Aug 26

Photo/Video of the Week: First Turns of the Season…on Grass Clippings

It seems Marquette Season is off to a particularly early start this time around. Sure, we’ve had some cool nights lately across the north country, but it’s hard telling what is inspiring folks to ski weeks before the first heavy frosts of the season.

Then again, Marquette Backcountry Skis defy winter. They make skiing on just about anything fun. And they just might turn out to be the skier’s solution to global warming…really. Of course, grass skiing can do wonders for your balance and technique, too, as the footage demonstrates.

Thanks to Dave Bouchard for sharing this fine footage of him laying fresh tracks in boot deep grass clippings (grass clippings courtesy Mad River Glen‘s mow crew). And thanks to his daughter, Jamie, for the top-notch camera work and commentary. Way to make the most of a beautiful day out there guys! Here’s to another unforgettable Northeastern ski season to come…

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Aug 05

Photo(s) of the Week: Summer Powder Days

Summer has a way of reminding us that being outside is a lot more fun, and necessary, than updating AdventureSkier.com or tending to other non-essential office matters…no matter how hard it’s raining. Then again, even back-to-back days spent running rivers, doing wood, surfing waves, pedaling bikes and growing food can get tiring, and every once in awhile, it can feel good to simply play catch up indoors.

We often try to think about life as one endless ski season, with powder days possible even when the snow is gone. When heavy rains fall and our rivers swell, it’s a powder day. When the ocean kicks up some clean, overhead surf…powder day. When the sun is setting, and you are rolling into one last descent on a nicely flowing trail. Powder day. As for doing wood, that’s more like packed powder.

Anyhow, here are a few images to illustrate some recent summer powder days. With this in mind, it’s simply not possible to have a bad ski season in the Northeast…

– Brian

Justin Beckwith enjoys another powder day on Vermont’s Mad River in early July.
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Sean Curry and Sunny Wood enjoy fresh lines after the passage of a fall-like cold front in late July off the MA coast…
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Blueberries!
Green Mountains, Vermont

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Jul 05

Photo of the Week: New Ski Trails in the Adirondacks?

The newly formed Adirondack Powder Skier Association (APSA) is embracing the evolution of skiing in the Northeast while providing a growing voice for the backcountry skiing community in the Adirondack Mountain region. In response to the relative dearth of accessible backcountry skiing terrain and trails for skiers of all abilities, the APSA is advocating for changes in legislation in order to improve the winter backcountry experience for skiers and other travelers.

A recent story published online by Powder Magazine sheds some light on the APSA and its current focus. Give it a read (link HERE), and please let us know your thoughts on the issue here. Is it time for the backcountry skiing community to work more closely with Northeast land managers in order to grow the sport? Do you believe strategic thinning/glading of the forest understory makes good sense? Should/can the backcountry skiing organize itself as the mountain bike community has, with local clubs overseeing the creation and maintenance of improved skiing zones?

What is the future of backcountry skiing in the Northeast?

These are some cool, refreshing questions for these hot summer days…

– Brian

Adirondack Mountains, New York, USA

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Jun 21

Photo/Video of the Week: Days Off = Sweet Glisse

When Vermonter Quinn Keating has a day off from his work as the head of ski patrol at VT’s Bolton Valley, he doesn’t mess around. He’s especially motivated by certain long, powder-catching and schwack-free tree lines that stripe the northeastern mountainscape, and this nice string of footage he shares helps to illustrate why. So grab a glass of lemonade, sit back for a couple of minutes and enjoy this taste of last season’s many memorable offerings.

Thanks Quinn!
– Brian

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Jun 11

Photo of the Week: Memories of Winter

It was a particularly breezy afternoon, but the skiing was exceptionally good and we lingering straight through the sunset hour along the west side of the Greens. Our last climb landed us at the divide as a subtle alpen glow was fading, but while enough light still remained for one last descent to the east. While peeling skins and layering up, a ripple in a cloud line spawned a few breaking waves in the sky – a sign of the season to come. And as we skied off, the warm, peach-colored glow finally gave way to the darker hues of nightfall.

Goggles down. Boots buckled. Time to schuss.

– Brian

Green Mountains, Vermont ©Brian Mohr/Ember Photography

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