Lucky #7 EC Roll Call 2013-14!

[MadPatSki]

Here is a bit more snow stoke!!!

Snow and July in the East...it ain't over. Only a few days away.

I wasn't able to publish my variant twist on car-assisted turns on June 1, but in the meanwhile, it's throwback Thursday so here is one car-assisted turns from the vault and republished:

June 1, 2008 – Golfing and field work down South
http://madpatski.wordpress.com/2008/...rk-down-south/

Many more words and pictures from that day...to check them out, click the link.


Snow


Car


Sketchy hike


Sketchy run

Back to the regular fishing and mountain biking programming.

[biggins]

Sketchy run

Arrrrsome picture.

[Jonathan S.]

June 23, Monday

[Disclaimer: cross-posted to other threads.]

The summit Monday afternoon: Mount Adams, stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, 9mm Beretta Px4 Storm – but only one of these four is “real”!






(And no, that clunky ice axe is of course not mine, but the horribly embarrassing Petzl Scirocco helmet is.)

Although I was blissfully unaware when the prior picture was taken, little did I know that lurking nearby, so close as to even appear in the picture frame when the orientation was changed to landscape, was a dreaded predatory gray wolf, no doubt having stalked me all the way from my late-April [unreal/surreal/fake] Mount Adams trip:






That uninterested sucker pose didn’t fool me – BACK THE F&*^ OFF MOTHERF*&#ER:






But wait, what’s this?
Yes, another gray wolf, having snuck into a backpack!
Why, you could be as alert as possible to their danger, only to be skiing down and have the beast emerge from your very own pack and bite off your head.
Fortunately, I was there to serve and protect as a member of the Mount Adams Gray Wolf Patrol:






Level 0 holster, i.e., tucked into the waist strap of my Dynafit Broad Peak pack (since my Dynafit Movement tights don’t have a waist belt):






Partner skiing the SW Chutes (didn’t realize until the flight home now that my new camera has a continuous shooting mode, whoops):






Me doing the same:










Yes, I did ski all the way down the SW Chutes on the “real” Mount Adams with my [daughter’s] stethoscope around my neck and bp cuff on my arm.
Yet unlike someone else on some other Mount Adams, my holster fulfilled its retention duties (until my Beretta got too crumply and joined all the empty Gu packets in a trash bag):






Topo map and aerial view:









More magnification, showing the skintrack from near the base of the SW Chutes to Lunch Counter (with the minor flourish at the entrance to the SW Chutes just a little scouting mission to check snow continuity into the far skier’s right chute):









Critical stats:
3 = Gray wolf sightings (yes, yet another one, lower down on the dry hiking trail)
100 = SPF
3 = sunburnt spots
10 (?) = Gu packets consumed (plus 4 Odwalla bars)
14.59 = mileage (according to DeLorme inReach Explorer tracklog)
8260 = vertical (barometrically measured)
94% = vertical skied

[Jonathan S.]

Tuesday, June 24

After the prior day’s perfect weather, the forecast was for a 40% chance of less than perfection.
But the descent from the Piker’s Peak false summit down the South Climb would allow for a quick exit if necessary.

First though, we attended to some neglected regulatory obligations from the prior day.
Most importantly, while driving from Trout Lake, I took a mandatory picture of the mountain:






Then to pick up our permits, but . . . wait, what if a predatory gray wolf follows us inside, while we’re entirely disarmed and helpless:






Fortunately the self-serve kiosk was open outside, so we could stay properly protected.

And another required picture from the road:






My partner above the menacing cloud deck on the “winter” route (with only three very short portages, so still the most efficient skintrack):






A bit above Piker’s Peak, tempting to continue on for the summit:






. . . but didn’t want to take any chances with all this in the distance:






I worry that this is sacrilege, but as great as the SW Chutes skied the prior day, the South Climb was almost as good:

[Jonathan S.]

Wednesday, June 25

The weather forecast the prior evening pegged the chance of rain at . . . 100%?!?

Fortunately though the hourly graph showed that not kicking in until after 10 in the morning.
So I headed up for a quick – and hopefully somewhat dry – ski.
Especially with an encouraging revised weather forecast in the early morning that dropped the precipitation probability all the way down to: 90%.

You’ve been on the same tour (too?) many times when you take a picture of the mountain only as a backdrop to how your friend’s misplaced/forgotten coffee mug stayed in place for the entire drive from Portland:






After a nice chat lower down with ski patroller Yuri (who had proposed to his girlfriend on Adams the prior weekend – congratulations!), the cool temps and no sun required ski crampons fairly early, which also ruled out skinning up higher to the top of the Hogsback.

That was of course a bad sign for the skiing quality, so after goofing around with some selfies:






. . . I enjoyed a long chat with the summit skier (Rainier volunteer climbing ranger, originally from Montana) barely visible in the background, who reported skiing conditions that unfortunately were as expected.

