Jan 11

Why We Love Old Man Winter

While the January Thaw earlier this month hooked us up with a few pleasant, spring-like days, it also wiped out a good bit of our already thin snow pack. Then, while out skiing a few meager pasture strips last Tuesday (see first image below), snowflakes started to fly once again. It was as if Old Man Winter felt sorry for us. And now, a week later, he’s come through once again with a snow cycle that has dropped 10-30″ of fresh snow across the higher mountains of the northeast over the last 5-6 days… enough to get Vermont’s Mad River Glen back open (they suspended operations on the upper mountain for a week), and enough to keep most of us powder hounds on cloud nine for a while…(Click on photos within post to enlarge). Ski you out there! – Brian

After the Thaw last week in central Vermont – biking in search of snow…

Pasture strips…

One week later…Chris Mayone and friends, getting after it in Vermont’s Mad River Valley on Monday, Jan 10, 2011:

The snow and clouds clearing at sunset…


Jan 07

Photo of the Week: Fluff-on-Crust

We’ve picked up 2-12″ of fresh fluff in the higher elevations of the northeast this week, and as the image here illustrates, there is some beautiful fresh snow starting to pile up in places. However, there’s not much under it…so take it slow, and pray for even more snow. With some luck, we should pick up another 4-10″ this weekend. (Click on thumbnail within post for a larger image)
– Brian


Jan 05

Backcountry Update: Early Jan – Post Thaw – Dust on Crust

After nearly three weeks of cold temps and beautiful skiing (see above and this video)- especially in the more open, higher elevation backcountry zones – a perfectly seasonal January Thaw has taken its toll. While the Thaw has left us with an especially thin snowpack down low (if you’ve got any snow at all) across the northeast, we still have plenty of base to work with up high. After enjoying some beautiful spring conditions at ski areas over the past weekend, morning groomers and some adventurous crust cruising and pasture skiing have been the main items on the menu for the last couple of days. Now, as I write this, fresh snow is steadily accumulating again, which should make for some fine fluff-on-crust skiing conditions Weds/Thurs at higher elevations where there is some good base…and dust-on-dirt/grass/sticks conditions down low. If it keeps snowing, however, we should be back to good ol’ powder skiing on lower/mid angle pitches at higher elevations later in the week…with fluff-on-crust conditions prevailing in the steeps, where you’ll be more apt to feel the crusty base beneath…

In general, the skiing in the backcountry is about as challenging as it gets right now, so please stick to lines you know intimately, and be extra super duper careful! Beware of sharp sticks at eye level, exposed rocks, soil, open water, downed branches, barbed wire, old sap buckets, stumps, stone walls, tall grass, thorny blackberry stalks, ruts in the terrain, hard ice and more… Let’s hope it keeps snowing!
-Brian


Jan 03

Northeast Skiing: A World of Contrasts

The past week in the northeast offered a perfectly normal yet utterly wild swing in the weather and snow conditions – an annual event many of us refer to as the January Thaw. For the moment, at least, the change in weather has nearly wiped out the thin snowpack we had at the lowest elevations, while leaving us with some classic and nearly bulletproof northeast hardpack to enjoy otherwise.

Still, there is no need for despair. If you get on it early and keep those edges sharp, the groomed runs at your favorite local ski area will offer fine skiing in the days to come. Low angle backcountry terrain, wherever there is snow and the lines are cleaned out and roomy enough to allow you to maneuver freely in the challenging snow conditions, is also a nice option. This includes your farming neighbors’ pastures and fields where the wind in past weeks have left behind long strips of snow. Use the snow-free and grassy areas alongside these “pasture strips” to ascend without the use of climbing skins.The hardpack snow surface in these pastures makes for some very fast skiing on even the lowest-angle runs right now… Be sure to get permission from your neighbors before skiing on their land. It’s also great time to simply focus on other things for a while – chores around home, pedaling some backroads or singletrack, brewing some beer…and perhaps burning some old ski gear as a sacrifice to the snow gods.

It’s likely that Old Man Winter is well aware of his shortcomings thus far. It’s only a matter of time before he turns our world white again and brings fresh tracks and powder snow back to our skiing lives.

Here are some images captured before the thaw, as the thaw was settling in, and then an image captured at the peak of the thaw. While exploring a mountainside close to home on a pair of edge-less, wax-less Marquette Backcountry Skis, our only option on the final run home (if we wanted to make turns) was to link patches of remaining snow in an otherwise open glade. The edge-less Marquettes were the perfect tool for the job, which entailed a good bit of sliding over sticks, leaves and gravel, and we still managed to enjoy a 1000′ descent right out the back door of a friend’s home…where a delicious Chocolate Stout awaited. (Thanks Adam and Marcy!) – Brian

Carson Barbour at Mad River Glen last week, before The Thaw…

Sliding into a nicely tracked Vermont classic on Day 1 of The Thaw. The snow had already shaken off the trees, and anything untracked had already become sticky…

Linking patches of snow on the Marquettes, just before dark on Day 2 of The Thaw, at 1000′ above sea level…


Jan 01

Climbing and Skiing 2 Million Vertical Feet in One Year

Just yesterday, British Columbia based Greg Hill – a passionate and talented skier, husband, and father of two – successfully reached his goal of climbing and skiing 2 million vertical feet (670,000 meters) in one year. To accomplish this, he did not rely on chairlifts, snow cats, snowmobiles, helicopters to reach the top of his ski runs, but rather, his legs, lungs and positive psyche. To put this in perspective and considering just the numbers, this would entail climbing from New Hampshire’s Pinkham Notch to the top of Mount Washington (a 4000′ climb), and then skiing back to Pinkham Notch… and then doing it again the same day… for approx. 235 days! Wow.

Congratulations Greg on reaching this incredible goal and inspiring all of us to get out and ski! Here’s a great short film put together by a friend of Greg’s that sheds some perspective on this mission to ski 2 million vertical feet. (Click on the 4-arrows symbol at lower right in the video screen to enlarge.)
-Brian