Out of gas

My tank is empty, my shins are bruised, my feet are battered and swollen, and my skis are in need of their fourth stone grind in 3 weeks. I've reached the limit of how much skiing, hiking, cliff jumping, and general mayhem my body can handle. My timing couldn't be better as we are soon to be on our way back East. This is my last post from CB and I am packing away the computer. There's not much more to say at this point except that we are really going to miss it here.

Soft Snow and Lots of Sun

Pretty much describes 2/3 of the trip...

I went up to the hill first thing and pretty much skied another full day. I met up with a long time local (30+ years) and he showed me a few new lines on the mountain. My legs were (are) pretty spent by mid afternoon so I made my way back to town and ran a few errands before our last day. The snow is coming down now so I am hoping for a final powder day before we load up the truck and head back East. I guess I am running out of things to write about and really don't feel like leaving here. Oh well I guess you can only live a dream for a few weeks at a time and then it is upside the head with the cold dead fish of reality.

Mmmmm Powder and Burritos

We got a couple of inches overnight and then the skies really opened up during the day. It was a great day on the hill and it was also empty. I made many laps in many places with many first tracks.

After a good day on the slopes Kim and I went out for mega burritos at Teocalli Tamale. We've only been here 3 weeks but we're already getting the local's discount.

Small world note: The kid behind the counter is from Litchfield, his name is Pete and he is a graduate of Litchfield High and knows one Mr. Wayne Prescott. At least he knows of Wayne's fondness for bike riding.

Epic Tour

I woke early as I had planned a day in the backcountry with a new friend, Davis, from town. We picked up a third, Ryan, when his planned companions were no shows. Davis and I had been planning on skiing the North Face of Mt Emmons, which required staging a car one valley over from the trailead on the South side. After shuttling the cars, the three of us departed from the trailhead around 8:30 or so. The skin up to our intended ski route was the same as the one I did to Red Lady Bowl a week and a half ago. The trip up was uneventful and we probably gained the summit ridge in about 2 hours or so. It was a little windy and cold up there so we decided to ski part of the route and then break for lunch. The turns down the North facing aspect (Redwell Basin) were pretty soft with just the slightest wind crust for the first few hundred feet. After skiing about a thousand vertical we stopped and reapplied our skins for a short 400 ft climb up and around the basin to get into another basin for some more turns. After the climb we broke for lunch above Wolverine Bowl which is an amazing natural feature. We soaked up the sun for about 20 minutes and then dove into the trees and skied out 2400 vertical feet to the valley floor. Once we hit the valley we had to cross the Slate River and then skate out nearly 2.5 miles to the car along the unplowed road. After we had collected our various vehicles we went out for gyros and beer at Pitas in Paradise. Another good day here in the valley.

Some photos from Snodgrass

Weekend recap and then some

The reason I have not posted much lately is because I have been immersed in avalanche education. I finally got around to taking my level 1 avalanche from the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. The course was supposed to be one evening classroom session and 2 days of hands-on backcountry sessions. Well, the Crested Butte Mountain Guides who put on the course really weren't quite truthful about the classroom time. There ended up being 11 hours of classroom time instead of the 3 that were advertised. The only thing worse than sitting through 11 hours of class time is sitting through those same hours with a bunch of idiots. It was bad enough that I had nearly as much backcountry experience as some of the instructors but that they treated me like I was one of the drooling morons I was sitting with was worse. Anyhow, the class was repetitive and while I did pick up a few things it wasn't until Sunday afternoon that I really got to go out, dig a snowpit, check stability, and do a mini-tour. I generally like to ski with no more than 1 or 2 people in the backcountry and we must have had a group of 16. It was such a fuster cluck and I am glad I finally got level 1 out of the way. Level 2 should actually be a lot more interesting and should focus solely on snow metamorphism and not on idiot simple things like how to turn on your avalanche beacon. I am pretty confident that out of the 20+ people taking the class only 2 of us even knew how to use our beacons. I was assigned to do beacon practice with this one guy and the drill was to uncover a buried beacon in less than 2 minutes (kind of like high tech hide and seek). This really isn't that hard and most of us who ski regularly in the backcountry can uncover 3 buried beacons in under 5 minutes in a search space equal to 3 football fields. Well this guy I was partnered with couldn't uncover 1 beacon in under 15 minutes which is pretty much the last point at which buried victims can be found alive. Needless to say I will never enter the backcountry with that guy.

