Gothics North Face

Been a long time, but decided needed to post this one for posterity sake. Past weekend a local buddy Jeff & I decided to finally put rubber to the pavement and make tracks over to the Adirondacks since snow has been pretty good this year. We had been talking about skiing over there for years now, just had been waiting for the right time. Stars aligned on this one as his wife and kids were in Puerto Rico and my kids were with their mom and the snow conditions were legit. We had a pow-wow one evening over a couple beers with a local Dak's guru who lives in this area, but has a house over in Keene Valley. After much debate, we set our eyes on climbing Gothics North Face up to a slide called True North. Here is a pic of the area with the North Face being the big cirque which gets a little lost in the perspective of this photo since is wraps around to a west facing slope which is hard to see. True North being the slide on the left:

Had a 4:15 wake up call the morning of the big day. Picked up Jeff and we were on the road by 5am. Unfortunately some miscalculations on timing, we were hoping to be skinning by 7:30 from the Garden parking lot and to the base of the North Face by 10:30. Reality was, we were skinning by 8:30 and base of the North Face by maybe 12:30.
Second major hurdle we faced as we were climbing was that quite a bit of the white on the face was just 2" of crust on top of smooth rock. Route finding became quite a challenge since the snow was not more than just a facade in many spots and no ice to dig into with crampons & ice axes. Since time was already limited, we didn't have the luxury of trying to work our way around the practical dead-end we had reached. Our goal was to climb to the saddle where we surmised the top of the slide True North existed. At one point Jeff had to belayed me across a 30' face of rock where I would have take a pretty good slide if he hadn't had me on belay. So we ended up going up the far left chute on the face where it dead-ended at the top. At that point it was ~3 in the afternoon and we both quickly came to the agreement that instead of wallowing through deep snow, bushwhacking through tight trees with the possibility of not even finding True North, that it was time to cash in our chips and start down-climbing.
We ended up just down-climbing to a point where we both felt comfortable to don skis and ski the bottom bowl. Most definitely still found some incredibly deep & steep turns in the bottom bowl which slowly funnels down into a creek bed which becomes a luge track, The creek bed was still easily skiable. We made it back to the car without headlamps but was definitely very late twilight stage at that point. Scenery there is truly breath taking, I have been describing it as "making Tuckerman's look kinda small." Am 100% ready to go back and have another go at it. As Jeff & I talked about, think we would opt just to climb True North next time though and maybe stay for an overnight or two. So much to explore back there it's unbelievable...

Wasatch winter update

Another 11 inches last night at Alta. Things are starting to get good in the Wasatch! Winter Weather Advisory for Snow remains in Effect through 11 AM this morning Winter Storm Watch in Effect for Sunday and Monday Accumulating snowfall will persist early this morning then gradually transition to afternoon snow showers. This system will move to our east tonight leaving nothing but some lingering light snow showers in its wake. The next storm system will pass to our Northeast Sunday into Monday. It will initially bring colder air and NW flow Sunday, followed by warming with WSW or SW flow Monday. The result should be that everybody gets some accumulating snowfall. There is a potential for 1-2 feet with this storm. Mondays ridgetop winds will likely be strong out of the west (55- 85 mph range). A cold front and potential lake effect snow Tuesday into Wednesday will bring another round of accumulating snowfall -- which too may be significant.

Tetons & Sierras, Continue to get pounded in early '12-'13 Season!

While things continue to stay high and dry in Colorado (40% of our average snowpack), the Tetons are the exception. As of 11/27/12, Jackson is clocking in at a 76" total and a 33" settled base, while Targhee is recording 96" of snowfall and a 43" base. And the forecast doesn't let up! We have a series of Pacific disturbances working their way across Northern California, Oregon & Washington over the next two weeks. Looks like it could be good news for the Northern Rockies and Sierras. Holiday break will be a game time decision.... B-line for the Sierras with Matty and then work back to the Tetons? or just hit the Tetons for 10 days? Stop in the Wasatch over Dec. 21-25? It all depends on the jet stream my friends! But for right now, Colorado is just a bit far South, caught in the warm temps and blue skies. Now I know why I bought land in Teton Valley: They have the most consistent snowpack in North America. Maybe the world? Any East coast reports guys....? Jet Stream Setting up over the West:

Targhee yesterday:

Snow pack in Colorado as of late:

2009 ALTA Greeny Flashback!

Sick Bird Award 2009, Dave Green....Last Run!

New Year, New Name, New Snow, No Shame!

