-Trip Report- Gulf of Slides: The Sideshow (April 30 - May 1, 2011)

Spring skiing at its best.

Mt. Washington can resemble a Spring circus.  The crowds gather for an annual festival that marks the end of the ski season.  Some people enjoy the show under the big tent: lions, clowns and of course, those candy peanuts.  But the main event isn't the only show in town.  Somewhere near the big tent sits the sideshow: a mystery tent with freaks, thrills and otherworldly experiences waiting to be discovered.  While the sideshow lacks the pomp and circumstance of the main tent, it can still blow your mind.

Convenience Store Commissary

One minute and twenty four seconds.  That’s the record.  If you run, know where everything is, have nobody in front of you, and pay with an easy-pay device, you may be able to beat it.  I challenge you to beat it.

I'm talking about the amount of time needed to grab all of the essential winter camping supplies from your local convenience store.

Skiing with the Other Half: A Primer on Relationship Maintenance for a Backcountry Skier

Kids want GI Joes.  Not ski couples.

As we dive headlong into the heart of ski season, perhaps you’ve found yourself forgetting what your spouse or significant other looks like.  After all, unless you’re one of those power skiing couples it is unlikely that your better half shares your ridiculous obsession with untracked powder.  For the last several months you’ve been catching only glimpses of them while you run out the door on a Saturday morning on your next adventure.

Even the most understanding of partners has already begun to attend co-dependence meetings, place ads with your likeness on the back of milk cartons, and disappear on week long “book club” outings to Mexico.

It’s time to do some relationship maintenance.  It’s time to share the addiction and do some skiing together.

The Gear List: What to bring for a night on the mountain.

Home is where the -20 bag is.

What should you pack on an overnight backcountry ski trip?  Over the years I've learned some hard lessons and developed a list to survive (and even enjoy) a long winter's night on the mountain.  Some items are necessities, while others (down booties) are comfort items that I'm willing to sacrifice some space and weight to bring along.

See for yourself why I have back problem by springtime.

-Trip Report- Camel's Hump: The Hard Way (February 2008)

Does somebody smell burning gloves?

The stop sign sailed by us as the staccato thumping of the anti-lock brakes broke the silence.  The words "hang on guys" came out of my mouth so matter-of-factly that Gered and Brett wondered if I knew we were sliding out of control.