Monday, December 17, 2007
The Powder Saga Rages On--December 16 Nor'easter Moves In
So I went into the bar to warm up, dry out some gear by the fire and run into someone. Saw many friends and made a couple of new ones. Ripped the top of M1 lift line to Robin's Run. Dropped big, compressed my knee (sore, but useable). Made another run that started at the tippy top of fis, what's that called again? Dipped into some too tight trees, but when it opened up, oh boy! Sick powder, steep chutes...the theme for the rest of the day. Took a break around noon to pop 1000mg of bufferin (thought I was buying ibuprophen one hung over morning on the way to the mtn) and dig out my knee brace. Mmmm...compression, the good kind. I did a few test bends and walked around for a little while, decided I was good to go and headed back out...or rather out back.
The chutes off the pond were still fluffy. Sweet ride down. Perfect turns. The knee worked beautifully. Not last run yet. Hiked out, worm holed, dropped in...soooo steep...soooo much snow...mandatory 8-10 with a stomped and stuck landing (I always nail that one...it's my favorite cliff)...gentle slope the rest of the way to 108, rode it hard and fast. That was it. 3:15 looked like beer-thirty. Cheers to yet another epic December day.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Motion on Madonna
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Return of the Fluff
Day 9- Powder...mmmm
The pic is the scene as you look out from the lean to beyond the bullwheel.
I didn't getup to the mountain (Smuggs) until around noon as the wind howling outside my door was not encouraging. Turns out four hours were all my legs could take after pounding hard Saturday and hittin' the hill again Sunday. Man, what a day. Unbelievable for December 4! All the woods were wide open. The rock wall on Full Nelson was totally gone, though the drop/launch was significant and tons of fun. I got fresh all the way down! The pitch on Full Nelson was perfect for the sort of heavy snow we had. Ripped down! Got fresh all through the Deer Run Glades, the Boneyard, and a few places I'm hesitant to divulge. The best though was face shots in the Birthday Bowl. It was a little wet getting in near the pond, and I had to pause and scrape ice off my board. (I know there's another way, but not too sure about finding it on my own yet, so I went out the pond way.) Anyway...it was totally worth it! I hit all my favorite steep, tight chutes. That's where the face shots came in to play. Wow! We seem to have picked up right where we left off!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
A Day at Castlerock
I went to Sugarbush with Kristian. We took the Heaven's Gate chair to the top of Lincoln Peak, and then hopped on the Long Trail. We hiked about a mile over to Castlerock where the lifts weren't turning and the turns were fresh.
We rode Middle Earth down to Troll Road and hiked back up. Nobody had gone down Middle Earth after us, so we hit it again. Then we made a couple of lift serve runs since we had the pass...a fast cruiser down Jester and a bump run down Organgrinder to get to some poachable powder on Spillsville.
Apre was well earned.
Poetry of Hiking Solo
8:30am…I hiked solo. I think I’m the first to summit the quad today. There’s 8 inches to a foot and a half of nicely wind-packed powder. It’s windy at the top…howling!
Wandering upon wind carved ridges and valleys
Silent-only the rhythm of walking
Plant, step, plant step
Steeper
Plant, plant, step, step
Looking back I notice my single track boot pack
It’s a nice line
Now though…
I’m loving the sofa in the ski patrol summit shack.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Earning the Early Turns
Day 1, 6:30am, November 10, 2007, Sterling Mountain
Ah…The first day of a new season. It’s like a rebirth...a renaissance.
I was so psyched that I had trouble getting to sleep. I was late to bed anyway because somehow over the summer I forgot how to pack my winter pack. I laid in bed with visions of deep pow dancing in my head.
Of course, I knew the turns weren’t going to be epic. It was the first day…thin pickin’s. Plus I was coming off an injury, a badly sprained ankle acquired while mountain biking over the summer. I hiked slowly, but made it to the top by 9:00. We hung out in Top Notch, snacked, geared up and headed out to ride Smuggler’s Alley, a steep diamond all the way to skier’s right.
How was it? There were 8 inches to a foot at the top. The first ten turns were creamy and smooth as butter. Then I continued my descent amidst rocks, sticks, grass, and ice and loved every minute of it. At one point there were these crazy ice stalagmites rising from the trail in front of me. Art…ice sculptures. Finally I made my way to some nicer snow to conclude my first run of the season. I found my center beneath the heavy pack, got my tired legs firmly under me, and carved those last ten turns into extremely edgeable hard pack. (Thank you to my friend, Tim, who hooked up my edges at the end of last winter.) It was a solid finish.
Soaking wet from the snow guns and running late for physical therapy, I slapped the boys five for a good day on the hill, the first of many.
Gear Up, Girls!
That’s right, sistas, you know who you are. We’re typically small in stature, but mighty in spirit. We come from a variety of backgrounds and all have a different story. Some of us grew up in the mountains skiing, hiking, or climbing. Others never slid on waxed boards until adulthood. Some of us are native Vermonters. Others hail from far away, of maybe just a couple of hours. Some of us have kids and a family. Others fly solo. Whatever your deal is, we all have two things in common. We’ll gladly earn our turns. We’d also all like to see better representation of the female athletes in our sports of choice.
So here is a call to all you hardcore women out there. If you prefer to see the sunrise on the weekend than to sleep until it warms up a little outside…If you think an hour in the pow is worth donning a headlamp for a 6 am start time on a two hour hike…If you are more comfortable humping a pack around than a purse…Let’s get together. Women of Wilderness (WOW!) let’s get it on up in the hills. It’s time we made ourselves known (if only to each other) as a formidable force rather than the exception to the rule. Ready for adventure?