As you can tell by my new blogger name, I remain a little sour from last years' season. I can count my powder days in East Vail on one hand. The best snow I had was outside Colorado. Every storm ended in anguish and WIND, with totals usually less than 6 inches. I destroyed my Volkls on marginal snowpack and rocky traverses. All of this in stark contrast to the 2010/2011 season, being the best in Colorado 30 years. Vail, yes Vail, received 450 inches that year. Well it starts here. Whether you ski the East or West, the stoke needs to to be tapped. Snow dance, fire dance, whiskey shots...I don't care. You do what you need to do, anything is better than last year..... Oh yeah, this is what I get to look forward to skiing this weekend:

Moving right into summer...in March (literally)

Maple season is over here...bud break has already happened with the maples. Here is the forecast for my area March 19th - 22nd:

To put this into perspective, the average high temp for July 14th-22nd (the dog days of summer) is 81F here.

2011-2012...a winter that wasn't

I think this graphic sums this winter up:

Was it not for the final week of February and first week of March, Vermont wouldn't have really had a winter. Looking to get it over with and move on to the warmer months...hawks are on the move around here.

Suffering

So yeah, it's been a tough year so far for most of us.  Here's some evidence to the contrary.  And while it's not looked like this everyday, we're still hunting out the fresh and making it work.  


PS.  someone please tell Erik to boost the width of this page.  He's the only one with the magical admin power to do it.  

Bolton Valley patroller, Luke Ingram, making the most of another day 

Here's Dave Deveccio, clearly not impressed with the low snow year

FINALLY!!!

14 last night reported at Alta, with this storm tapering a bit before another monster saturday through saturday night. Possibly a 50-60 inch week!


Today: Snow. High near 33. Southwest wind between 13 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow. Low around 27. Southwest wind between 13 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.

Friday: Snow. High near 30. Southwest wind between 7 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Friday Night: Snow, mainly after 11pm. Low around 29. South wind between 8 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Saturday: Snow. High near 31. South wind between 16 and 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.

Saturday Night: Snow. Low around 14. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.

Sunday: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 21. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible

Things we know for sure...

one thing I know for sure...interlodge will most definitely will be in effect for Little Cottonwood Canyon for like the next week! Hope ya'll westerners get to enjoy the goodies. The OR storm train arriving at the station on time this year :)

East Coast is looking a little better with several small scale events that hopefully should be adding up. Here was a forecast I sent to a buddy for the Cascades outside Seattle:
Winter Storm Warning
Winter Storm Watch

M.L.King Day: Snow showers. High near 10. Breezy, with a west southwest wind around 23 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow showers. Low around 6. Breezy, with a west wind between 16 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible.

Tuesday: Snow showers. High near 10. West southwest wind between 6 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 14 to 20 inches possible.

Tuesday Night: Snow. Low around 0. West southwest wind around 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Wednesday: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 3. East southeast wind between 10 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 20 to 26 inches possible.

Wednesday Night: Snow. Low around 3. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 37 to 43 inches possible.

Thursday: Snow. High near 22. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 16 to 22 inches possible.

Thursday Night: Snow. Cloudy, with a low around 18.

Friday: Snow. Cloudy, with a high near 25.

Friday Night: Snow. Cloudy, with a low around 18.

Saturday: Snow. Cloudy, with a high near 20.

Saturday Night: Snow. Cloudy, with a low around 14.

Sunday: Snow. Cloudy, with a high near 19. and"

37-43” in 12 hours!!! WTF?!

Winters Past

So given the pretty horrendous start to New England's '11-'12 winter season, thought I'd throw up some winter's past from the top of my head. Hope some others can chime in here with their recollection. I'll start with good old freshman year:

'97-'98 Really strong start...I remember by Christmas having snowbanks in Kingfield above car window level. I know because I was in a car that ended up in a bank. Big ice storm of '98 was the headline of the year. Also of note is that snowfall totals weren't that far off from '00-'01 snow totals at Sugarloaf (only 11").

'98-'99 Seemed like an average year, had some great memories from ducking ropes on the front face that year.

'99-'00 Pretty lame year...I remember it being fairly disappointing.

'00-'01 Historic, winter for New Englanders to compare all others to. I remember in February when it seemed like there was a 10+" snow storm every Wednesday.

'01-'02 Pretty horrendous, record warmth and very little snow outside of the major snowbelts. Personally wasn't around but heard stories.

'02-'03 Epic 1st half of the season before the cold hit with little snow for the 2nd half. Overall a very strong year.

