Trip Report - Kayaking (?!) the Raquette River

So, I was looking for something original to do on Saturday, and I made plans with an old friend to have a kayaking adventure. It turned out to be pretty fun. Here's the route we took.

We stashed a couple of mountain bikes at the takeout, and geared up outside the car (as always, click on the pictures for a photographic explosion):

It was a short drag to Axton Landing:

Matt, Kayaking JONG:

After putting in, though, everything was awesome.  Totally peaceful, totally calm, and a "lazy river" pace to the water made paddling super easy.  Here's some more pics:

Really cool reflections on the water:

We stopped a couple of times at the various campsites along the route for trail mix, water, and candy.  If we had planned better, we would have brought a cooler of Guinness for St. Patrick's Day.

It's still a little early in the year for this, and we ran across a few icebergs.

Ice was also covering the stagnant water outside of the main channel:

It was still gorgeous, though:

After the paddle (which took a little under 3 hours), we stashed the kayaks behind some docking material:

Then we picked up the bikes we had stashed in the woods:

The plan was Old Wawbeek Road back to the car so we could avoid riding on the main road as much as possible.  Unfortunately, it was a little too early for that too:

Eventually we made it back to the car, packed everything up, and cruised on home, ready to celebrate the holiday with a night out in Lake Placid.  Like I said, it was pretty fun.

Adirondack Backcountry - 3/12/12

To be fair, I didn't really say we were going "skiing", I only asked if Pat was "up for an adventure".  And that turned out to be exactly what we got. Where? Well, apparently, you aren't supposed to divulge backcountry spots on the internet, but let's just say that this a "popular ski destination" that has been talked about a lot.  Oh, and I went there in November.

We set off from the Garden Parking Lot in Keene Valley, and started up the Phelps trail towards the John's Brook Lodge. Most of the trail was covered in a nasty layer of ice that probably would have been easier to navigate with Micro Spikes (click on the pictures to enbiggen them and enhance the experience).

Luckily, the hiking got better as it warmed up throughout the day.  We passed a couple of other skiers who were on their way back to the parking lot because they said the snow had deteriorated mightily over the past couple of days. They were bringing all of their equipment back out and were just going to try and do a few summit pushes.  Hmmmm . . . . Come to think of it, the closer we got to the slide, the bonier it looked.  It was then that we started thinking that this trip might not work out so great after all.  

Still, though, we persevered. We crossed the cool suspended bridge at the DEC Interior outpost:

We walked a little ways, and were approaching the slide we wanted to ski, when we happened upon this nice scene:

I briefly thought that this might be the base of our slide, but a quick glance at the map said that this was Wolf Jaw Brook, and not Bennie's Brook (Whoops. I said the name and ruined the backcountry experience for everyone . . .  Damn). So just as we were crossing Wolf Jaw Brook, I stepped on what I thought was solid ice on top of a rock.  It turned out to be unsolid ice on top of thigh deep water.  Suddenly, I was butt deep in a freezing cold torrent of water.

After scrambling out of the creek and back to the trail, I took off some clothes, put them out in the sun to dry, and reassessed the situation:

My boots were soaked, but I could just switch to my dry tele boots (they had been on my backpack).  After about 20 minutes of sun, my socks and snowpants were dry enough (drier than they would be skiing in the rain).  And it was about 60 degrees and sunny out.  Adventure continues!

We got to the slide and some parts were a little tough to ascend:

We were mostly able to pick our way around the difficult parts, though:

And eventually, we hit the meat of the slide:

The sound of melting was all around us. To be honest, the skiing didn't even look worth it.  All ice, thin cover, rocks, no good lines, etc. etc. etc. 

But when we made a couple of turns, the surface surprised us. The ridiculously high temperatures made the ice pretty edgable:

We had to step over some rocks, ford some rivers and barrel through some stumps at some points, but I managed to keep my skis on all the way down to the Southside Trail (the trees on the left side were somewhat open with soft snow over a mossy base, actually quite nice for skiing).

