-Trip Report- Hillman's Highway: A River Runs Through It (May 2010)

Did somebody bring an auger?

There's nothing like skiing with the sound of rushing water beneath your feet.

The words skiing and water usually end in disaster unless there's a boat involved.  That includes the late spring contests where skiers dress up in ridiculous costumes and go skimming across open water to reaffirm principles of speed, air displacement, and blood alcohol content.

But I wasn't picturing the margarita fueled crowds of some resort.  I was more focused on driving out thoughts of a dark, cold, wet hole that was waiting for me on the other side of an unknown thickness of snow and ice beneath my feet.

Such is the mental battle on Hillman's Highway on a warm spring day.
 

-Trip Report- Mt. Washington: A Tale of Two Seasons (March 20-21, 2010)

You fickle old bitch!

Mt. Washington is a fickle old bitch.  The jet stream that flows around her crown can one day bring a gorgeous Bermuda high, and the next bring the cold punishing winds of an Alberta Clipper.  Given her geography she puts you right in the front seat for the ride.  Timed right, she can bring you unbelievable spring corn skiing.  Timed wrong she can punish you with a frozen nightmare of icy chutes and wicked winds.

Such was the case on a weekend trip this past March.   Two days and two completely different seasons.