Hiking for Pow (Jackson Christmas Day 3)

After a quick run down (read 35 minutes of riding) from the tram to the base, the conditions just weren't there.  So we headed out to Apres Vous and found some decent cruisers that were still intact.  Again though, cover pushed away quickly and it felt quite North East style.

So, the 11:00 A.M. daily plan went into effect:  Beers at the summit of the Gondy.  Because of the crazy inversion here, the -4 at the base was actually closer to 25 at the summit.  Unbelivable sun too made for an amazing chill session.  Shockingly enough, I got antsy.  I kept glancing behind the Gondy building where the hike up for the headwall is.  A long packed out trail stretching up through the trees and climbing some 1000 feet to the top of Casper peak.  Cupid was content will chilling so I grabbed the board, stripped off a few layers, and started the hike.

Initially, I thought I might only hike up a few dozen feet and take a quick pow turn in the untracked, but easily accessible area.  As I started trudging up it though, the packed out trail - due to skiers boots - made for an easier hike.  It was like a stairmaster from hell, and the altitude didn't make it any easier, but all and all, it was doable.  With my head down, I just kept plodding away.  In minutes, silence and the bowl opened up more and more.  Great powder could be seen and now I realized how I was really up there.  Perhaps an avalanche beacon would have been a good idea...  Don't worry, I'm sure I could count on Cupid sitting at the bar to save me.

Eventually I saw a higher pitch and thought I might make it to there.  After a few instances of this I figured I climbed several hundred vertical feet, and was continuing to make good progress.  Finally though, I called it quits once another super steep pitch started.  I saw a good area that still had a lot of snow and few tracks and shimmied over to strap in.  Now, I noticed just how far I climbed and how gnarly the terrain got.  It also dawned on me that I had no idea which way to go down, and no idea where the cliffs were. 

As Ski Patrol famously told us, "Taste Death, Live Life."  So, with that attitude, I dropped in and make some sick pow turns if I do say so myself.  Then, I realized I was now in it, and was standing in front of a mondo cliff.  Now, I knew I really should have figured out where the safe line is, and had no choice but to unstrap myself and hike up a bit and then over.  The precipice I creeped across got gnarly and gnarly and I had to traverse over some 100-200 feet.  Finally, I saw what looked like a rideable way down.  Though, it was definitely the gnarliest chute I've ever considered going down.

Back into the board, pointing the nose down and making a few jump turns, I launched down the chute and somehow popped out on the otherside.  Finally I had a view of the top of the gondola where I started the hike and make some slow turns through the lower bowl.  Success.

Once Justin got off of work for his ski break, we made a beeline for the hike up Casper we did yesterday.  Today though, the waist high we trudged through was packed where we stepped from yesterday and access was way easier.  The Re-Session was on and many fun rock hits were had.

All and all, a great day of pow and fun on what everyone else bitched about as an awful day of hardpack.

Santa Shreds Jackson (Ho, Ho, Ho)

Today, Santa came to Jackson.  Okay, it was me in my crappy Santa suit still covered in beer and liquor from Santarchy 09.  But, Santa came ready to party.  Again, the mountain's early season conditions, while not ideal, were awesome off the second tram car.  Ridding down Rendevous Bowl at 9:17 A.M. is a good thing.

Great runs were head in the early morning hour and exploration occurred.  One trip found us down a bowl lacking snow but having many many bumps the size of Volkswagons.  

The Santa suit though, is a very good.  While most greeted me with a smile or a Merry Christmas, a few scrooges just looked irritated.  They get coal.  As does the child that smacked Santa with his glove.  I know where he sleeps.  He will feel Santa's wraith.

After a very festive round of warm rumplemeinze and Silver Bullets at the Bridger Gondy, Santa and Cupid were feeling quite loose.  The intoxication though lead to finding some great lines through the woods.

Sidecar came out in style, grabing a pair of skis and hitting Teewinot.  Later on Justin Credible showed up and hiking missions commenced.  Up a line above Casper and again above Moran Faces.  A short 10-15 minute hike through waist deep snow led to the best turns of the trip. 

What will the rest of the week hold?  Powder hikes?  Spicy Margs?  I'm sure all of the above.

Boloners in Jackson (Round II)

BP and myself, as well as sidecare and the fam, are in Jackson Hole again.  Right now a lot of condo time apres action is in effect and we're all having some cockatails after a long day of riding.

Conditions this year are real early season style.  Very little is actually open off the top.  From the tram ride up you can access the rendezvous bowl and one groomer cat track all the way back to the base.  There are a mix of bumped out bowls here and there on the way down and a good deal of other rando cuts you can take here and there.  The first half of the day was great and offered great groomed cruisers as well as very rideable bumps.  As the day went on and the crowds picked up and the snow pushed off.  The total lack of snow hitting Jackson this season is causing real problems for the hill and the constant moans of the locals is audible.  These people don't know how spolied they are.  Boloners know what true ice/hard pack is, and that is not here.  Great long runs.  Big turns.  Sweet pow stashes.  Jackson Hole is an incredible place and we all couldn't be more happy.

Pictures will be very accessible to the right.

Many Boloney Happenings (NO Plans)

Jackson, Utah, Tahoe, Killy, Sugarbush, Mount Snow, Pico, and the list goes on.  Just a sampling of the hills and territories gangs of boloners will be headed to this season.  With snow blanketing the country, and winter rapidly spreading after an awful East Coast early season, we're all getting our ass into gear.