We decided to go back via the Southside Trail to make a loop out of it.  Unfortunately, there is no bridge back to The Garden, so we had to do a little creative fording:

All in all, it was a fun trip.  The skiing wasn't really spectacular (or even very good), but the adventure more than made up for it.  And really, that's what we set out for anyway.

Northeast Ski Blogger's Summit - Attitash and Wildcat

Days 2 and 3 of the "NSBS" were an interesting mix. Yesterday, we skied the groomers and low level trees of Attitash. I had to leave at 1:00 to teach my Community College skiing class at West Mountain (that's right, I drove 4 hours to Glens Falls to teach a 2 hour class, then drove 4 hours back), so I wasn't able to ski most of the afternoon. I don't feel like I missed much, though.

You know how you can get a pretty good sense of how a mountain is after just a few runs? Well, after skating over from the slopeside hotel (posh), we jumped on the high speed quad at Bear Peak and looked down at the pristine grooming, rolling trails, and plunging fall lines. It was going to be a groomer day.

Now, I know I made my feelings about groomers pretty clear. But I had the right tool for the job (my nice 165cm slalom skis), and I was happy to carve some trenches with the rest of the guys. We got into the trees a little, but the day was mostly about good times with good people. After a run through the park, a glance at the ridiculously nice slopeside houses, and a few more leg burning, fall line bombers, I was perfectly content to leave early.

Today, however, was different. We were at Wildcat, and we were everywhere. After a tasty breakfast buffet at the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center, we made our way to the mountain.  We had some quality tour guides and some awesome terrain.  They even took a video of our exploits:



You can't help but be pumped on this mountain. Steep, winding trails, bumps, trees, steeps, and the greatest view from any ski area in the east (even from the parking lot):

Obviously, as very influential bloggers, it was our duty to capture the incredible vistas:

It's hard to avoid the presence of Mount Washington when you're here in New Hampshire. It is visible from just about everywhere, but at Wildcat, it's right in your face on every run:

It was even there when I was trying to eat lunch:

Eventually, we just had to give in. Harv and I set off to hike up to HoJo's and ski the Sherburne Trail back down. The skin was fun, especially when the Ravine came into view:

On the way down, we were looking the other way. Now Wildcat was in our face:

Good stuff.

I was super excited after skiing today. Wildcat has so much cool stuff to offer, I was looking at lines all day. And obviously, Mount Washington is Mount Washington. I think one of the advantages of this whole area is the variety of places that you can visit. You can ski groomers and get pampered on Tuesday, you can rip steeps and ski trees on Wednesday morning, and you can have a miniature backcountry adventure on Wednesday afternoon. Since variety is the spice of life, New Hampshire has been a pretty tasty buffet.

Northeast Ski Blogger's Summit, Year II - Cannon Mountain, NH

So, remember last year, when I was invited to the Northeast Ski Blogger's Summit? Well, it happened again. I must be the best blogger ever.

Anyway, today I want to talk about history. Like, when we drove up to Cannon today, we could feel the old school style of the place:

Even in the cool base lodge (with brand new bar area), the style was old school cool:

Unfortunately, the trails weren't in the greatest condition. I'm talking groomed. I'm talking packed powder. I'm talking boring. I mean, I'm up for ripping the Front Five as much as the next guy, but I've skied enough groomers this year. Like, way too many groomers.  So much so, that last weekend at Gore, I hucked myself off every stupid little bump I could find, just because I was so psyched to be skiing some natural snow. We were trying to find something good, and it didn't happen until we started looking towards the old timey trails like Hardscrabble:

It was tough . . . Real tough.  But we made our way down the icy bumpfest and liked how much the trail was able to challenge us.  In fact, I wasn't too satisfied with how I skied it, and vowed to return later.  First, though, we had to try the pinnacle of old school, the Mittersill area:  

Classic tight lines, trees, steeps, pow, and fun.  This is what skiing was all about back in the day. I've written before about how I want skiing to return to it's freestyle roots. But maybe what I really want is a return to an even earlier time.  A time of insane races down Tuckerman Ravine. A time where ski instructors were respected. A time of awesome stretch pants:

That last pic is from the New England Ski Museum at the base of the Cannon Tram (they've got a nice shot of a 60's girl skiing in a bikini, too).

