Yes and yes it was very good today

8-10" of new........check
skins and touring bindings............check
having the hill all to myself for 4 hours.................check

:-)

Spot PLB = Solid

Let me get right to the point, I'm impressed with this thing. I've taken it out skiing the past two days and its performed just as advertised. It couldn't be more simple, turn on, hit OK, signal goes to mission control letting her know I'm alright.

The ability to send text alerts to cell phones as well as e-mail accounts is especially slick, meaning I will NEVER again get back to the car after a long day in the BC and have to deal with the "where have you been?" voice mail on my cell.

I still want to get it out into full on East Coast tree canopy before I'm completely sold on it but for now its definitely found a home in my pack on tours.

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #10

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
13 days
25349' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed
12/8 1680' climbed
12/13 351' climbed
12/14 3271' climbed
12/15 1690' climbed
12/16 1070' climbed
12/17 3186' climbed
12/23 768' climbed
12/30 1654' climbed
12/31 3264" climbed

SPOT PLB: First Impressions

Finally got my SPOT PLB delivered this afternoon. After reading some preliminary reviews from sources that I trust, I decided that it would make sense to add this tool to my quiver. I spend a lot of time out in the backcountry where cell phone signal goes in and out throughout the day, so the ability to "check in" without calling out SAR makes this a very appealing device.

First off the vitals:
Dimensions: 4.38 X 2.75 X 1.5”
Weight with batteries: 210 g
I have not tested the claim of whether it floats :-)

Size wise its basically the same length and depth as my Garmin GPS. Construction appears to be very solid, the unit has a heavy, well built feel to it. I had been worried about the lack of a cover but the four buttons(help, on/off, ok/check, and 911) are small and reaccessed to minimize any accidental activation. Also helping to prevent a false alarm is the device requiring that for a 911 or help alert to be sent, the corresponding button needs to be held down for 2 seconds before a message will transmit. The device is not pre-enabled out of the box, you have to log on to the SPOT website and register to get the device to send messages.

Registration was quick and easy, the system allows you to send both text messages and e-mails to your "Spot team" and customize both your OK and Help messages and who you would like to receive alerts. You can add and drop contacts at any time. For an additional $50 fee, you can sign up for SPOTcasting, which allows people to follow your progress for up to 24 hours.

After registration it was time to give the device a quick run through, so what better way then to walk outside and attempt to check in.

Conditions were dark, windy, and overcast, just the kind of conditions that you hope you're not stuck out in. So I trotted out of my house, powered up the SPOT and hit the "OK" button. The lights flashed as they were supposed to and nothing happened, they just kept blinking, and blinking, and blinking. I kept waiting for the lights to turn solid to indicate that a message was sent, but the lights kept blinking. Finally the light went solid green(message sent), and then continued blinking. So I shut down the unit and went inside to check if the message had been received, sure enough, I had e-mail notification showing my exact location. I trudged back outside for further testing, powered up the unit and hit OK again. Once again I was treated to what felt like an eternity of flashing lights, with no sent messages, it was at this point I began worrying that I had purchased a very useless gadget, I hadn't even tried it under tree cover and it wasn't quickly sending messages. I began thinking how miserable it would be to be in a real emergency and just watch the two green lights flash, knowing that nothing was being sent.

It was at this point that I walked inside to scan the user manual, which upon reading it(novel concept) told me that it could take upwards of 4 minutes to get a location fix and send a message and that SPOT would attempt to send multiple messages for 20 minutes. Back out I went, this time grabbing a warm jacket, I booted up the Spot and hit the OK button, this time I also hit my stopwatch. It must have been the pressure because within 51 seconds I had successfully transmitted an OK message, I left the Spot on in transmit mode and it sent three more messages at 8:45, 12:25, and 18:53. Its worth noting that somehow the Spot manages to delete redundant messages and only sends one e-mail notification. Feeling more confident and having a better grasp of how the device functioned I proceeded to change location and send a "Help" signal(Help signals only go to your Spot team, not to the 911 dispatch) this could be very useful in the event of a car malfunction, or other non life threatening situation. Sure enough within 5 minutes, the Spot confirmed message sent.

I then moved into the woods, to get a better understanding of how well the Spot would function when under tree cover. I got my first alternating flash which meant the message could not be sent, but a slight move to the right gave me a solid light message sent indicator. I began to see the wisdom in allowing for a 20 minute, multiple message cycle which would offer the best chance of a message getting through, even in thicker tree cover. I tried a few more locations and managed to get messages sent within 4-8 minutes of pressing the OK button.
Once back at the computer I could get an overview of where I had been with Google Maps.

