Trip Report from the Weekend.

Right now, Gore is skiing to full potential.  Whenever people ask me about the mountain, I tell them to visit during March (because the glades will most likely be open, the crowds will be manageable, and the steeps will be nicely bumped).  Well, March has arrived, and the mountain is skiing great.  I'll recount the weekend I had, but pictures and words don't really do it justice.  You really have to get out there and experience it for yourself.  And now is just the time to do it.

Friday, we pulled up to the mountain around 8:45 to find all of the lifts closed.  So we hung around the bottom, took our time booting up, and rode the double chair when it opened around 10:00.  We had taken the day off work hoping for a sweet sweet powder day, and Otter Slide Glades was not what we had in mind.  The snow was heavy, grabby, and cementacious.  It was reallly tough to power through, even with my 97mm waisted Karhu Jak Tele Skis.  When we got back on the trail, the conditions weren't much better.  NCP, followed by a groom and a freeze, meant that the lower mountain trails were all iced over hardpack.  Not ideal.  Luckily, though, when we reached the bottom, they had opened the Gondola.

Once we reached the top, there was a definite change in mood.  Everyone looked around and saw snow covered trees, powder filled lines, and happy people.  What had been a wintry mix at the bottom was all snow at the top of the mountain.  Anything above the Adirondack Triple was golden.  Since they had not dropped the rope on the top yet, we were part of a huge group of people on Fairview.  Everyone was hooting and hollering as they dropped deep, deep cut up pow.  To avoid the crowd, I ducked off to Powerline.  Here's a couple of pics:

 

Probably about knee to thigh deep, slightly heavy, super fun powder.  Finally, some real positive, really enjoyable skiing.  I dropped into Twister Glades on the way down (just to see what it was like), and it was good on top, but quickly turned into that cementy stuff at the bottom.  I bailed to Echo, and took another one up the Gondola.  

At the top, they hadn't dropped the rope to Pine Knot/Uncas, and there were about 20-30 people waiting for it.  We decided to wait at The Cave rope instead.  With nobody else there, the rope was soon dropped and we got 3rd tracks in epic Cave Glade Pow.  More pics:

 

Not as deep in the Cave, but still awesome, we moved on to have an awesome day skiing all over the top of the mountain.  Chati Glades, Straightbrook Glades, Mineshaft, Darby Woods, and a few unmentionables were awesome.  We skied straight through lunch, and came in around 3:00 (totally spent) to a nearly empty base lodge with huge smiles on our faces.

The next day I had to teach, but I must have hit the lottery because it was a Tele Trees and Steeps class.  We spent the day on a mountain tour, hitting almost all of the glades and skiing the mountain from the far reaches of the Chati Glades to the Pipeline/Eagle's Nest trail to Burnt Ridge.  A lot of learning and A TON of skiing.  We came in at 3:45 to a well deserved beer in the raucus Tannery Bar.

After an exhausting night, we got a late start on Sunday, but the day was totally worth it.  More snow had fallen Saturday night into Sunday so all of the trees were filled back in.  This was especially nice on the lower mountain glades (which didn't get a lot of snow from the Thursday storm).  Feeling crazy, we decided to roll the dice on the Cirque Glades.  Ace had never skied them before, and wanted to give them a shot.  Here's some pics:

 

 

Beautiful soft spring-like snow, warm temperatures, and sunny skies.  Almost total solitude, too.  It's amazing how on 3 of the most crowded days of the year, I rarely saw another group of skiers until I got back to the lift.  I don't think it was any real skill on my part either.  I just think that a lot of people don't ski the woods.  And that's perfectly fine with me.

We spent the rest of the day skiing around, but almost all on the Dark Side/Burnt Ridge portion of the mountain.  The snow on the Dark Side was particularly Sweet.  It has remained cold through the entirety of these last few days, so it's still light and fluffy.  Lower Darby was great (soft powdery bumps with nice lines), and the BBA/Hot Damn/Thumper Trio was the best skiing of the day.  

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend.  I don't know if I've ever had a more enjoyable 3 days of skiing back to back to back like that.  It just goes to show, if you can somehow find a way to get yourself to the mountain, sometimes everything comes together and life becomes that much better.

Pics from the weekend

A couple of quick pics from the weekend before I go do some stuff around the house.  Full report coming tomorrow.  Needless to say, the entire weekend was epic.  Best weekend (Friday-Sunday) that I think I've ever had at Gore.

More to come tomorrow . . .

Yes!!!!

We're finally getting some snow, and I'm psyched.  I can't understand why people aren't loving this as much as I am.  People were complaining last night at West because it's not light and fluffy.  And people are complaining about ski area websites posting pictures that exaggerate snowfall amounts.  Disgraceful!!!!  Right now, after the year we've been having, is the worst time to complain.  Take the powder and go ski (or risk angering Snow God Ullr once again!).  Unfortunately, I couldn't get out today (although I probably should have), but I'm thinking tomorrow and Friday are a go.  Finally, some SKIING!!!