It seems like a lot of resorts these days are focused on wide boulevards, constant grooming, and overindulgent services.  Condos instead of Conquests. Amenities instead of Adventure. Thankfully, Cannon has a little bit of a split personality: Groomers and Snowmaking for the masses, Natural snow and Natural conditions for people like me.  It's not that I want to live in the past (I'm definitely going to hit the hot tub in the hotel later), I just feel like part of the appeal of skiing is in its roots.

Recognize that back in the day, people skied narrow trails on long skis and had a great time doing it. They didn't have the latest rocker technology, the molded boot liners, or even sidecut skis.  They skied Hardscrabble and Mittersill with no grooming, no heelpiece, and no fear. There's something to be said for that kind of attitude - it helped me ski Hardscrabble a second time . . . and conquer it.

Uninspired?

So there's this guy in my neighborhood who is out walking his teeny tiny little white dog every morning at around 6:45 when I'm driving to work. Every once in a while he looks up and the deep, deep sadness in his eyes is heartbreaking. This is a guy who envisioned a completely different life for himself. And now he's picking up some tiny little dog's crap before the sun rises every morning.

I realize that life is not a never ending stream of Tanner Hall's twitter feed (sample tweet: "BIG UP YOURSELVES QUEBEC! NEW 'IRIE INDIANS' SHOW ON INSPIRED TV! INSPIIIRED!"), but I'm finding it hard to get motivated lately. Maybe it's my work schedule, maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the lack of snow, but I'm just finding it hard to get pumped about skiing.

I like the idea of going somewhere new, like Steve at The Snow Way. I like the idea of travelling far and wide to find powder pockets like skimore on the Harvey Road Forums. I like the idea of just going out regardless of snow conditions like The Adventure Skier, or the guys at ADKBCSKI.com. But I really can't get excited about things the way they are.

I've held off on the hand wringing, fear mongering, and doomsday scenarios that other people have thrown out there. But I've been making lemonade for a long time. Hell, I've made lemonade, lemon ice, lemon sorbet, lemon chicken and lemon meringue pie. I'm just getting sick of the #$#@ing lemons. I probably have about 45 days in so far this year and 2 have been genuine powder days. And those are the days I mentioned on this blog.

Maybe I'm just upset because this is maximum teaching climax season for me. I've been teaching 4 days a week for 4 weeks straight now (on top of my regular M-F job), and I reach a point of overload right around President's week every year.  I wrote a post last year around this time when I was feeling a little burnout, and I feel the same way now.

But here's where me and that poor guy with white dog differ. I'm not going to sit around and just take what was given to me. I'm not going to take some little dog's shit.  I'm going to make a freaking effort to save this season. It starts this weekend (according to Lionel Hutz), and continues next week.  Then, an awesome month of Spring Skiing.  And Finally, from March 22nd to April 2nd, Alaska.  Not to mention any leftover stuff when I get back (I'm definitely going to try to do a Tuckerman trip this year and some ADK slides). This isn't the end of the year, my friends, this is the beginning,  Let's do this.

INSPIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRREEEEEDDDDDDDDDDD!

When Life Gives you Lemons . . .

. . . just go Mountain Biking.

It was 56 degrees when I left work on Wednesday, February 1st. Unbelievable. So we decided to check out the mountain bike trails up at SMBA. The riding was pretty difficult. It was a combination of icy death, nicely compacted sun softened snow, surface layered mud, and some prime dirt and dry rocks (mostly on the south facing slopes).  Here's a couple of surreal pictures taken with my buddy's camera (I was going to bring the DSLR, but the "icy death" kind of discouraged me. It ended up being a poor decision - there were some stellar photo ops):

I'm still skiing (went to West Mountain Tuesday and tonight), but this was just . . . better. It's weird. I had more fun learning some new riding styles (snow riding is a lot different than regular riding), messing around in the snow, and sliding around wildly than I did skiing tonight on a bunch of groomers. We really need to get some snow. I'm still hopeful for a good skiing winter, but if it doesn't happen, I'm glad that I've got a bunch of new skills to try to master on the bike.  Sometimes, you just have to take what Ullr gives you.