ski local...

and try to keep it on the mellow side!

friday, noah had to leave early, so he, si, and i, headed over to la salette and took a large looping tour. thursday's more than six inches was welcoming, but the previous monday night's rain had opened a bunch of new water crossings and nearly exposed a bunch of new rocks. still, being out in the woods was sweet.




sweet indeed...warm and sunny too, in places the snow was even sticky. listening to the sounds of skis sliding along--two pairs with scales and one with skins--gave me a meditative 'base' going up. coming down was more swooshing, aggressive in a good, carving way, especially the long downhill on moses johnson. (the one skip calls the little sherburne.) hikers had been over the path a fair bit, and the cold had frozen it chunky enough to make it kind of loud. that made me prowl the edges.

the edges and into the woods did have the most snow. we finished the steep taking first tracks on 'the spine', a section i originally scoped out for bikes. we dropped off the ridge, 'out of the trees' onto the main trunk of the trail. from there, the long way around the cross-trail bridge that collapsed two summers ago, took us back across the bottom of the hay field and to the car. as we de-booted and packed in, noah's "hurry hurry" made simon smile and ask "what's the difference, you're already in trouble."

morgan was indeed waiting and ready to pull out, but i did not notice any "trouble" as they finished packing and said their goodbyes.

saturday, simon and i had planned a bigger trip to hit another 4000 footer or two up in the whites. but the best made plans are subject to change. first, si tried to recruit alex, who only wanted to go local. next, some longtime friends were coming over for lunch and a little gaming. so as i headed over to pick him up, i was thinking cardigan and sawing out that large blowdown on the ski trail. staying nearby would also make linda happy as i think she was a tad nervous about going big today.

si dumped his stuff in the truck and we headed out. at the winter parking lot there were a fair number of cars and people gearing up. but we found a spot, nosing into the snow bank. in fine vacation-time form, several of the folks putting on their snow shoes were mascoma alums--most of them MOC participants. you might graduate from high school and college, but you never leave the outing club!

we multi tasked, gearing up, visiting, and finally skiing off. the summer road and then both the hiking and ski trails, were well packed down. friday must have been a very busy day here on our local hill. just below a steep section, i stopped to put skins on. si kept sliding up to start sawing the blowdown. as i got to him and the tree, he was struggling. he had already sawn through one end, but it dropped and pinched his saw. i started the other side and we tag teamed the cut. when our top kerf mostly met our bottom one, we used a large stick to pry it free. with a grunt or two, we rolled and heaved it off to one side and whooped at the new clearing. with skis and packs back on, we headed up again.

it would be nice to have a clear shot through this section as it was so tracked up, there would be some speed involved. the higher we got, the more i contemplated an alternative route down. just above the waterfall, i suggested we turn south into the woods and wind our way out and down, reconnecting with the ski trail below--in time to ski the newly freed up bit. si was up for an adventure. i put my jacket on, pulled the hood up, and plowed into the snow laden trees. it wasn't exactly easy going but, at one point i stopped in a patch of sun and thought about how beautiful the woods were. simon snapped a picture to support that.



i borrowed the camera when i got over to him and snapped a picture pointed his way, despite an indigenous resistance to having his image taken. i would have joked that one actually needs a soul for it to be taken, but all the pendletons are sweethearts--zero body fat but plenty of soul!

after our photo shoot, we popped over the knoll we were posing on and came to an honest to goodness cliff. we chose different routes down and tipped over our respective edges. the bottom took us back into the trees not too far away from the hiking trail, so we pointed our tips that way. back on the west ridge, it was time to strip off skins, buckle up the boots, lock down the bindings, and fly. being so tracked out, it was indeed fast and furious. that was something of an advantage as you could see the rocks when you hit them.




now and again there was a tiny bit of snow left at the edges--just enough to make it look like i could ski. we hadn't done anything big, but we were both happy as we piled the gear into the truck and went to lunch!

a thankful visit to waterville valley...

a late start, plenty of snow, a grand day! we could pretend that we were waiting for the inches to build up, but honestly, we were skating and eating again. tecumseh, another nh 4000 footer, sticks up above the waterville valley ski area, about an hour away from canaan. a 2.5 mile trail follows the tecumseh brook up, mostly paralleling the north side runs. we were planning on skinning up to the summit, cutting over to the ski area, and flying down one of their trails. it all sounded doable, even pulling out of the drive at 12:30p in heavy snow.

simon was the designated driver, it was his new car that he just bought from his grandmother. noah road shotgun, i took the back seat and nestled in for a long winter's nap. the roads were slippery but the subaru was all about tracking right along. despite a few pokey drivers, and who could blame them with the conditions under wheel, we made it up to the ski lodge, parked, booted up, and walked about a hundred feet to the trail head. it was a bit sketchy crossing the brook in ski boots, trying to balance on the stones sticking above the waterline. that done with no big splashes that i heard, we stepped into our bindings and started up. noah hung back and took this picture as we wove through the trees.