In other news, I found this really interesting article from NPR about life.  From what I can gather, it says that the reason time speeds up as we get older is that we stop having fresh experiences.  Time "slows down" when our brains are recording things that they've never seen or done before:

That's because when it's the "first", there are so many things to remember. The list of encoded memories is so dense, reading them back gives you a feeling that they must have taken forever. But that's an illusion. "It's a construction of the brain," says Eagleman. "The more memory you have of something, you think, 'Wow, that really took a long time!'

"Of course, you can see this in everyday life," says Eagleman, "when you drive to your new workplace for the first time and it seems to take a really long time to get there. But when you drive back and forth to your work every day after that, it takes no time at all, because you're not really writing it down anymore. There's nothing novel about it."

 So, the solution to everlasting life (or at least a life in which time moves really, really, really slow) is to do something new and exciting every day.  See something you've never seen before.  Take up an activity that you've never tried but always wanted to.  At very least, try something on the menu that you've never had. Or risk the belated realization of a life that has passed you by.

Get Thee to VT . . .

I should note, however, that not all of the east is experiencing a snow drought.  Maine is having a very good winter.  And, as those Famous Internet Skiers found, so is Stowe.  I won't post the pictures without permission, but just trust that you want to go to the site and see the pictures.

Snow Drought and Other Stuff . . .

According to Harvey Road, the last time the National Weather Service in Albany posted a Winter Storm for the Adirondacks was December 9th.  His Gore Snowfall total is down more than 5 feet from last year.  According to the NWS, Albany has had only 6 days with more than an inch of snow this winter and is down about 20 inches from last winter.

Depressing, yes, but fear not.  I will always remember the sign at Sugarloaf on one of the lift towers that says that its snowiest months are March, April, and February (in that order).  I'd assume that Gore is similar.  Here's hoping that this winter will be redeemed with a monster Spring.

I would like to call to your attention, though, the difference in "snow droughts" from East to West.  Talking with people in Utah, you would think that it's the end of the world out there.  When I posted the Tahawus Glade Video on my facebook page, a guy I went to college with said that there's more snow in the trees here than there was out there.  Granted, they've gotten a little more snow since then - I thought PowderQueen's TR (also on Harvey Road) looked pretty damn good to me (even she, however, put in a mild complaint - "We didn't get too much deep powder, but we made the best of what we had").  Then I checked the Statistics.  Alta had gotten 162 inches of snow before I posted my video (they're up around 250 now).

Amazing!!!  In my wildest dreams, I could only hope that we'd get 162 inches of snow this year.  Imagine someone complaining!  I know, I know, mountains out there need more snow to operate because they don't have the manicured runs that we have here, but come on!!  If I lived out west, would I become a snow snob too?  Would I look out the window, see a base depth of only 84 inches and go back to sleep?  If the answer is yes (and I think it might be), that just speaks volumes about the difference in skiing from East to West.  We ski here because it's enjoyable, fun to do with friends, and great excercise.  Out there, though, people ski because they SKI.

And that's the difference.  I had a blast on Sagamore last week.  It was great: fresh gun-pow, soft bumps, and good people.  But I stayed on Sagamore for pretty much the entire day.  That was the only place where I could SKI.  I guess it's obvious that I believe that SKIING is different than skiing.  And it seems like this year, I've had a lot more skiing than SKIING.  Don't get me wrong, I've had some great runs, but there hasn't been a day where I've been completely gung ho about pushing myself, exploring, and taking charge of a ski day.  I've mostly been taking it as it comes, finding the good snow, and lapping it until I'm tired.

Come to think of it, I always do a lot of that at the beginning of a season.  When the mountain isn't fully open, the best bet is to find the trail that they've been hammering with guns, and ski it until your legs give out.  The problem is, this year has been like an extended early season.  There's not too much separating skiing now from skiing in December or Early January.  Yeah, there are more trails open, but none that really excite me (especially since they keep grooming the trails that have character).  How many times can I ski groomed frozen granular before I get bored?  Pretty soon, I'm going to want to SKI.  I want to rip bump lines and tree lines, I want to adventure, I want to explore, I want to find a stash that no one has skied for weeks, I want to stare at big mountains, and plan tomorrow's day over a beer (because it will be different than today).  These are the things I love about skiing.  And they're the things that I can't do in an Eastern Powder Drought, but can do in a Western Powder "Drought".       

Update (and goals)

If we ever get any snow this year (and I get my new skis), Ace and I are going to tackle the Thunderbolt Trail:


75th Anniversary Thunderbolt Ski Race from Blair Mahar on Vimeo.

Just another goal to add to the list.

Currently, I'm working two jobs, traveling a lot for one of the jobs, up north on the weekends, and getting home late on the weekdays.  Not much time for blogging, but lots of time in my car.  When I am home, though, the Ski Channel has some SICK tele movies on from sweetgrass productions.  On my Time Warner Cable, the Ski Channel is in the "On Demand" section under "Sports".  Check it out.

Livin'

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I've been super busy.  I picked up another skiing job (instructor of a skiing class for a local community college), so I'm doing that on Tuesdays and Thursdays until mid-March.  Plus, I have regular work (which seems to be picking up lately), plus my parents are going on vacation, so I have to look after their dog for a week (which should actually be pretty fun).