'03-'04 Pretty dismal outside of a few good events. Moral on ski patrol was especially low that year with snow always followed by rain.

'04-'05 Strong periods in early January and again in late February/early March but everything else...lackluster.

'05-'06 Besides a nor'easter in October, this winter will go down as MY worst for skiing in New England (hoping this winter doesn't top it). Wasn't around for '01-'02 season though.

'06-'07 Will go down as one of the worst starts to a season but a switch was flipped and ended up being an winter of legendary storms with the 3 epic saints storms (Valentines, St. Pats, & Easter)

'07'-08 Legendary for northern New England with snowfall records broken for many towns. Will go down as the year of the sleet/freezing rain to rain storms for central New England though as the storm tracked time & again right over the Mass/VT border.

'08-'09 Strong period from mid-Dec through mid-Feb...otherwise fairly normal winter. Not way above average but a good year overall.

'09-'10 An epic season for the Mid-Atlantic but New England was left hi & dri time & again during the heart of winter as major storms tracked too far south. For a while Snowshoe, WV was beating Jay Peak for highest eastern snow totals that year. Big storms late in the season rallied New England though for a fairly strong finish. Huge snowpack locally above 1500' from a pair a major February blizzards.

'10-'11 Strong year overall with winter kicking off at the start of December and lasting on & off into April. Biggest snowpack year since '02-'03.

'11-12 Did winter even start yet??

Hoping for a change...

Winter needs a big kick in it's ass right now cause it's got nothing to show for itself around here. Hopefully changes are in the works, well at least to get some white back on the ground:

I'm going back to Jackson....December 19-27

Day three of skiing last weekend. Pretty thin down here in Colorado, we need some serious storms! Skied maybe two feet of consolidated powder, but it was good to be outside! Headin up to the Jackson area over Christmas and early forecasts are favorable(see forecast above). Erik what is your plan? Natkin, you gonna be around to 'shred the gnar'? Pumped on my new Fatypus D-senders, hope they send! Till then, peacey weace!
TK

Lookin a little bleak for Colorado this fall/early winter, ouch!

Arctic ski adventure

Hey everyone,
Just day dreaming here and wanted to share a crazy idea with you all. At some point in our lives, I think it would be really really amazing to make a trip like this a reality. Surely it would take some serious planning and saving, and convincing of significant others, but seriously, how freaking badass would this be. Check out this link about sail/ski packages in the Arctic.

http://www.iceaxe.tv/expedition/arctic-ski-cruise-2012/

Going all in

So finally decided to take the plunge and fork over the cash (actually plastic) to buy a ski pass. First time since getting a 'Loaf pass in 2000-2001. With Cooper turning 5 this year and me still not taking him out on the slopes yet, the feeling of parental neglect is setting in. Got one for myself and one for Cooper to Magic Mountain. Bals, hope we get the snows to get you over here...lot less excuses this year. Now I just need to keep my eyes out for the ski sales...d'oh.

With the temps for several days now skirting the 80 degree mark hard to imagine this: New York State (1836)
(Oct. 11 & 12) Snow fell in NY for the 3rd straight Wednesday. Greatest amount fell in Hamilton, NY (site of Colgate Univ.) 35 inches measured there. Oxford, NY had 12 inches. Utica reported 4 feet, but this has not been confirmed.

The decent into winter has begun

First Backcountry issue has arrived...reading through the gear guide, starting to feel like I might as well be wearing leather boots with 230cm nordic skis bound to my feet. I'm starting to think I need to give these rockered puppies a try one of these days. Another omen of things to come, first snows of the season are falling in Montana tonight, whitening up passes & the mountains...the decent into winter now officially underway (at least in my mind).

Huh...never knew

Funny when you learn the kid you've seen around town for years, lived with his dad above the local general store and when mentioned by locals as "into the skiing thing" turns out to be an f-ing bad-ass:
http://www.newschoolers.com/ns/content/readnews/id/3419/

Not big news in a place like Jackson or Truckee, but huge for the little town of Dorset. And I never even knew...

A four minute ski season; winter in a nutshell

2' short

Alta coming in 2' short of the all-time snowfall record...but not a shabby 724" for a season, placing it in 2nd place all-time. Interested to hear from the Wasatch folks about snowmelt this summer season as another system rolls in this weekend and there is currently 16' of snow at mid-station!
Snow on my local mountains is just about gone...just a few patches left on N facing bowls. I would think Stratton is still continuous though. May make for a fun weekend adventure with the kids.
Hilary hope 3rd-tri is treating well...homestretch!