To make a quick summary, I'm honestly not entirely as blown away with the device as I though I would be. I envisioned a much faster transmitting device, but its clear that I had an unreal ideas and expectations of how the product worked. I also was not testing it in the way I would be using it in the field. For example if I was truly sending an OK alert, I'd probably either would be moving, in which case having a 20 minute window to find a clearing to send a message is a nice touch. Or I'd be stopped for lunch, again in which case I'm not going to care if it takes 4-6 minutes to send a quick check in message. This is not an instant communication device and as soon as I realized that, I began to understand the product better.

Clearly the SPOT does work as a locater beacon, and the ability to send an OK vs Help message is reason enough to buy it. Its well built and ergonomically well designed, and it should make for a nice addition to my backcountry pack I'm going to give it a far more thorough run through in the usage and terrain that I bought it for sometime in the coming days, so look for an update soon.

Dynafit Freeride Aero TF boots UPDATE!

Previous review Freeride Aero TF boots

Update:

I've gotten a solid month on the boots so here's my updated thoughts.

As I mentioned in my earlier review, the forward lean on these things is slightly too much for my taste, given the fact that there is no adjustment for this the boot needed to be modified. Its a fairly simple fix, first remove the forward lean mechanism by removing the bolt above the heel. Then simply use a drill to elongate the existing hole(towards the bootsole) so that the hardware will sit lower in the boot, and then use epoxy or JB weld to fill in the void above. Then simply re-assemble the mechanism. Thanks to Lou Dawson over at wildsnow.com for coming up with that solution!!! My quads are truly in debt to you!

The second change I've made is to downgrade from a World Cup booster strap to the Expert/Racer model. The WC model just never sat right on the tongue and was a pain to get tight enough to be effective. In contrast the Race booster conforms better to the shape of the tongue and requires less tension to be effective at preventing shin bang. The slight downgrade in overall stiffness is also nice as I feel the boot has a bit more "give" in it which makes it ski better in variable conditions. As a bonus the WC booster can be moved back to my TLT 700's where it fits the boot tongue perfectly and adds exactly the right overall stiffness to the boot.

I still have a couple of gripes with the boot though. For some reason my toes are cold in this boot, once I'm walking or skinning they stay warm, but while skiing lift serve or standing around waiting, they're just cold boots. I may re-mold the liner to see if making the toe area smaller will address this issue.

The second issue I have is dealing with the buckles while touring or
leaving them unbuckled while on the lift, they're very easy to catch on things. Where the TLT 700 and other AT boots provide one long gate post which allows you to snap the buckle shut and still effectively use the walk mode. On the Aero you're left with either leaving the boots unbuckled and gated(where they snag everything), or completely unbuckling the top two buckles(which leads to some slop in the boot). I've gone with just unbuckling while touring, as it gives a slightly better stride. Both of these gripes are fairly minor and the toe issue could just be a re-mold away from being resolved.

With regards to the issue of binding interface, I have used them with Dynafits, Dukes, and yes Virginia I can use them with my Mojo 15 alpine bindings. It took some work, and the DIN setting in the toe indicator had to be significantly lowered to compensate for the friction, but with some trial and error I managed to get the release to be within tolerance for the DIN setting I wanted(basically the indicator says my toes are at a 5.5 and its actually releasing at a 8.5). I'm a bigger guy running a higher DIN, so a lightweight may not be able to get the indicator value low enough to compensate for the friction. I'm still anxiously awaiting an alpine binding with a adjustable/movable AFD. I think with the shear number of people who are using burlier AT boots as their only boot its only a matter of time before we see this. I'm gonna wait until I see next years bindings, and probably will wind up picking up a pair of Freeride's or Naxo's if nobody brings an alpine binding such as I've described to market.

Housecleaning issues out of the way its time for a performance update.

Now that I've got them almost dialed in, I can report with great confidence that: THEY ROCK. I'd been looking for a boot that was basically an Alpine boot with dynafit fittings, and this is it. I've skied inbounds all day with this boot, everything from bumps, to trees, to groomers and it handles everything I can throw at it. I've used it with Marker Dukes on sidecountry runs where skinning back to the lifts was a much more comfortable and less tiresome experience then it would have been if I was using a full on alpine boot. But the real kicker is how much I like this boot when paired up with dynafit fittings. I've done 7 short to medium sized tours(1,500-3,000 feet of vertical gain) with the boots and the 2 pounds I gain vs using TLT 700's is insignificant next to the performance gain I get on the downhill. The 700's will still see a lot of use for all day excursions, and shorter tours where the terrain doesn't warrant the use of a big boot. The Aero's touring performance does give me the option of deciding to use it if the downhill terrain calls for it. I'm fairly confident that I could use the Aero's + dynafits for a 4-5k day and not be miserable.

