Endurance races, ski trips, musings, and adventures on the East Coast.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Dust on Crust


There's some classic east coast skiing out there right now - yup, our favorite, dust on crust. Fortunately, there is a fair amount of dust. So while the skiing in the backcountry right now is variable and technical, it's also really fun and rewarding if you hit the right zones.


We got out for a pretty extended tour this weekend, and worked in a couple of major descents. Long descents mean long approaches though. There's no question that you spend most of your time hiking when doing this sort of thing.


When you rip this skins off and ski 1500 plus vertical feet of untracked snow it always seems to be worth it though.



There's been plenty of bemoaning the lack of winter this year. I'm as guilty as anyone, but then again, it isn't bad once you get out there, and that's pretty much been the case for a month now.


Plus, the long term weather forecast is looking better than is has all winter. Cheers to that.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

An Image for a Rainy Day

The weather today is not doing much to inspire much enthusiasm for backcountry skiing - looks like it will be a day to stay inside and ride the trainer. But as I was scrolling through some photos this morning I came across this one from a couple of weekends ago. The snow was phenomenal then and it will be again soon.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

"New people, new places"

Thanks for the title Pete. Saturday was one of those days in the woods that reminded me just why it is that I love Vermont so much. After meeting up with some old friends in the morning, we headed out to meet some new folks to ski a tree stash off a high central Vermont ridgeline. Coffee had us charged up and ready, and after following some nordic ski/snowshoe trails we veered off toward said lines. As is typical of Vermont, getting to the good skiing required some creative skinning through some tight conifer sections.


But once we got there the morning snow clouds moved off and the sun came out. I wish I could spend everyday in spots like this.


And just like that skins came off, layers, googles, and snacks came out of packs, and we caught a sweet untracked line down through hardwoods.




Sure, there was a slight crust below the 6 inches of new snow thanks to last weeks warming event, which made the skiing a little bit trickier than normal. But that didn't keep us from smiling down as we enjoyed some fantastic turns.


Though another foot or two would be really nice, but the backcountry is starting to come into it's own. Good stuff, and a big thanks to the friends who made it happen.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

More Weekend Images

A few more images from a phenomenal weekend of skiing in the mountains of Vermont.



Sunday, January 15, 2012

Winter Arrives For Real

Well we had to be patient this year, but winter kicked in into gear in a huge way this weekend. With 10-20 inches falling in the upper elevations of the Green Mountains over the course of Thursday and Friday, a wealth of lines were opened up for the first time this season. Clear skies and quick bursts of sun greeted us on Saturday...perfect conditions for seeking out powder stashes and hitting the first drops of the season. Today was equally good, and reports are the temps should be hit a balmy 20 degrees tomorrow for MLK day. Hope you have a chance to get out and enjoy it.






Thursday, January 12, 2012

Car House Review: Pontiac Vibe

I've been meaning to throw this one up on the blog for awhile now, so here we go. I spend a lot of time on the road, more than I'd care to admit really. Much of that time is spent traveling to races on a self-financed shoestring budget, which means hotels, and even campgrounds are mostly out of the picture. I spend a lot of nights camped out on the side of the road, at highway rest stops, and on National Forest Land. Which makes having a bed in the car a must. For a little over a year I had a little platform set up in the back of my beloved Volvo 240, which was not very comfortable, but it got me through. Then last spring the Volvo finally kicked the bucket.


I needed a new car. I wanted something that got more than 30 miles a gallon, was reliable, and that I could sleep in. I ended up with a Pontiac Vibe. It's rad. I'm sure that the number of people shopping for cars with the same criteria as me is relatively small, but if you want a smallish car you can travel with, the Vibe is pretty sweet.


Without a roof rack milage is in the upper 30's. With a roof rack it drops to about 30 even, but I can carry a lot more stuff.


The inverter in the dash in incredibly useful on long road trips. I can charge my computer, phone, camera battery, and iPod without adapters or inverters. It's awesome.


The back of the Vibe. Lots of stuff packed in on the left, and the bed is on the right. A 2x4 and plywood base underneath the mattress keeps it level with the font seat (which folds flat), and allows for a little storage underneath.


There is a big, 3 inch thick foam pad in there. I have to say it's pretty comfy and not at all cramped. I usually sleep really well.


From the outside the Vibe doesn't look big enough to sleep in. But the front seat folds flat, which allows me to stretch out and sleep comfortably. When I'm driving the sleeping pad folds back and I can put the seat up.


Stuff sacks, crates, and storage bins galore. Anything to keep everything organized.


Everything packed in. It looks a little cramped, and to be sure, it's no Eurovan. But it works pretty darn well. Three straight months of living out of the Vibe this fall convinced me that, overall, it's a pretty good setup even for extended living. And for the quick weekend trip to a bike race outside of the state, you can't beat it.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Frozen Onion Report

The skiing continues to go in fits and starts up in Vermont, with brief windows of sweet turns followed by spells of warm weather. Oh well. At least there was a mountain bike race this weekend to mix things up. Yup, that's right: January, snow, Vermont, bike racing in the woods=awesome.

Big thanks to the folks at Onion River Sports for putting the race on. Just as a disclaimer, riding is not normally allowed in Hubbard Park, but last Sunday there was an exception granted. About 35 intrepid mountain bikers decided to test their luck in the ice and snow.

I wasn't too sure how things were going to work out. After all, riding the trainer once in a while hardly counts as training, and skiing is not biking. Plus, when I stepped out on my porch Sunday morning I pretty much ate it right off the bat, it was a sheet of ice out there. So, this should be fun eh. Turns out it was, and more. Every race should be that much fun. In actuality the riding was really good. With Stan's rims and Conti tires I was able to run about 12 psi in my tires, and the traction was great. Which was actually kind of a problem. See, that meant we could ride hard, which meant a lot of suffering. It's been a few months since I've done that.

After the first climb there were two of us off the front, and that's pretty much how things went. We traded pulls, put in a little dig here or there, and stayed together to the line. That sprint HURT. I led it out, which was fine, and started a ways from the line. Turns out I had a little extra kick and got the win. Hey, I'll take it!

Really though, the race was about getting the local mountain bike community together for a great time, and raising some money for VMBA. Both those things were certainly accomplished. Check out Onion River Sports on Facebook for awesome photos of the race.

And finally, a couple of shots of skiing from up high in the Greens on Saturday. The cover was marginal, but we've been saying that for a while, and being out in the woods always beats sitting on the couch if you ask me.


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Snow's Back (and a race this weekend!)

The snow was flying when I woke up this morning, and I had a quick window to snag a few turns midday.


Pretty sweet for sure; check out this quick edit.

January 5th, 2012 from French Press Racing on Vimeo.


Just picked up the Zaboo 29er from home the other day too. Turns out there's a mountain bike race this weekend in Montpelier. The Frozen Onion. Sunday morning in Montpelier's Hubbard Park. See you there.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Marginal Skiing

After some sweet skiing over the holidays a mix of rain and warm weather have done some damage. Nope, no powder out there today. But, operating on the "you never regret heading out into the mountains" philosophy, we drove out for some turns today anyway. Was the skiing awesome? No. Did we have an awesome time? Definitely.


It's been good weather to scout some new lines too, explore some back roads I haven't been down in a while, and take in the occasional view.

And hey, by the time I got home it was snowing. We'll take it.