Ok enough ranting. I am pretty tired from the weekend but I did go up to get some turns in at the resort today. The skiing is definitely less than stellar as we have had nothing but sun and really cold temps the last few days. There should be some snow coming during the midweek but I will probably head out to the backcountry to get some fresh turns in. By the way this is just Western skiing snobbery, Eastern skiers would think the skiing is unbelievable. Suckers.

Images from Yesterday

Here's the photos of Bode and Gibson. I'll blog about the 15 hours of avalanche education I have been sitting through later.

Dog Day Afternoon

The new snow never materialized overnight and it got pretty clear and cold. Kim and I went up to the mountain in the morning but the skiing was less than stellar (even the day old powder felt like skiing on styrofoam) so we came back around noon. I guess we are getting pretty spoiled when a soft snow day under blue skies can be disappointing.

Our neighbor in town has a 7 month old lab puppy named Bode who was cratebound all day so I told her we would take him out when we took Gibson out in the afternoon. I have some photos I'll post tomorrow as my connection kind of sucks right now.

Sweet Powder

7-10 inches fell on the mountain overnight with showers continuing all day. I had to get up to the mountain early to pick up my skis at the shop (second full tune in a week - this place is murder on skis) and check in at the Adaptive Ski Center regarding volunteering with their community program today. They had a cancellation so they didn't need me in the morning and told me to check back around 1 for afternoon lessons. I was super psyched because I didn't want to spend the deepest powder day so far skiing groomers behind a sit-ski. I got on line really early and met up with the guy I skied with yesterday and a couple of his friends. All were longtime locals, former racers, and really hard core. We basically ripped huge lines all morning getting fresh tracks until noon. We skied a bunch of major cliff areas airing out all kinds of crazy sh*t. Today was by far the best ski day of the trip and one of my top 10 ski days of all time. In the afternoon I helped out with a lesson at the adaptive center. The client was a big guy with Muscular Dystrophy who could only really steer his bi-ski by leaning from side to side so the instructor is tethered to the ski and is responsible for controlling the speed of what is essentially a sled. I also skied with a partially paralyzed sit skier who uses outriggers to steer and steady himself. That dude ripped big time and was a blast to ski powder lines with. He kept getting face shots because he is only two feet off the ground. I learned a lot and can't wait to begin getting my Level 1 Adaptive Instructors certification. I need to get some sleep as it may be another big powder day tomorrow and I have an evening avalanche class too.

Hump Day

I guess I am not so removed from reality that I don't know what day of the week it is. Today was another full ski day on soft snow (inch or two fell overnight). I learned a new area of the mountain today called Fredo's which is primarily a cliff area. It is kind of a hidden entrance to some really sweet skiing but requires 20-80 ft mandatory airs to get in. I met a local blacksmith named Ben Eaton who toured me into there. Ok enough about the skiing. Here is a picture of Gibson from our backcountry venture on Saturday that I didn't post.

Busy Day

Today was my first down day in terms of skiing but was pretty active otherwise. Kim and I had a bunch of stuff to do regarding our new townhouse including contracts and financing. Before we knew it it was 2:30 and the day was more than half over. We met a bunch of great people today and are really feeling settled in. Right now Kim is getting involved with an open space committee in terms of consulting for fundraising. She is having a meeting in our dining room right now. What a super comfortable place to be.

I have a dream...