Fortunately the snow surface was smooth, even if frozen, but still, I was looking forward to reaching the groomed lanes down below:






At the base of Crater Rock I met two other skiers, who were optimistic that the snow would soften with the sun now just barely shining through the threatening clouds.
And after a few more noisy turns . . . they were right!
I head over to Zig Zag for almost 3,000 vertical feet of perfection:






Ski>skin transition with bonus view of B-26 propeller from 1949 crash (for a cumulative plane crash site tally of at least four during this backcountry ski season):






Skinned back up to Crater Rock then skied down this time closer to the White River Glacier for more (naturally) perfect corn, entering the resort boundary just after all the race courses had been pulled for more (artificially enhanced) perfect corn.

Route maps:









Called it a morning at only just shy of 7,000' vertical since didn’t want to push my luck with the weather any further.
Although as another skier commented when we discussed the weather forecast, “90% chance of rain today? More like 90% chance of awesomeness!”

[Jonathan S.]

Thursday, June 26

Weather forecast didn’t look good.
Ditto for Palmer lift closure on account of visibility.
Radar map showed showers drifting through, with a stubborn spot persisting on Mount Hood.
Prior plans for Wy’East Face and Snowdome were out.
Back-up plan for skinning up again from Timberline was . . . in, sort of.

The drive was . . . wet:






. . . as was the parking lot, the skin up to the top of the Palmer, and the ski down.
The rain-softened smoothly groomed (and previously unskied) corn was perfect, which was especially welcome given the visibility (or rather, lack thereof).

Fun enough (I think?) for a one-and-done, but with the probability of precipitation spiking back up to 94% by dawn the next morning, the previous plans for Friday June 27 were changed to . . . flying home!

Stock photo for incentive to hurry home (from a recent impromptu stroll around the neighborhood, after dressing herself in attire quite appropriate for the end of my ski trip):






And for an incentive to return next month, the updated weather forecast this morning upped the probability of precipitation to 100% . . . and for the upper elevations of Hood and Adams, up to a foot of snow?!?

[robrox]

Another fine TR! Nicely judged essentials list, especially such a light-weight sidearm

[cat in january]

Well played and way to keep the ski stoke humming. Hard to believe we have turned the corner.

[ex-powderbroker]

The first blueberries are ripe in the usual places down here. Nice.

[MadPatSki]

Okay, I finally got around to finishing it. VT_Ski and MTL_Ripper joined me to make some silly Stowe skiing on snow. Just before the last Stowe (and Vermont) patch melts. Yes, there is still one patch left. Now I can focus on my next turns...oh yeah, July is tomorrow.

I've posted in a different thread, but here are a few pics...

Stowe VT via Toll Road : June 1, 2014 – Skiing patches for 105 turns

It’s not only about the skiing, it’s about the adventure and the variety of the experiences.

Click link to read and see much more....
http://madpatski.wordpress.com/2014/...for-105-turns/

[robrox]

MaddSkilz MadPat!

[east or bust]

Props for getting up there!

[From_the_NEK]

Nice sunset in the NEK last night...



sunset2

[PlayItLeo]

^^^ nice shots.

[lynchdogger]

Nice sunset in the NEK last night...



sunset2

Sweetness of summer!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

[ex-powderbroker]

Does paddle in the dacks? I'm trying to decide between taking a group down the Raquette from Tupper Lake or just camping out at Lewey Lake. The gf wants to spend her birthday on a nice shore somewhere camping out with friends. Any suggestions? Campsites are booking fast so no Rogers Rock this year.

[east or bust]

Does paddle in the dacks? I'm trying to decide between taking a group down the Raquette from Tupper Lake or just camping out at Lewey Lake. The gf wants to spend her birthday on a nice shore somewhere camping out with friends. Any suggestions? Campsites are booking fast so no Rogers Rock this year.

IIRC Lewey does book up pretty quickly, and the campsites (at least by the boat launch) seemed pretty close together. It appeared like the farther away from the main parking lot you are the better off/more secluded you'll be.

That said Lewey has a pretty insane Pike bite. If you have some sort of floatation I highly recommend bringing some rods.

[Greenstateofmind]

The Dude:

[lynchdogger]

^^^ The King of Spring.
That was hilarious! Well done.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

[gpcharles]

too bad those mountains got in the way.

Nice sunset in the NEK last night...



sunset2

[ex-powderbroker]

IIRC Lewey does book up pretty quickly, and the campsites (at least by the boat launch) seemed pretty close together. It appeared like the farther away from the main parking lot you are the better off/more secluded you'll be.

That said Lewey has a pretty insane Pike bite. If you have some sort of floatation I highly recommend bringing some rods.

Cool. I saw a site with some privacy and decided to grab it instead of worrying about people getting over their heads in the river. That's a cool section of the dacks, so there's lots to play on for everyone. But is there a sticky for first time fishermen or do I just start sharpening sticks now?

An old photo of tBatt's from the area.

[FussyDutchman]

Sweet shots NEK. I think I caught that same sunset down here while walking the dog that night...shitty cell snap but it caught my attention enough to take a few anyway.

[lynchdogger]

Happy 4th of July ECRC!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

[gravitylover]

^^ Ditto.

[awf170]

too bad those mountains got in the way.

And the wind turbines. I can feel the wind turbine syndrome through my monitor.