Can I tell the difference between the Aero and an alpine boot? Yep, its not as burly, and not quite as laterally stiff as my alpines, the Aero can hang, but its more like a mid range alpine boot then a step under a race boot like I expect the Garmont Shaman or Scarpa Hurricane are. On the other hand my alpine boots don't tour anywhere NEAR as well as the Aero's and the
downhill performance is close enough that people aren't waiting for me at the bottom.

All in all this is a fantastic boot for those of us that like to do a bit of everything, and sometimes aren't sure where they're going to be on any given day. I like the fact that I can throw 3 pairs of skis in the rooftop box and be set for a weekend with one pair of boots no matter what cards I get dealt.

K2 Sahale Review

I'm gonna consolidate a bunch of posts into one review here

Picked these up off of SAC during the fall. Decided to go really short as this would be a quiver ski and I wanted to save weight for spring tours/ski mountaineering. So far this year I've wound up mostly using them for teaching the mini-animal how to ski and I'd been impressed with them thus far. Even though I'd been on greens, I'd been able to run them through sideslips, kickturns, and lots of different radius turns(they also make great pie turns )

In order to really get full confidence in them I needed to get off of the greens and into some steeper and faster terrain before giving them a seal of approval. Last night I finally got to test them on inbounds hardpack and they performed.

I'd been really worried about the length but after one run my fears were put to rest. Conditions were a light dusting of natural + manmade on top of a firm hard base that was scraped off in spots.

At speed what little chatter I observed in the tips was not noticeable underfoot. With regards to a speed limit, you might say it has one, but thats only because they won't straightline, as long as you're locked into a turn, feel free to push them as fast as you would like. Given the fact that my BC skiing speeds are far less then what I was skiing last night, I'm fairly confident in saying that on a firm surface, I will not find that this ski has a speed limit.

Edgehold was superior, not once did I think that the ski was going to wash out of a high speed arc, which is confidence inspiring for me as a big guy on such a short ski. The tail is very supportive during the turn, but allows for a huge variety of turn shapes from small hop turns to big swooping arcs. Also a plus was the fact that the ski was neither overpowering or overpowered by my boots.

Not that the TLT 700 is a ton of boot, but with an added WC booster strap, wedges underfoot, and a rear spoiler, its definitely closer to something like a Megaride/Struktura/Denali then a Laser/Matrix/F1 class of boot that I think the ski was intended to be skied with.

I've taken them uphill once, and most of that was with them on my pack, so I don't have much to comment there, but as would be expected, they're light, and skinning flats with them was a joy.

Update #1
I threw the headlamp on and took them for a couple of runs in my Backyard glade I created over the summer

Conditions in my backyard were 5-6" of unconsolidated over a 3" base with a little crust on top

Again I was pleasantly surprised, my rig for this kind of low angle bushwhacking has been a 180 Alpina Cross terrain, and normally its tough to get enough speed to get it to maneuver. The stiff tip and larger sidecut on the X-terrain lead to making a ton of jerky, uncoordinated turns from the backseat as I try to avoid crashing into trees or thickets. The Sahale was an entirely different experience, the tails sunk, the tips floated and I was able to make smooth turns as long as I could keep the speed up. I found putting skins on to be a pain since I was used to the waxless pattern on the cross terrain, but it is what it is. Skinning back up the hill was painless due to the light weight, and ski thicketeering was much simpler on a 160 then a 180 since there was a lot less ski to get caught in the underbrush.


Update #2
Finally got them out in some real world BC conditions

I decided to make a quick lap during the rainstorm we had out here today

Conditions were fairly compacted wet snow, but ranged from very firm to complete slush 2 feet away.

This was exactly what I was looking for to test just how well the Sahale actually skis when you throw tough conditions at it.

As expected on the uphill portion they were ridiculously fast on anything flat or firm, and held an angle while climbing just as well as my fatter boards. They were however somewhat bothersome while trying to break trail or move across more unconsolidated snow. The lack of length and width really made it somewhat challenging, I found myself being sucked down in wet patches my longer, wider skis would have slid over with no problems.

