Mar 07

Avalanche in the Adirondacks

Two northeastern skiers were caught in a dangerous soft-slab avalanche on the Angel Slides below Wright Peak in the High Peaks of New York’s Adirondack Mountains on Febraury 27, 2010. Like most landslide paths, alpine gulleys and steeper faces in the Adirondacks, the Angel Slides are naturally prone to avalanches. In February 2000, another avalanche was triggered here and claimed a skier’s life. The skiers involved in this past week’s avalanche are lucky to be alive and relatively injury-free, and some recent reports about the incident shed some helpful insight about travel on steep, snow covered terrain. (Read the Adirondack Daily Enterprise story HERE and the Adirondack Explorer Story HERE. View photos of the slide HERE.)

The risk of avalanches is often underestimated in our northeastern mountains, and with more skiers and riders venturing into avalanche-prone terrain, there is a real need for better avalanche education, awareness and reporting here in the northeast. If you are not confident in your abilities to assess and travel safely in avalanche-prone terrain, consider spending some time with our friends at Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides Scroll down to their March 7, 2010 post for some additional info and video about the avalanche.

AD25ANG1EMB
(The wider (skier’s right) of the Angel Slides was the site of the 2/27/10 avalanche)
(Click photo to enlarge)

Mar 06

Photo of the Week: Alpine Sunshine

Winter has finally begun to loosen its grip on our northeastern mountains. The days are getting longer, windchills on our summits are more likely to be above zero now and then, and with some high pressure sliding over us, it’s a great time to enjoy a little alpine sunshine.

Here’s a shot of Vermonter Forrest Twombly, high above the Champlain Valley on Friday…

Mar 04

Apres Ski: It’s Hard to Beat a Single Chair Ale

There’s no doubt that the enjoyment of a nice beer at the end of a ski day is often a wonderful, if not essential, way to make the transition from skiing back to normal life. It’s so great to bask in the euphoria of the skiing experience, reminisce with a few friends and let your endorphins settle down before doing much of anything, really. To many skiers, a beer, apres-ski, is what makes a good ski day complete.

The New York Times Magazine recently published a nice little story about the Single Chair Ale, brewed by Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewery for Mad River Glen. If you haven’t been out skiing this season at Mad River Glen, now is the time to check it out, if only for the beer! Mad River Glen is 100% open right now, with its huge snowpack enabling skiers to explore nearly every nook and cranny of the classic and beautiful Vermont ski area.

SM10THINK1EMBA

Mar 03

Avalanches in the White Mountains

Nearly 60″ of fresh snow over the last week has once again transformed our northeastern mountains. With 8″ of wind-driven snow having fallen this past Sunday night on the higher summits of the White Mountains, slab avalanches will remain a considerable risk on many steeper slopes in the coming days. If you are heading to the higher summits of the Whites, please proceed with caution and consider hiring a guide (see our Trips/Guiding page). As a good reference and source of current snow and weather info, check out the latest USFS Avalanche Bulletin for the Tuckerman and Huntington’s Ravine areas of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

WM01JB3EMB

Feb 27

Photo of the Week: Powder!

30…40…60″ of fresh snow! It’s been snowing a lot across much of the north country. Perhaps the snow gods will top off the epic snowfall of this past week with something even colder and drier… Bring it on!