Season finale

Got out for a late season tour this past Sunday on Mother Myrick mountain which lies just across the valley from my house. Was pretty excited about the tour for three reasons...first I finally reached the summit on my 4th or 5th attempt since I'm always running out of time and there is no good way to reach its summit. Second the top of the mountain has some beautiful old-growth spruce, only like 20-30' tall but very stout at the base as they came out of the snowpack with wide spacing between the trees. I don't recollect seeing anything like it in the Northeast. Third, the drainage I've been staring at for years, a nice looking 2000' vert drainage with northeast aspect which holds the snow incredibly well has nicely spaced trees for most of its length. While the skiing on that particular day wasn't exactly stellar, I still had some fun turns up high (above maybe 3000') with some fresh snow that had fallen earlier in the week but was now gloppy, then again lower down (below about 2200') where a good freeze-thaw cycle had consolidated the base and a nice corn layer had developed. Incredible coverage for this time of year. I was able to ski down to below my car which was parked at 1300'.
Monday brought 81F warmth with flooding snowmelt and rain Tuesday and Wednesday has done its damage. Now it would be a good hike into find snow in the local mtns. I think its best to put the sticks away for the year and break out the bike. As usual doesn't sound like winter is by any means done out west. Hope everybody is doing well and look forward to our next meet-up!

Renan comes to Jackson

It seems as though Renan has been chasing some pretty hardcore skiers around the Tetons. I wish I had known he was in town. Unfortunately, he took quite a fall. Hope he heals quick.

http://www.tetonat.com/2011/04/05/jhsp-rescues-injured-renan-ozturk/#comments

Rough week for this group. A couple days later Jimmy Chin was caught in a slide and carried over 2000 vert, but luckily came out unscathed.

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=7165

Chasing shadows

32" in 24 hrs.

Followed by bluebird overhead, trace winds gusting to 5 mph, and temps in the mid 20's.  Yes.

Powder-fest in slough city

21" at my house in the past 6 days quickly erased memory of the last thaw that sent temps well into the 50s for three days. Luckily the thaw came attached with only a 5 minutes deluge of rain before temps plummeted, so snow pack while damaged some was by no means destroyed. Got 3" on Monday, 12" Friday and 6" Saturday night...yeah baby!

First day back on skis since Utah...saturday morning got out on a dawn patrol tour at Merck. Had to make it a dawn patrol since I had to take Cooper to a play date at 10. A freezing rain storm two weeks ago wrecked some havoc on some of my ski lines up there but it was still mightly nice...enough so to take that extra skin up. Ended up half an hour late for the play date. My bad Cooper...my bad.
Sunday morning woke up to another 4" and was still snowing pretty good through the morning hours. After serving up some breakfast for the kiddies, grabbed the gear and went up Equinox mtn. Up above about 3000' trail blazes are starting to get buried. Some still had another foot or more to go, but some were half buried that I saw...thats a-nice, especially since small shrubs like hobblebush and the likes are buried.

Pulled up at about 3300' elevation and decided that to be my dropping in point. Made a quick first turn getting off the skin track dropping down into the drainage and noticed a slough break off...it was a slough of the overnight snowfall maybe 8" up there. I watched as this slough gained momentum through the woods...before long it was a full-on freight train barreling down the mountain, running 5' up trees that could withstand its forced as it crashed into them, until it ran out of sight. Wow, never saw a slough like that in the east! I traversed a little bit around into the drainage until I didn't trigger a slough and let the skis do their thing...hello white room. As I was cruising through this wide drainage, I notice I'm paralleling the slough path...it continued on a path down through the drainage, over roughly 800 vertical feet I skied through this drainage before breaking off to traverse out on a ridge. As I'm traversing out, I'm breaking off sloughs which run similar to the first one I triggered...seriously?!

I finally get to my destination on the ridge, which is a wide open woods shot. On my first turn I hear the slough go and luckily can make high speed GS turns because I can actually hear the slough not far off my heels...crazy experience.

As I make my way down to my final pitch which is maybe 400-500' of vert at maybe 35+ degrees...again wide open woods. I get a little cocky and think I can do just like last pitch and out run it...unfortunately part way down trap myself in a closed off cliff area so have to pull up. The slough plows into me and drags me downhill several feet. Wow...that was intense! Skied down the rest of the pitch to the run-out...slough hot on my heels again :)

cycle shift for the Wasatch

Finally going to get the poundage we have been looking for.
Calling for multiple feet by the end of this weekend's latest deluge.