve ever skied on, they were a whole lot of fun to ski on.
My father coming down through some trees at Magic.
Pops surveying what’s ahead.
The red chair in the afternoon light.
Making our way into Red Line for what we thought was going to be the last run of the day. We were pleasantly surprised when we managed to get one last ride up after the great run down redline.
A great way to end the day.
And now for a few scenics from MRG, where we skied sunday.
My father enjoying the ride up the single.
The single in all its’ glory.
Looking north at the Greens. Camel’s Hump is the very prominent peak.
I’m super stoked that I finally got to experience Magic Mtn. It really is awesome, and hopefully it will stay around for years to come!
Stowe Gets Dumped On
Today was an interesting day on Mt Mansfield. Tuesday night into wednesday, the mountain received an obscene amount of snow – somewhere along the lines of 2ft+! Unfortunately, due to the temps this fell as really heavy and wet snow, by no means the most enjoyable snow to ski – it was some serious mank. In fact, based on some numbers from the National Weather Service’s Mt Mansfield observatory, this snow had a water content of around 14% (according to wikipedia, normal snow tends to have a water content of around 8%, and 2-3% is a skier’s dream snow. Fun fact: the 17″ that this statistic gave us would have been closer to 110″ if it had 2% moisture content)!
In any event, I decided to try to make the most of the snow storm and went out to Stowe for the day. Luckily I didn’t get there too early, as Stowe was (yet again) having difficulties with their lifts. This seems to be a somewhat recurring theme of the ski year for me, but so it goes sometimes. Luckily, I didn’t get stuck on the lift, although my buddy Josh, who I was meeting up with, had the displeasure of being stuck on the 4Runner for a little while. As the 4Runner was down, I went over to wait in the line for the Gondola, which was also down, this one due to icing up top. While waiting in line there, I bumped into by buddy Mike and his friend Ned. We met up with Josh shortly thereafter, and had a decent day. Certainly not a day to be remembered for it’s skiing, but with so much snow, a lot of things were very huckable.
This stuff was so sticky that huge snowballs would form if you sent some snow downhill. Some of these snowballs were as large as beach balls. Realizing that these snowballs could mess you up pretty good if you were to get hit by one rolling downhill, we decided to ski one at a time. Here’s Josh skiing through some of the really wet snow.
Josh sending a smallish drop. Previous to this storm cycle, this had been much larger.
Ned huckin.
Pure stoke in picture form. The last time I had seen this snow stake, a week earlier, it wasn’t even at 5 ft.
Mike on a double stage waterfall. Mad props for coming into it from the wrong side, making the drop even sketchier.
And Ned coming down. He looked good for a moment…
Uh oh.
Oh shit. This is becoming a lesson in how to fall down a waterfall.
Ooh boy…
Luckily Ned was ok, although it was pretty scary watching him tumble down the waterfall. Of course, not scary enough to pull my finger away from the shutter…
Mike carved himself out a spot in the snowbank after a small drop.
All in all, it was a good day. The snow was really wet and heavy, making it almost unskiable in some places, but there was so much of it that jumping off almost anything was possible.
So, in short, I had fun. And isn’t that what it’s all about (or was that the hokey pokey)?
Mellow Powder Day
Unexpected snow is the best snow. By far.
I was at Stowe today with my father, up visiting/skiing for the weekend and my brother Marc. When we woke up this morning, we heard that a whole lot more snow had fallen than what we were expecting. Unfortunately winds were really affecting operations. Oh well, that’s how it goes sometimes. They opened up the gondi sometime in the late morning and we just lapped off there. It was a great day in the woods with some really nice light and fluffy fresh snow.
Marc ripping through the woods.
This kid skis fast everywhere.
My father coming down.
Marc sending.
Kid’s got steeze.
Aw yea. It was a fun day and nice to have some fresh over the whole mountain. Hopefully this week works out with the predicted storms.
Escaping The Crowds In The Backcountry
My father came up this weekend to visit my brother and myself and to ski some in the great north east, so I went to go ski with him over the weekend. On saturday morning, we woke up to find some really nasty winds all over the place. Not wanting to deal with the certainly huge crowds at Stowe (with a multitude of lifts being on wind/mechanical hold) and not wanting to deal with the crowds at MRG, we decided to go spend the day doing some mellow touring out in the woods.
My father skinning up. Gotta give props to a dude in his 50′s who’s still out and getting after it.
After you go up, you come back down.
The snow was great. Although there wasn’t a tremendous amount of new snow, the snow that was there was very light and fluffy.
Going back in for seconds.
It can get thick in the eastern BC.
It’s even prettier in the forest when it’s snowing.
I like to rip through the woods.
And jump off stuff.
My father coming back down through the woods.
Gearing up for the last lap.
All set to go back down.
Some cool looking sastrugi.
Skiing off into the sunset is always a good way to end the day.
This was a great day and we managed to avoid all the crowds. The snow was superb too. All in all, no complaints!