Once again I was pretty surprised at how they handled on the way down. Granted I couldn't ski the same way as if I had my normal setup, but it was far from survival turns. I noticed the lack of waist width much more then the length which isn't surprising given the conditions. I lost some fluidity vs. a wider ski, but never felt like the ski was "getting away" from under me or wasn't comfortable in the terrain. I always felt like I could turn when I needed to and stop when I wanted to.

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #9 (over 20,000' for the season!)

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
11 days
20431' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed
12/8 1680' climbed
12/13 351' climbed
12/14 3271' climbed
12/15 1690' climbed
12/16 1070' climbed
12/17 3186' climbed
12/23 768' climbed

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #8

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
10 days
19663' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed
12/8 1680' climbed
12/13 351' climbed
12/14 3271' climbed
12/15 1690' climbed
12/16 1070' climbed
12/17 3186' climbed


phew, almost to 20k!!!!!!

hmmm

break out the golf clubs, its looking good for this weekend!

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #7

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
8 days
13717' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed
12/8 1680' climbed
12/13 351' climbed
12/14 3271' climbed

Mini-animal slays the sickness that is Jiminy Peak

3 years old
yeah, he pretty much kills it now
only 6 or so more years till he's beating me down the hill for real :-)

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #6

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
7 days
10446' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed
12/8 1680' climbed
12/13 351' climbed

Christmas Tree 2007

Ethan and Mommy out searching for the tree

Ethan doing lights

Happy Ethan

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #5

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
6 days
10095' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed
12/8 1680' climbed

Oh Oh its Magic

You know :-)

Met bluebird at the baselodge at 7:45 and we started skinning up

Don't go to Magic kids, it sucks

This is a total photoshop job, there actually isn't any snow

Again go somewhere else, Magic isn't worth driving to

Good to get out and be able to have skis on top to bottom, coverage was good, snow was good, all in all it was a good day

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #4

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
5 days
8415' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed
12/3 1624' climbed

Uncle Harry

Harry Wahlberg
11/30/2007
RIP
Uncle Harry died today,
he was a man with incredible talents, and truly was a gift from God
It was my honor and pleasure to know this man for the past 7 years and he will be sorely missed
walk slowly Harry, and we'll all meet again soon

Legend Pro XXS!

They have arrived!
all 90 cm of radness
98-66-86
minianimal is gonna be straightlining the greens on this badass setup :-)

Gear review: Freeride Aero TF boots

The Dynafit Freeride Aero: One boot to rule them all?

I'd decided earlier this season that given what kind of terrain I like to ski it made sense to go to use AT boots full time. I was considering going with Endorphin's/Adrenalines or Scarpa Tornado's or possibly Spirit 4's. But when when Sierra Trading Post had a 50% off their already ridiculously cheap price, I couldn't resist pulling the trigger on a pair of Dynafit Freeride Aero TF's. According to Tony's unscientific AT Boot Flex index over at TGR these were the stiffest dynafit compatible boot available on the market today and given the fact that the new Garmont Axon will retail for $824(weak dollar anyone?) and will only be available in limited qualities this year, the choice was pretty clear.

First impressions:
Damn this is one beefy boot, it looks and feels just like an Alpine boot, which is somewhat odd for a "touring only" company like Dynafit. Weight is about 2 lbs lighter then my Alpine boots and I'd peg my old Alpine boots between 95-105 on Tony's flex index, which makes the Aero's slightly softer, but not noticeably so. I've spent a bunch of time in Dynafits over the past year so getting into the bindings isn't a problem, so "quick step" fittings are less of a revelation to me. For people new to the interface I could see how they'd make the binding a lot more "user friendly". They do make the binding "almost" step in which would help a ton if you were skiing dynafits inbounds. I'm not sure what to make of the walk function switch. I've really liked the old TLT mechanism, up to walk, down to ski and it was really easy to operate with gloves on. While the dial is considerably lower profile, and appears to rotate fairly easily, I think it may be a pain when the wind is howling and you don't want to take your gloves off to monkey with it.

Modifications:
The first thing done was to replace the stock power strap with a "Race" booster strap. This is done with all of my boots. The second thing I did was to add a custom footbed, the stock footbed isn't terrible, but its nowhere near as nice as a full custom job. Both of these mods add some weight(136 g) but this really isn't the boot to use if you're looking to save weight.

