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September 2016, Week 1

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From:
Kevin Broderick <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Vermont Skiing Discussion and Snow Reports <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 1 Sep 2016 01:20:55 -0600
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Day count: 100.
Lift-served: 57, 42 of which were at Red Lodge Mountain, where conditions
were almost as bad as Vermont for most of the winter. We got more snow from
mid-March on, after they announced an earlier-than-scheduled closing date,
than we had until that point.

Other lift-served:
Seven days at Big Sky (four for a coaching clinic, three while coaching at
a Super-G race, but most of which involved at least a couple of good runs,
too)
Four days at Whitefish (Big Mountain), also coaching but during which I
managed to get at least half a day's worth of real skiing in (and the snow
was excellent, so it was Real Skiing with a touch of "I really hope these
athletes aren't about to take me off a cliff")
Four days at Bridger Bowl including a late-season day skiing with one of my
roommates where we'd both cooked our legs by 2:00 (unexpectedly finding a
Mobb Deep show on the way back from dinner to the motel the night before
hadn't helped, I suspect).

All three of those areas are new for me.

Non-lift-served: 43. 16 in May, 10 in June, 4 in July, 5 in August. The
late May/early June season off the Beartooth Pass was shorter than usual
given the lack of snow, but I got a chance to explore some new-to-me lines
and have several more on my list for next year, and I now feel like I
mostly know my way around.

Memorable highlights:
Fresh snow during the coaching clinic in December and a clinician who
understood we wanted to ski, along with sneaking in some Challenger laps
after we finished up relatively early on the last day of the event
Feeling like I was back in Vermont in the trees at Whitefish...and then not
so much when we got a few turns in higher up on the mountain
Skiing Ridge terrain at Bridger Bowl
Getting to the top of the "Cole Creek" area at RLM (even if I had to hike
to do so...lift never opened this year; not enough snow until the last
weekend, and then the snowpack was too unstable)
HItting a new personal record for ski days in May (beating 2007 by one)
Catching up with telechica for some June and July turns on easily
accessible snow

...and soon enough, 16-17 begins.


On Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 9:24 AM, Iski Stowe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I didn't know they server beer at the avalanche workshops!!!
>
> On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 8:34 PM, Mark P. Renson <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> ESAW = Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop
>>
>> Another beer worth mentioning that I have sampled lately:
>> Red Racer IPA (India Pale Ale) | Central City Brewers + Distillers
>> <https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10321/49058/>
>>
>>
>> [image: image] <https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10321/49058/>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Red Racer IPA (India Pale Ale) | Central City Brewers + ...
>> <https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10321/49058/>
>> Red Racer IPA (India Pale Ale) is a American IPA style beer brewed by
>> Central City Brewers + Distillers in Surrey, BC, Canada. 94 out of 100 with
>> 482 revi...
>> View on www.beeradvocate.com
>> <https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10321/49058/>
>> Preview by Yahoo
>>
>>
>> You can get it in cans in Calgary for a reasonable price.  Nice stuff, it
>> was very welcome after my first warm shower and shave in over a week!
>>
>> Mark P. Renson
>>
>>
>> On Monday, August 15, 2016 10:32 AM, Iski Stowe <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I am also a big fan of Finest Kind IPA.   I have been know to buy a keg
>> of it when we have parties.  What is ESAW ?
>> I will seek out Medusa.
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Aug 13, 2016 at 1:27 PM, Mark P. Renson <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks, Alex.  I'd like to hear others' seasons recaps, as well.
>>
>> There is at least 1 ski run at Icefall Lodge that is named after me, as
>> well.  It's named Mad River and the first descent was in March 2005.  Larry
>> names his runs in reference to others or with hidden meanings.
>>
>> One thing I have hidden from the list - sans some cryptic references - is
>> that I was involved in the first ski descents at Icefall Lodge with Larry
>> Dolecki and his now wife Dr. Mette Peterson.  We've all had more fun being
>> quiet about it than spraying about it.  It was a very demanding expedition
>> that we did. We went in via snowmobile up logging roads to the base.  The
>> problem was that the road was not maintained and some wet slides had ripped
>> loose running over the road and had refrozen. This meant we had to hack
>> paths through the refrozen debris to get across 3 debris fields and we were
>> delayed by a day, having to camp by the Valenciennes River which was
>> actually very pleasant. The following day, we reached the "base" and
>> skinned up 2800 vertical feet with full packs including camping gear to a
>> point across the stream from the current Icefall Lodge - our campsite.  It
>> was an unusually warm winter out there (as well as the Pacific NW) so of
>> course we were there during the only real significant cold snap of the
>> season.  Every night was sub-zero or thereabouts.  The next day, we skinned
>> up to the summit of 10k+ foot Kemmel Mountain ...... in foul weather.  That
>> was the first winter ascent and second ascent ever of that mountain. On the
>> descent, we were treated to 6" new and a brutal navigational challenge.  We
>> did get cliffed out, but it was only a 10-12 footer which all 3 of us stuck
>> and followed up with a sweet descent down Home Run Bowl.  We were the be
>> cliffed out 2-3 more times during the week and we turned back from those.
>> The next few days, we explored the Rostrum Valley/Glacier, LaClytte Glacier
>> and Bird Bowl.  It was a very demanding experience and there are many
>> things we are quiet about - rather than spraying, we just enjoy the
>> memories.  At the end of the trip, even hardman Larry admitted he was a bit
>> spent.  It was all worth it though for the challenge and the thrill of
>> exploring, the turns and the memories!
>>
>> As Larry sez' here: http://www.icefall.ca/ about-icefall/
>> <http://www.icefall.ca/about-icefall/> "We more or less just built a hut
>> and worried about the business side afterward.  We figured the worst case
>> scenario was that we had a ski hut in a cool location even if it didn’t
>> make money.”  It's awesome that there are still places and attitudes like
>> this which explains why his operations have generated somewhat of a cult
>> following and I have lost count of the times I have returned.  There is at
>> least 1 lurker that I know of that has been drinking the Icefall/Snowfall
>> Kool-Aid, as well!
>>
>> Mark P. Renson
>>
>>
>> On Friday, August 12, 2016 10:59 PM, Alex Friend <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Ranger, that is a kick-ssa, first class season report. 'specially
>> Dilbert's Dive being in your honor. How many people have a run with their
>> name?
>> --Alex
>>
>>
>>
>> On Aug 12, 2016, at 8:58 PM, Mark P. Renson <[log in to unmask]
>> <[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>>
>> Well, here's my put ........
>>
>> Boy did it SUCK!  I found myself looking for love in some mighty strange
>> places.  First time to Killington since 1997 (hey, it was phun), first time
>> to Okemo since 1992 and first time to Mount Snow since 1985.  By early
>> December, I had nailed the ASC Vermont McTroika - Sugarbush, Killington and
>> Mount Snow.  Hey, they all had snow and as M1 once aptly put it, to a
>> starved man a Quarter Pounder looks awfully good.  A rainy day at Jay
>> utilizing bus shuttle access to 2 separate manufactured trails made for a
>> relatively awesome day.  I "anti-lost count" of the days I had on the Main
>> Mountain at Mad River because my mind cannot grasp how few there were (was
>> it like 7 or 6 or something like that?).  Nonetheless, I did get signed off