Actually I am living the dream but thought I would make a little allusion to MLK day. Today was by far the most crowded day on the mountain with a good covering of fresh snow and some holiday traffic. I actually waited in a few short lines today but they were nothing compared to a typical weekend in Southern VT or even at Sundown. The skiing was super soft with plenty of fresh tracks to be found. I spent almost the entire day billy goating around the steep and technical terrain on the mountain. I put up one of the sickest lines I have ever done that involved a 20 foot cornice drop to a small ledge, a quick check/jump turn to access the chute, and then a 50 degree straightline all above a big ass cliff band. Serious no fall situation. Only Jackson Hole offers this kind of stuff in bounds and while Jackson is generally bigger with major consequences, the lines seem a little more technical here. All in all I spent a lot of time in the air today whether it was mandatory cliff drops or voluntary rock hits. Fun stuff but I will definitely feel it tomorrow (truth be told I am feeling it right now). I can't remember the last time I skied eight days straight although I did seven on my heli trip last year.

I guess the real news is not so much the skiing but more our real estate search. Kim and I found a duplex unit in town and we are putting it under contract tomorrow morning. It is not on the market and the situation is actually really sweet because we won't close for 4 months and then we will have it rented for most of the year. It is underpriced relative to the rest of the market here but needs no work, is furnished, and is right in the heart of town (sorry Wayne - it is kind of small so not ideal for the EBCC picnic). We'll post a picture later.

No Lombardi Trophy for Manning

Today Kim and I met up with Kim's coworker's daughter, Chris, and her friend Anne. We skied for the morning, touring around the resort's more tame terrain. Chris and Anne were up for a little challenge just before lunch so Kim and I took them on a lightly gladed bump run. It was challenging for them but they both said it was fun so I'll believe them even though I bet they'll be cursing me as they nurse some sore thighs for the next day or so. Chris and Kim headed back to town around noon while Anne and I made a couple more runs including another difficult off piste trip from the North Face t-bar. Anne was a good sport and I'll give her big props for following me around the mountain. Anyway, we headed down to town around 1:30 and I had to hurry to meet Kim and hook up with the realtor.

We toured a few properties in Crested Butte South which is a little community about six miles outside of town. We also looked at a few pieces of land including one that we liked a lot. CB South is very different from town but is quite a bit more affordable so we wanted to explore some options down there. On the way back to town we stopped in to view one more place not far from where we're currently staying. I don't want to say too much but we liked it a lot and may have some more to post about it in the next few days.

Tomorrow is a powder day so don't expect any pictures or anything more than descriptions of sweet soft snow and epic runs.

Red Lady Goes Solo

After six days of resort skiing it was time to take a trip to the backcountry. I haven't had much luck finding a backcountry partner so I decided to take Gibson and tackle Red Lady bowl on my own. Avalanche conditions were as stable as they get out here and with a storm coming in this was definitely my best shot at knocking this one off. We set off at 8:30 am from the winter parking area below Kebler Pass (closed in winter) and began the 3300 vertical foot ascent to the summit. The weather was perfect, no wind, and plenty of sun. By 10:30 we had gained the ridge leading to the summit and we're very close to treeline. We took a break and I snapped a few photos. The first is looking back down our ascent and the second is up to where we were headed.




From our rest stop it only took another 45 minutes to reach the summit where I snapped a few more photos. First is Gibson on the summit.



Next the obligatory self portrait.



And finally a look back towards town and the ski area.



After a brief rest I dropped into the bowl and cranked out a few turns in what was surprisingly soft and powdery snow. I was expecting serious wind and sun affect but found none. The turns were buttery all the way back down to the car. Here's a view just below the top.



And here's one of Gibson chasing me down a little bit lower.



With the sun so strong we made a beeline back to the car to avoid any potential wet slides and we're back at the house not long after noon.

My Skis Paid the Price

Kim hates it when all I write about is skiing but it is hard to write about anything else when skiing is all I'm doing. So if you don't care about ski day details feel free to tune out.