Fit:
Well here's the bad news, for whatever reason they don't fit anywhere near my TLT 700's which have a much roomier toe box and are slightly wider overall. Almost infuriating is the huge jump in boot sole length, the 28 mondo TLT 700's are 316 mm and the 28 mondo Aero is a whopping 324! So if you're running TLT classic bindings like I am, you will not be able to use both boots with the same ski(even with a re-drill) and you will have to find either a TLT rental plate, or use the Comfort or Vertical ST model. Interestingly, the Aero feels like a smaller fit despite the larger bootsole length. The toebox is also really rounded which cramps my big toes so a punch was needed. The liner appears to be well made with a Velcro closure which prevents the tongue from sliding around while skinning. The upper cuff is fairly tight, and while its very easy to shift the gates around I'd prefer more adjust ability in the buckles. There is no cant adjustment which is no problem for me, but the forward lean feels a touch to much, it would be nice to have a couple of different settings.

Performance:
This is where this boot SHINES, this is probably the closest thing to an Alpine boot with a walk function, dynafit fittings, and a vibram sole that exists in the AT boot universe. Not only does it have a stiff forward flex, but there is very little side to side slop, and with a stock rear spoiler it prevents you from slipping into the back seat. When paired up with Marker Dukes it makes for a ski boot interface that matches any Alpine boot/Binding interface that I've ever skied. With the added ease of a walking/touring function, you can finally ski inbounds all morning and then hike or tour in the afternoon.

What really drew me to the Aero Freeride is the benefit of allowing you to pair it with dynafits for weight savings on medium length tours. FR Aero+Marker Dukes+Heli Daddies = 23 pounds, substitute dynafits for dukes and save a shade over 3 pounds. For long tours I'll still keep using my TLT 700's for the better walk function and weight savings, but having the FR Aero allows the option of going with a bigger, more burly boot if I'm going into more technical terrain. The boot has a minor amount of rocker so I've managed to set up my Mojo 15 alpine bindings so that they allow the use of the FR Aero.

The Mojo 15 has a moving AFD and rollers in the toe, which theoretically should negate the friction caused by the vibram sole. I wouldn't recommend using them this way unless you can accurately measure whether the binding will release in spec with the DIN chart ranges. I plan on taking care of this before skiing them. I've also managed to set up my Salomon 977 alpine bindings for use with the FR Aero and will have them spec'd as well.

In conclusion I think this may be the answer to the "what boot should I bring today" debate that I often find myself having in the morning. It means I can bring every pair of skis and not have to carry 2-3 pairs of boots.

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #3

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
4 days
6791' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed
11/16 377' climbed

mini-animal skiing

 

he's a rock star

what else can I say ;-)

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #2

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
3 days
6414' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed
11/11 1498' climbed

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge update #1

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo

to date:
2 days
4879' climbed


10/31 1575' climbed
11/3 3304' climbed

The 2007-2008 vertical challenge

thanks to Kevin Broderick for the photo


This year to give me some extra motivation on those long uphill sections I've created the vertical challenge. Basically I'm going to see how many vertical feet of climbing I can rack up in a single season. Right now I think 50,000 feet is well within reason and I'd love to put the season ending total somewhere in the neighborhood of 75,000.

The rules:
1. Only vert climbed with the intention of skiing counts
2. Only uphill vertical counts
3. All vertical climbed will count, even if the snowline is above the start of the climb.
4. Due to the challenge of keeping as accurate a total as possible, for a climb to count as vertical, it must be achieved without the use of ski lifts: ie no taking a lift then hiking. If the lifts are on windhold or shut down then any vertical gained by hiking is countable.
5. Have fun, its not like there's a prize here except lots of suffering :-)

November skiing!

KillingtonZone.com :: View topic - TR: 3 Nov 07

Night of the living shred: A Halloween TR

So when I mentioned I was going to post a hairball TR of my Halloween misadventures I had NO idea of the insanity that was to come.

Dateline Tuesday sometime in the early afternoon:

I had clearance to blow off work for some turns on Wednesday, so with the stoke of continuing a 3 year streak of October turns percolating, I began rounding up the gear, and packing up the car. That’s when disaster hit, my boss came home :rolleyes: She started in with the: “I know I told you could have the day off but…………….” Turns out that two other people needed some time off so they could attend their kids school Halloween functions. For a brief second I attempted to protest this gross unfairness and got as far as threatening not to show up but I got “that” look, which is the one that tells you that if you pulled a stunt like that not only, would you be sleeping on the couch for the next month, the locks would be changed and there’d be no forwarding address left for you to FIND the couch. :smile:

Bummed beyond belief, I resigned myself to the end of a nice little run, when a completely stupid idea crept into my mind. Grasping for straws, I threw it out for approval. I’d leave for Killington immediately, sleep for a few hours slope side, and get a REALLY early start and be back in time for work. To my great surprise, she actually went for it and within 15 minutes I was headed northbound and within 2 hours I was conked out slope side.