We got hit with a pretty bad rainstorm Monday, but skiing was decent on Tuesday and Thursday at West, so I hope there's some promise for the weekend.  I'm actually going to ski Royal Mountain (outside of Johnstown) tomorrow, and Gore on Sunday.  Hopefully, when I come back on Monday, I'll have enough time to write up a report.  Of course, then I'm going to ski Willard on Monday night, so the report might not come until Wednesday.  But Lost is on Wednesday, and I really want to see what happened at the end of last year, so maybe the report won't come until later . . .

I'm sure I'll fit something in sometime.  But really, when I get old and look back on my life, am I going to say "I wish I spent more time on my computer"?  No!!  I'd rather be skiing.

Content

The key to a successful blog is original content (stuff you can't get anywhere else).  So, with that in mind, here are some videos and pics from this past weekend.

First, some helmet cam footage of Tahawus Glades on Saturday:

Tahawus Glades on Saturday, 1/16/10 from Matt Charles on Vimeo.

Then, some helmet cam footage of Rumor when they dropped the rope on Sunday (very cool morning to ski, sunny at the top with clouds in the valleys, you can sort of see it in the video):

Rumor on Sunday 1/17/10 from Matt Charles on Vimeo.


Then, the batteries on my helmet cam were running out (rechargables don't last as long as the lithiums), so I put it into photo mode (where it takes a photo every 2 or 3 seconds), and ripped down some off-the-map glades.  Here's a selection of pics:

 

 

 

As for the report, Monday was the best day.  There are a couple of droplets on the lens there because it was misting for a while, but the 4-5 inches of snow on the mountain felt real good after the snow drought we've been going through.  Just to feel the soft snow under your feet (even on the trails) was a great feeling.  I skied tele on Saturday and Sunday (as you may have noticed in the videos), and alpine on Monday (although I kind of wish I brought my fat tele boards out).  I skied trees all weekend, always had people to ski with, and I had a blast.  There were a lot of people on the mountain on  Saturday (and, to a lesser extent, Sunday), but by skiing the trees, we were able to leave the crowds behind and get into our own little world. It really is amazing how quiet it can get in an area that is only a short hike away.  The fireworks on Saturday were great too, but I didn't stay at the bar long enough to get into the shenanigans that other people got into.  Maybe that's a good thing.   

Still Time for New Gear . . .

I keep waffling back and forth on what I want.  I consulted this chart, and it seems like the BD Stigma (in the 182) weighs 7 pounds 9 oz.  Also on the EMS website (for $100 more) is this nice looking ski:

 That'd be the Movement Freeheel, made in Switzerland, and asymmetrical.  It weighs 7 pounds, 5 oz. in the 176.  But that puts me up around $400, and if I'm going to spend $400 on those, shouldn't I just spend $375 for the Atomic RT 86 on Telemarkdown.com (feather light 6.5 pounds in the 183)? I'm leaning towards the RT 86 at this point, especially if I can get it at that price, with the Voile Switchback bindings (which they don't have on Telemarkdown . . . I guess I'll miss out on the free mounting).  It's a good thing that nobody reads this blog.  I think the RT 86's will sell out pretty quick at this price.

Time for New Gear?

Since three of my goals for this year involve backcountry skiing, I thought I'd take a look at what I'd need for my future off piste adventures.  I pulled up this list, so that I could get an early start on preparing for the Haute Route, and make sure that any gear purchases that I make between now and Spring of 2011 will further the cause.  I have several problems:

1. I need skis.  My only tele skis are twin tips (Dynastar concepts and Karhu Jaks - the old ones, not the Jak BC).  I'm looking at buying new older model skis in the $300-$350 range, maybe something like the Black Diamond Voodoo or Stigma.  I'm leaning toward the Stigma right now because of the lower weight and more preferable length (182 vs. 185).
2. I need bindings.  I thought I could get away with using my G3 Targas, but their durability has been questionable lately, and they don't have the free pivot feature that a lot of the newer BC specific bindings have.  After hearing some questionable reports about the Black Diamond O1 and the G3 Targa Ascent, I've got it narrowed down to Voile Switchbacks and 22 Designs Axl.  The Axl will probably ski like the Hammerhead, which would be awesome, but it weighs 1 pound more, and doesn't look like it would be compatible with ski crampons (which seem to be a must on the Haute Route).  I have to decide if I want to power of the Axl or the weight advantage of the Switchback.
3. I need other backcountry equipment.  I was never much of a winter adventurer, so I need crampons that would fit over my tele boots (probably these or these), an ice axe (probably something "cheap" like this), a harness, and maybe a new pack (apparantly there is a stereotype of Americans over there with ridiculously oversized backpacks and 18 different GPS systems, altimeters, and barometers coming out of their pockets).  This doesn't even include the beacon/shovel/probe that should be part of every serious backcountry skier's collection.  

So, about $1000 later, I'll be (sort of) ready for the Haute Route.  I hope I get a decent sized tax return this year . . .