The high pressure broke yesterday and a weak system moved in around midnight laying down 3-4 inches overnight. It was still coming down when I headed up to the mountain and the storm total was roughly 6 inches on the mountain. The sun broke through around mid-morning and it turned out to be a bluebird powder day. The skiing was excellent and alot of the lines I have been eyeing were finally good to go. I had a pretty mellow morning ripping some fresh lines with a couple of different locals I met. By the afternoon I was still searching for fresh tracks and having no trouble finding them. The place was empty. My favorite line in Teocalli was untouched so I tracked that and then made my way to the other side of the bowl to repeat a 20 footer I hit the other day. The snow had filled in the bowl so most of the skiing was knee deep. I hit a few more cliffs that I wanted to ski all week but needed some softer snow. For my last runs of the day I straightlined a sick chute in Teocalli and came out super hot (maybe 50+ mph) so I had to use up a lot of the bowl just to shed some speed. Then I popped over into the North Face and went into the cliff area to ski some super tight chutes. By that point my skis looked like they had been run over a cheese grater with mega core shots and munched edges. One more shot took me to a mandatory 15 foot air with a 40 ft straightline and then I called it a day. Dropped my skis at the shop for a tune and I hope to repeat tomorrow.

Mom to be Rips

Not too much to say today so just some photos and captions.

Here's Kim 3 months pregnant after tearing up the upper Headwall:


Oh and here's Kim about to drop into Spellbound (did I mention she is with child?)


No sense taking it easy because of a little thing like an unborn child - so here's Kim on the hike out from Teocalli Bowl (I carried the skis - least I could do).


By the way, the liftlines are awful:

Almost Routine

We got the water back around 3. Turns out the water main broke 1 block over and totally flooded out the street. That has got to suck since it was like -15 last night and I assume the place is a skating rink right now.

Basically another ski day for me and a rest and relaxation day for Kim. I took out my Alpine Touring setup for the afternoon. It is not quite as beefy as my downhill rig so it took a little getting used to in the steep terrain. I was definitely a bit beat from yesterday which was full of cliff hucks and a really nasty crash: I got cliffed out in a tree section which was basically a jumble of rocks with a bunch a trees sticking out. The rocks weren't visible as the 3 inches from the night before had covered them. I picked a line that required a 30 ft straightline and then a sharp left to clear the cliff and maybe a 10 ft air. Anyhow, I committed to the line, pointed my skis and hit a rock about 10ft into the straighline. I crashed hard and got pretty twisted up but managed to extricate myself and ski out the rest of the line to an audience of appreciative Aussies. But that was yesterday and thus why I was a little banged up today.

I mostly kept my skis on the ground today and just hiked around trying to find some soft snow. Conditions were ok and there was some nice, stiff, wind transported snow which allowed for some quality turns. I spent most of the day skiing Teocalli Bowl and hiking back out. Here is a picture I took standing above the final pitch before the boottrack back up and out.

Dry day?

No running water this morning. I guess some guy from public works came by yesterday and told Kim they were going to do some work on the water mains and we would be without water just for yesterday afternoon. Everything seemed ok last night but it appears that we went dry about 2 hours ago. Oh well, I only had to walk 2 blocks to get my coffee and I will bike over to the market and buy a gallon or two in a few minutes so Gibson won't be thirsty and Kim and I can get rid of our morning breath.

Shin Bang on Day 2

We woke to bluebird skies and 3 or so inches of fresh snow. Spent the day at the resort checking out more of the extreme terrain. For my first run I hooked up with a guy from Colorado Springs and we hiked out into Teocalli Bowl for some fresh tracks. He turned out to be from VT originally but has been out here for the last 20 years. I don't think anyone is actually from Colorado, they just move here from the Northeast. We basically ripped all morning until I met up with Kim at the base [narrator change] Hi, it's Kim, I've taken over for Benn because he is tired, and understandably so. I got up today and took Gibson to the Poop Loop for a while, where we met some lady from Tennessee and her dog, Hurley, although I thought she said his name was Hurl at first and called him that for a while. She probably thought I was a loon. Then the G man and I went home and rested up for a bit. Went up to the slopes around 11:45 and met Benn. Of course my first run was the Headwall. No such thing as starting small or anything. Then we went on to to the North Face and a couple other things I probably shouldn't have skiied, but don't tell the baby. I had a ball. Went back at 3 and am currently digesting a New York-sized burrito. This place rules.