Wednesday, October 31 came FAR too early for my liking, but within 15 minutes of the alarm I was up, dressed and ready.

that would be AM, not PM :roll:



Not surprisingly for that early hour of the morning, it was dark and I remember thinking to myself, “this has gone beyond the bounds of ANYTHING resembling sanity.” But despite a strong urge to climb back into my warm sleeping bag I pressed on into the blackness with only a headlamp and my rapidly declining brain cells to guide me. I must have been quite a sight heading up the mountain as I tried to find my route up the hill while avoiding multiple, invisible water bars and other assorted knee wrenching pratfalls.



I’m sure that it must have been quite entertaining, but alas every other SANE person was sleeping. Finally after 45 minutes of the blind leading the brainless, I managed to successfully navigate myself to the base of the glades triple.




It was at that moment when the clouds broke and the stars and moonlight illuminated one of the most wonderful sights that I have ever seen. Looking uphill, a luminescent carpet of snow leapt out of the inky mire of mud and grass, resplendent in a silver glow. I tried every possible camera setting I could in an attempt to capture the shear beauty of this sliver road leading on into what appeared to be black oblivion, but alas it was to be a treat for my eyes only. I had planned on waiting until dawns light to attempt a run, figuring the snow would be the typical ankle breaking, grabby, Styrofoam that is a trademark of early season man made snow. But, drawn in by its moonlit radiance I decided to investigate the feasibility of attempting a moonlit, headlamp assisted decent. Upon reaching the fringes of the snowfield and poking around the snow, I elected to give it a shot. I used the lift tower to give me a visual cue as to where the snow changed over from solid snowpack to thin cover over grass. I dropped the skis off the pack and clicked in and begun skinning up.




I’ve read many accounts of hardcore ski mountaineers talking about the wave of relief that sweeps over them once they put their skis on. While my little escapade was in no way comparable to anything on the scale of hardcore mountaineering, a ripple of confidence and security washed over me. It was if finally my body told my brain, stop worrying, the hard part is over, you know what to do now.




Far from grabby crust, the snow underfoot had a hard icy consistency, and I almost wished I had brought ski crampons along for extra bite. I debated with the idea of switching back over to boots, but continued with skins as I was making fairly good progress and after 15 minutes I arrived at the terminus of the Glades triple. Turning around I peered down the slope following the beam of my headlamp for about 15 feet until it became lost in the darkness, I thought in my head, “yeah, this will work”.




Skins pulled and stowed, I made one exploratory half turn, as a test of the snow and my skills, much to my delight, I did not forget how to ski over the summer :smile: I re-adjusted the beam of light and linked 2 turns together, stopped and smiled as I took in the scene around me, the canopy of stars overhead was all the audience I would need. I jumped back into the fall line and progressed further down, but this time instead of a smooth glasslike surface underneath me, I ventured too close to the edge of the trail and ran into a maze of crusts, death cookies, and frozen chicken heads. Reminding myself to be more careful I kick turned towards the middle, and dropped back in to the intoxicating rush of toying with gravity. While moving, my world consisted of my ski tips, a 3 foot dot of light, and my downhill pole, and I was constantly reminding myself that those were the only things in the world that mattered.


chasing the dot

Any negligence in my attention to any of those three, had the potential to be more costly then I dared imagine. Every once in a while I would stop and soak in the absolute magnificence of the mountains at night. As always seems to be the case, I ran out of snow and time, and rather then spoil the memory of the shear magnificence experienced on the first run with a hasty, and truncated second, I came to a decision that I’d just head back down a little earlier then planned.

In hindsight this was probably the best choice I made, as I decided to return to the base via Great Northern instead of attempting to make my way down a steeper slope. Even on GN, the walk down in the darkness could only be described as treacherous at best and precarious at its worst. Ed Viesturs, always has said that mountaineering isn’t a one way trip, and just for this once I REALLY wished it was.

I arrived back at the car with plenty of time to spare though, and for my effort, and ability for once to actually come in before my drop dead time, I treated myself to a breakfast burrito at Killington Deli, which as it turns out made my late for work :smile:

But the streak of October turns lives on :smile:

Carving a pumpkin

Happy Halloween to all!