at that point the trail was fairly wide, snow coverage was ample, the turns rather gentle, and the pitch, not so bad. that didn't last too long. the rocks grew enough to stick out of the snow in lots of awkward spots. the turns got twisty and tight. the pitch, save for one little segment pointed straight down to the open brook, got steep and stayed steep. did i mention that the trees, changing from hardwoods to evergreens, seemed to close in on us too?

it got steep enough that we put up the climbing bails under our boot heels and trudged on. at one point i slipped on some ice under the powder and slid back on one knee, into noah, pushing him down the hill a couple of meters. i suggested he go ahead in case that happened again. lucky thing he did as i went down several more times, genuflecting and sliding--only not praising god at the moment. simon's comment later was, "i almost got annoyed with that trail--it went on and on, up and up--i didn't think it was going to end."

it did end, finally. si's phone/camera ran out of battery right after he took a picture of noah and the summit sign. noah pulled his out and we group-selfied or how ever you say it.

we seemed to be smiling right here, but the immediate decent down the summit cone, put me in a highly focused, less jolly state. noah took off, passing me and careening around the first steep corner, not to be seen again until we got to the cut off. i offered si a pass too, but he said he was good. since he never ran into me i believed him. noah removed his skins at the junction and convinced si to do the same. i kept mine on and should have suggested the same to simon, as our skis had no scales like noah's. i was glad to have them on and si let his brother know it was a 'bum steer' he had been given.

soon enough though we popped out at the top of the ski area, where they waited for me while i de-skinned. we pointed them left and down and scooted along as it was getting darker. i stopped at a headwall and put on a knit cap under my billed hat--going down was a bit chillier than climbing up. the snow was mixed, deeper on the edges and icy-ish in the middle. it was fine skiing though and we flew along. at one stop i did admit to my legs being "right next to officially tired." that got a laugh as we slid away.

we found the road and car shortly there after. it felt good to get the boots off and everything stowed. the subaru pulled right through the pile a plow had pushed around us. we were headed home. to celebrate i found a chocolate bar--dark, with raspberry--that the pendletons had christmased me with and passed it around. i hadn't brought my thermos of tea this trip. the roads were not all that clear, but we got along with only one stop to clean the windshield. thank you sadie and otavio, we used the new scraper you left in my truck christmas eve. simon passed around a few of his mom's famous cookies too--thank you linda.

as we pulled into the pendleton driveway, linda, the famous cookie making mother, was at the door on the phone with pam. we were home (at least i would soon be), happy, and hungry...number 2 of the 48 nh 4000 footers had gone on skis!

thank you simon and noah for guiding and helping carry on the MOC tradition!

i wish i had a river...

i could skate away on...i would teach my feet to flyyyyyy! i took my skates and maps over to visit the pendletons, the first, knowing they would be checking the ice out and go on the slimmest possibility of a skate. the second, my way of interesting them in planning where we would use all the snow we were forecasted to get tomorrow. when i went by the lake there was ice, pretty ugly but frozen. i didn't bother to stop, i assumed we would be there in a short while. sure enough, when i got to their house skip was just getting back from his scouting--we were going. they gathered up a pair of blades for each, save morgan who was flat out on the couch with a stomach bug--yuk.

not too much later, linda, skip, and noah were skating away while simon and i finished putting our skates on. as we pushed away from the milk carton benches chasing after, my immediate thought was, don't be so critical, this is pond ice. it could have been my leg muscles jiggling or the rattle in my teeth that gave it away, but the surface was a bit bumpy. still, as long as you didn't trip and do a superman or worse the splits as a soft spot grabbed one of your blades while the other glided on, it felt like skating--it was my first time out this winter.


considering all that, it also felt pretty magical to be flying about out in the fresh air. the wind wasn't whipping and it wasn't all that cold. whenever good ice was found, we circled around for a bit until someone shot off looking for another spot. at times somewhat together, other times spread way out, we were searching for the proverbial "best skating ever." after a couple of circumnavigations and several criss-crosses we skated back to the milk cartons and de-skated--lunch-o'clock.



a wonderful soup and sandwich later, we dealt away five of ten phases in a favorite card game.  when skip handily beat us, we decided to go back for a second skate around. by we, i mean all but morgan, still on a couch, though a new one, and now skip celebrating his win, or saving his back for the ski we had planned for the snow coming in.

a thin film of snow covered the ice this time and it was just a tad bit harder to find those sweet smooth spots, but we tried for an hour or so. i explored a couple of the bays i hadn't skated into in the morning, but never found the perfect spot. still, when i took my blades off, i was happy to have been out. as we got into our vehicles we promised to call each other tomorrow for the next adventure.