(Ok - Benn again) This first shot is the view from our driveway and also the living room.














This is at the top of the Headwall - a sustained 50 degree pitch that rolls out of sight from the top.














And finally Gibson at play on the outskirts of town with Red Lady Bowl in the background (a backcountry ski descent I'll be doing soon).

Living the Dream

First day of my new routine. Woke early and took Gibson out to play. The wind was wicked and the sky was pitch black and cloudy. Afterwards, we cooked some breakfast (pancakes of course).Then I got ready to go skiing. Kim took the day to get used to the altitude so she stayed home to watch Gibson and get some work done. I put on my ski boots and threw my Seth Pistols over my shoulder and walked the two blocks to Clark's Market where I can pick up the free shuttle to the mountain. I got to the mountain just before the lifts opened and slipped into the nonexistent line at the Silver Queen lift. Flew up to the top in no time (high speed detachables are a good thing) and dropped down to the High Lift t-bar. I figured my first run at CB should be something marked "Extreme Terrain" so I sidestepped up to the top of the Headwall and cranked out a bunch of turns down some 50 degree chute. Very cool. Basically the rest of my day was much the same with lots of trips to the two t-bars that access the extremes. I only dropped one small 10 footer today as the snow was a little hard and there are lots of exposed rocks. I did get one sick straightline in out in Teocalli Bowl which definitely satisfied my afternoon adrenal jones. Ok, enough skiing details.

I took the bus back to town and found the house empty. I guess Kim met up with a neighbor who has a lab puppy named Bode and he and Gibson were off playing in the part of town called the Poop Loop. She didn't have the camera with her but here are a couple of shots she took downtown.

We've arrived

After 2100 miles and 33 hours of driving we have finally pulled in to Crested Butte and unloaded the truck. The town is incredible with amazing views of the ski area (I'll post a picture from our window shortly) and is very laid back. The house exceeded our expectations and Gibson is thrilled with his new digs. Anyway, I'll just sign off with a few things we learned on our drive out.

Most of the country is really flat and brown

Napolean Dynamite is most likely not fiction

There are a lot of trucks on highway 80

Gibson likes to eat horsecrap

Heading Out

It looks like we may leave a little early and try to get some miles under our belt tonight. See everyone in a few weeks.

Our new digs

I don't know too much about the town of Crested Butte other than it definitely doesn't suck as much as {insert any town in CT}. Here is a link to the house Kim and I rented for Gibson to hang out in.

Whiterock Ave. Home

Our real estate agent, Kira, has been great and if anyone ever wants to head out to CB I would highly recommend her.

I guess it is near shopping, nightlife, etc..., and also very close to the trail system and backcountry access. There is a free shuttle to the ski area so we can pretty much park the car for the next few weeks which makes me happy.

The countdown starts

I am not even halfway through my second to last day and I can hardly contain myself. Mostly I've checked and rechecked the avy and resort snow reports and thought about what kind of wax to bring. I couldn't tell you whether the market is up or down but go ahead and ask me about the location of any faceted or wind loaded layers in the Colorado snowpack.

The skiing is starting to get very good in CB right now as almost the entire intermountain West has been getting hammered. Hopefully the pattern persists and we get some really excellent turns in over the next few weeks. I think high pressure might be moving into the region and that always gives me pause. Although sunny clear weather makes for some pleasant skiing, too much sun really ruins the surface and sets up a potential sliding layer. I'll take whiteout conditions and a 2 inch an hour pukefest over clear sunny skies any day.

Oh well, we've got to get through the 30+ hr drive before I fill my head with snow conditions.

Gibson is really excited

So here is a picture of Gibson as he gets totally amped before we head out to Crested Butte on Friday.