>> somehow on running sleds and an epic run was had down Fox one morning in
>> boot top deep untracked in a surprise "dump".
>>
>> An Epic Pass was looking awfully epic.
>>
>> Some treats were had on Mount Washington ...... like 6" new on glare ice
>> one day during an AIARE class (WOW!), some corn treats in Right Gully and
>> as usual, the treat that never gets old which is corn harvesting in Left
>> Gully on a bright sunny day with the Mahoosucs, Rangely and the endless
>> forest of Quebec in the distance.
>>
>> Working on the Multi-Rescue with multiple DHART evacuations in mid-March
>> with the awesome New Hampshire SAR community was especially rewarding.
>> Unfortunately, Chris Joosen has moved to Oregon and Jeff Lane has left
>> which means we have some huge challenges ahead of us next season.  Roger
>> continues to hike up and effectively patrol with us at age 87 and once more
>> he had supernatural powers to get to a rescue before I did, hiking uphill
>> to an incident below The Chute.
>>
>> Canada paid off in World Class style AGAIN for me.  We were the first
>> ones into Snowfall Lodge (still very little internet presence - Larry is
>> too busy climbing and skiing for that internet fluff) in mid-December when
>> the snowpack is anemic - ONLY ~165cm.  There I worked with Igor discovering
>> new virgin lines and finding out that I know a lot, but discovered I still
>> have much to learn and the best part of the latter is that it's the cool
>> stuff that's fun and I wanna' learn.  A snowpack of F over 4F over 1F paid
>> off with untracked powder turns in steeps up to 35-40 degrees ...... YES,
>> you can do that IF you do your homework, lotsa' homework.  I actually
>> returned there in early July for some 1-on-1 Alpine Boot Camp work where we
>> did 8 days of FAs, I saw my first grizzly bear, it rained/snowed 6 outta' 8
>> days and I lost 4-5 pounds.  We were driven by the ghosts of Conrad Kain,
>> the Feuz Brothers and the Mundays as we did 7 of 8 days in mountaineering
>> boots including on lower 5th class rock.  Apparently, the first named ski
>> run there - Dilbert's Dive - has stuck ..... oh, and that was whimsically
>> named after me.  Our favourite ski run was christened Sauna Express which I
>> thought was 1200 feet of 30-35 degree bliss but turns out it is 35-40
>> degrees.  That was Igor's masterpiece ....... much much better than a
>> Rembrandt.
>>
>> As for beer (sorry, I never bought into "reeb") ...... like, it's a way
>> to salvage the season, my go-to beer has become the Smuttynose Finest Kind
>> IPA.  That was on tap at ESAW and was so fresh and tasty and wholesome that
>> I became hooked.  Somehow, an outstanding fresh batch was had. Brewmaster
>> Jack in Massachusetts continues to impress (I'm enjoying a 4 pack of Good
>> Sense IPA now) and I highly recommend their Total Eclipse Rye Porter.
>> Meanwhile, the hometown heroes down the street from me continue to DOMINATE
>> globally: Bay State’s Medusa beats Europe’s best at international beer
>> competition
>> <http://www.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/food_beverage/2016/05/bay_state_s_medusa_beats_europe_s_best_at_international_beer>
>>
>>
>> [image: image]
>> <http://www.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/food_beverage/2016/05/bay_state_s_medusa_beats_europe_s_best_at_international_beer>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Bay State’s Medusa beats Europe’s best at international ...
>> <http://www.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/food_beverage/2016/05/bay_state_s_medusa_beats_europe_s_best_at_international_beer>
>> Tiny 14-month-old Medusa Brewing Co.
>> View on www.bostonherald.com
>> <http://www.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/food_beverage/2016/05/bay_state_s_medusa_beats_europe_s_best_at_international_beer>
>> Preview by Yahoo
>>
>>
>> The hard to get Wormtown IPA is outstanding, as well as Massachusetts
>> continues to rock it with craft beer. To all you Vermont beer snobs: get
>> your heads outta' your arses and appreciate beers from elsewhere.  There's
>> more to beer than those ones that you exclusively worship brewed in some
>> creaky old farmhouse and packaged with drawings of hippies and Grateful
>> Dead crap (hey, I actually like those).  That said, I must say that I
>> actually enjoyed the Lost Nation Vermont Pilsner than I did the one brewed
>> down the street from me and the latter is darn good.
>>
>> Mark P. Renson
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tuesday, June 7, 2016 6:55 PM, David Merfeld <[log in to unmask]
>> <[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> It has been a long time since anyone posted a trip report.  So, I don't
>> think I would be violating protocol to post a season-end (or, at least, my
>> season-end) Summary and count:
>>
>> December 2015
>>     - 1 Day at Copper
>>     - 1 Day at Cooper
>>     - 4 Days at the Skinner Hut (10th Mountain Division)
>>     - 2 Days at Hoodoo
>>     - 1 Day at Bachelor
>>     - 3 Days XC in Oregon (Hoodoo, Virginia Meisner, and local trails)
>>
>> January
>>     - 1 Day XC in Quebec (Mont-Sainte Anne, a great touring center)
>>     - Yup, that's it for January
>>
>> February
>>     - 1 Day at St. Anton (Austria; this was supposed to be a day in
>> Liechtenstein, but my luggage arrived two days late)
>>     - 1 Day at Stuben & St. Christophe
>>     - 4 Days hut skiing outside Ischgl (crossing back and forth between
>> Austria to Switzerland)
>>     - 1 Day at Ischgl
>>
>> March
>>     - 1 Day at Sunlight, Colorado (a LMTR!)
>>
>> So, the total was pretty pathetic, with the lowest January count ever and
>> the earliest end ever.  But, there were some amazing days, especially the
>> earned turns in Colorado and Austria.  And, I have 5 new areas:
>>     St. Anton
>>     Stuben
>>     St. Christophe
>>     Ischgl
>>     Sunlight
>>
>> Bringing my life-list to 150
>>
>> David Merfeld
>>
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