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...! 

no moose today...

but more snow, only tomorrow it's supposed to rain. wtf?! ok, i won't complain, much...today, my second day out in the backcountry this week/winter, already surpassed all the woods skiing i did last year. nobody gives out snow guarantees around here, so i take it when it comes. but i am keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow's meltdown never comes.

today's six inches was not melting at all, given i never saw it get out of the teens. i made a few calls this morning trying to interest somebody in going to moosilauke but no takers. i mulled over a solo adventure but choose to stay local and loop the shaker trails again--a bit of play time in powder.

when i pulled into the la salette parking lot i had to put it in 4wh as all that powder was unplowed. i had first tracks and thought of spinning a 360° but thought the guy who would be coming to plow, wouldn't take too kindly to that. it would probably scare the two skiers and their dog going into the big hay field as well. as they turned up hill i recognized ann and andy--i don't recall the dogs name--so when i got out of the truck, i gave a hello. i booted up as they skied off. after fiddling around with my bindings and settling my pack, i took off after them, following their tracks.



i caught up with them at the top of the first hill and we talked a bit before i headed up further in the fields and they went off into the woods toward the canal trail. i got to the top of the upper hay field and went into the woods on a trail the same ann, sawyer, and i had cleaned up years ago when we started the shaker snow-shoe-fest. a quarter mile up earned me a quarter down. at the height of land, on that trail at least, a click out of free pivot put me into flow mode. the snow was silky and the turns came easy down the narrow path. no rocks kept it smooth, without any 'bottom' entanglements.


as i turned back onto the caleb marshall dyer and worked my way up over long stretches of barely covered rocks, i realized why i chose going counter clockwise. this way my route would avoid hitting these rocky sections on the downhill.



avoiding rocky sections was a good thing, as i found it often pretty thin under the hemlocks and pines. as well as rocks, there were plenty of blowdowns to negotiate--i would have to bring a saw out before this year's snow-shoe-fest. on monday, kevin and i had actually met kyle the new shaker museum educational director who would be working with me on trails for the event this year. he was out in the snow wishing he was on skis with us, unfortunately, he was looking for a snowblower in one of the barns. beyond the obstacles, i came over the second height of land and clicked into downhill mode.



as i pushed off and let gravity take over, i was hoping i wouldn't be sliding at speed if and when i met any blow downs on this section. there were a couple of steeper, very narrow sections ahead that didn't allow for much turning to brake. i was equally weary of the rocky section at the bottom of the trail. to my enjoyment, it was mostly deep and fluffy and made the skis go fast. i avoided all the junk i saw and when i got to the gullied, rocky part, i met up with a snowshoe track that looked rather obstacle free. i used that as a guide and pleasantly glided down to the junction with the james jewitt trail.


kevin and i had skied this section, both up and down, but today i was just going up to catch the moses johnson or what we call little sherburne. i was still following the snow shoe tracks which made the going easier. whomever was packing this out was following our ski track which made for a solid trail.




up at the 'potato field'--15 or so acres the fish and game had cleared for rabbit habitat--the snow had blown back into the tracks and i imagined the mj/ls would be nice and deep. i locked down again and tightened the boots back up for the longest run we have at la salette. one nice feature on this section are the water-bars that when things are fast offer some air time. things were fast enough today, and i got in some good unweighting as i turned of the crests of several. the rhythm was coming and sweeping back and forth across the fall line kept feeling better and better.

i stopped before the final pitch and took a picture of the interplay of ski and snow shoe tracks. when i took off again, i started playing on the banked edges until i hooked a rock and scrambled a bit to rebalance. i could be imaging it, but often when i push the 'edge' i end up thrown off--maybe that's the nature of the beast.


i recovered well in time to launch the last two water bars, bigger than most and with steeper landings. when i reached the trunk trail at the bottom i turned uphill and thought--i could go back up for some more of that! i unlocked, the bindings, unbuckled and unstrapped the boots and went for one more downhill. i decided to go up to the loop off the cmd and ski down into the upper hay field. that would be opposite of how i started, but it was a good run and would point me at a final finish on the big hay field.

up top again, i tightened everything back up, emptied the bladder, and drank some water to replenish. the other day, i read how students do better on tests when they drink water. that was my plan--to do well on this last run. while i did slow way down in a few flatter spots i don't believe i ever stopped, from top to bottom the ride was worth it. i made figure eights with my monday tracks where i could see them and found another snow shoe track to follow at the bottom to keep a little speed as i headed for the truck.

the plow guy was there and he waved when i  was taking off my boots. it had been a fine day even though i didn't go up to moosilauke and score my first 4000 footer. a little more time, a little more snow, and maybe a partner and i would start ticking the big ones off. for now, i was happy having soloed a little one...