moosilauke goes...

or rather simon and i went--truck to peak to truck on skis!  considering the 'wintry mix' we have been getting lately, moosilauke was in prime shape, 6-10 inches over a base, parking lot to treeline, and enough to keep the skis on from there to the top. for those of you following, that was the first of the nh 4000 footers to fall to my push to do them all in one winter. while i would be pleased as punch to ski everything, i would also be happy to get in a run or two of what si's dad, skip, refers to as "the best skiing ever!"

i had heard that some snow was coming in, so wednesday after school, i took skip his 4000 footer poster, and discussed the possibility of a ski. simon, his super fit 27 year old youngest, was the only taker. we set a time of 10-ish to allow for the storm to hit and beef up the base that had suffered a good bit of rain on sunday before. when i got there the next morning he and eben were off visiting a few other MOC alum home for the holidays. i made some lunch and shortly after they pulled in, we pulled out.

it was still snowing some, putting the roads in somewhat sketchy condition, but the truck didn't slide until we pulled on to the sawyer highway going by the eastern flank of moosilauke. we were not going fast at all, but the rear end let go and we went sideways, twice. i stuck it into four wheel drive and we kept going. when we turned off onto breezy point road, access to the carriage road, the snow wasn't plowed yet. by the time we got up to the parking area, there was such a good amount, we both got excited.

geared up and going, our enthusiasm grew with the increase in snow depth. soon enough we started running into the numerous drainage crossing. the open water contrasted sharply with the deep snow, and thankfully was fairly easy to get over. my scales were holding fine even after the flat-ish approach so i left my skins in the pack. we were following a mostly filled in ski track until it disappeared into a jumble of moose tracks a couple miles up. the moose really pocked up the trail for more than a few hundred yards which promised a bit of excitement on the descent.



we still had a couple of miles to go when the steady incline started working me over in my efforts to keep up with simon. i had made the mistake of mentioning my red-ish pee from eating beats the night before. the negative being, si told me beets increased blood oxygen and i mentioned that maybe that was why i could almost keep up with him. i rarely saw him after that comment. finally, i yelled that i needed to put skins on. when i was slip proofed and caught up to him he had his camera out and caught me looking almost tired.



i say almost tired, as i knew it would get worse before it got better. but with skins on i was not maxing out the upper body and core, so simon was often in view--even behind me a time or two. we got up to the mostly flat ridge leading up above treeline and met a snowshoer and his dog. he appeared out of the fog, we exchanged a few words, and he disappeared behind us. while i have long hoped to ski to the summit on a blue bird day--i once promised khiet chhu a picture of moosilauke, snow covered and regal--the dozens of time i had been on the mountain, only once had i been all the way to the top. and that day, like today, was totally socked in.

in the clouds or not, we kept on even though coming out of the shorter and shorter trees, the snow got pretty skimpy and really icy. we zigged and zagged following the over our heads cairns, built extra high to still have a presence when buried in feet of snow. we topped out amongst the rock foundations of shelters that had long since been burned or removed. i put on a hat, gloves, and zipped up my jacket before picking my way over to the sign post for summit picture. i asked si if he wanted me to take a shot of him but he had already put the camera back under his jacket and was getting another layer, mitts, and his helmet on. i guessed it was time we headed down.

we made it back almost to the glen cliff cutoff before we took off our skins and started sliding down for real. the snow was really amazing and when we stopped next we each had wicked smiles. it kept getting better and even though it was sometimes fast, it was never furious. well mostly. i did dive in too deep a few times. and by dive, i do mean head first, but that is what hoods are made for--i assume. getting back up did tire me out, way beyond the 'almost' noted earlier. after one crash right at his feet, he kindly pulled me back up and told me his legs were starting to burn too.

burning quads or not, we got in plenty of sweet turns, even through the moose tracks. i had to laugh as i half skied, half climbed over the one blow down that i wish i had brought my saw for. right after that we crossed the high bridge and unlocked our bindings and reversed the long approach, headed for the truck. our high five and hug was big: we had skied a 4000 footer, dropping a few thousand vertical over 5 miles in snow over a foot deep in places; the peanut butter-honey and cheese sandwiches for lunch were quite tasty; it was only 4:30, just getting dark and more than likely we would make it home well before our send out the troops time request!

just to celebrate all the happy things, we each had one of linda's, his mom, famous cookies, poured ourselves some hot tea, and cranked up jimi hendrix--we were experienced...!