To follow in a much more abbreviated version than last year, I'll post some upcoming highlights:

Jackson Hole II:  Boloney Strikes Back (12/25-12-30)
Bri Dk Fest X:  Bonoirishlover won't know what hit him - let's show this decade who is boss (1/8-1/10)
U2: Snowbird, Brighton (MLK Weekend)
Tahoe: Humpin' Heavenly (Early March)

So there will be many trips of course.  Perhaps some filming will take place if the mood strikes just right for Xceptionally Stylish.

As a small aside, to highlight the greatness of some of the places we'll hit, Brighton has found a skull and just identified it.  And yea, it's fractured.  Turns out some guy decided to get into an argument, go off on a stroll solo, and dove off a cliff.  Most metal mountain ever?  I don't know, but we'll surely be shredding it.

Bono Himself Replies to the Haters (U R Awesome)

After BonoIrishLover's vicious attack on Bono, Bono saw it necessary to emerge from deep within the U.N. Security Council on Africa and reply, in video.  Attached is his unedited, off the cuff response.

24 Hour Transformations (Uller at Killy)

In one day, an amazing thing occured at Killington. Winter started.

Friday

Saturday

Winter at Last (Gorbachev, Sherlock Holmes, and BonoIrishLover)

So after initial reports of excitement and merriment in late October and early November, things turned awful in a hurry.  Al Gore was out there ruining the winter with warm temps and non-winter precipitation destroying the early season base.  This then led to my East Coast news embargo. 

I can officially say now though, that the embargo is lifted and Boloney Moguls declares this season open for business.   Because I’ve recently become sponsored by the U.S. government, I took off from D.C. on Thursday and straight-lined it for Killington. 

G305 is a true home away from home and always a happy sight after hours on the road.  I arrived there in a t-shirt and jeans, while spitting rain persisted through Rutland.  After some brew dogs and Vallapecila with Dan Kelly himself, I got some sleep in and woke up for early season mid-week riding.  Because cold temps had finally arrived in Killington before the slight warm-up I drove through, the guns were cranking full blast for days and the terrain finally had at least a mediocre base.

Driving down the access road, I saw a familiar view that has been plaguing all the mountains of the East:  dirt trails more suited for mountain bikes than snow sports.  After Beer One, I suited up – for what was a much colder day than I expected – and headed to the K-1 Gondy.  The mountain was alive with the roar of dozens of snow guns rapidly trying to jumpstart a winter that Uller seemed indifferent to starting. 

Everything blown on was classic East Coast conditions and I couldn’t have been more psyched.  Hardpack with a lot of man made on top of it – and more being blown – turns were good, edges held, and runs were fast.

With my faith restored in the East Coast and my new TRS, I returned to the condo and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. 

Friday night was a standard scene:  carloads of Boloners arrived after 11 and mild raging occurred.  We couldn’t have anticipated what Saturday would hold though.

Driving up to the hill everything seemed the same, besides the epic crowds that turned out for 2 top to bottom runs.  Killington was again the only game in town.  Mount Snow, Okemo, Stowe, Bolton Valley, all the NY/CT mountains had missed their projected openings AGAIN.  All snow enthusiasts that had missed their Thanksgiving trip, on top of others, headed to the Beast to get their fix.  Damn the conditions.

Enduring crowds was much easier as the Ktown snowmakers expanded the open terrain and helped us spread out a bit more.  But, Great Northern was still the only way to the base.  This caused a log jam of the worst variety, with kids, grandpas, and jib rats slamming into each other at high speeds at choke points on the bottom of the run.  

And then it started to happen.  Uller woke up and what I thought was just flurries and trace snow started coming down.  The sky whited out, the light flattened, and snow came down.  No one wanted to jinx it, but every time we looked at the once bare dirt runs of the morning, we couldn’t help but get excited, seeing the Beast wake up and take on its snow-draped style.

I think  Tim said it best.  What me and him were really excited about was spinning our newly acquired Subarus through their first snowstorm.  Back at the lot after a day of riding through man-made and natural, the ground was completely covered with inches of fresh.  The access road back to the condo was as treacherous as Great Northern was.  But this time, we had 2WD cars trying to descend and climb ice-covered roads to no avail.

Back at G305, after a quick rally course run through the Pico lot with the Seenbaru, that I hope would make Ken Block proud, the celebrations commenced.  We cooked up a mondo meal, poured some brown stains, and opened up Catch Phrase and Cranium.  A night full of drinking, laughing, phrase-guessing, and charading took place.  Finally it felt like winter was here and it could have been the middle of February for all we knew.  Snow on the mountain, cold temps outside, and a raging fire inside.  You know things are good when we're able to use the back deck as a beer cooler.

Sunday was any-day winter in VT.  A little more terrain opened up, the guns were still blasting, but most importantly it was cold, and the Beast looked like the mountain we all expected it to look like in December.

Winter has come to Vermont and the rest of the East Coast.  Just yesterday Killy claimed another 12ish inches coming down which will do wonders for the base.  After some wind and bluebird skies, this weekend more precip is supposed to come down and cement the gains of the last week.

Finally, it is ski the east time.