Category: Ramblings

Apr 26 2012

One last hurrah for Eleven-12?

Figuring out whether to head out to grab a few turns Friday morning has been a colossal waste of internet time. My midday drive to get a workout in at the local pool told me more than perusing my fave local weather sites, including Tahoe Weather Discussion. I can hardly blame Bryan Allegretto, it is …

Keep making backcountry turns

Apr 23 2012

Visons in Valdez

In the short history of backcountry skiing, this has been not only the best skiing in the world this season, but possibly the best ski season ever, anywhere.

Apr 15 2012

Dust to Dust – Farewell to John Holleman II

Danno and I had heard of several locations from local friends that were under consideration, among them was Sun Bowl. It looked like a good run according to the topo map, one we were sure John had frequently made tracks on, so our plan was to head up early and break a trail so we could get their faster with the group after lunch.

Mar 30 2012

Sierra Spring Ski Season in Full Swing

March has arrived and is almost gone but finally the heavens are letting loose on the rains from above. It hasn’t been so much as to make up for lost moisture and for many of you it is too little too late. However, for core backcountry skiers at least, better late than never.

Feb 24 2012

Rerun: Buried Alive!

Very quickly, the ability to move ended. As the snow built up around my torso I squirmed to maintain some sense of mobility, but it was futile. Even the simple act of breathing was becoming a struggle as the snow’s weight bore down on my chest, making it difficult to draw even a breath.

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Feb 16 2012

TR: Pepper’s Run (Day 10)

Waking up to a full four inches of cold smoke on the driveway meant my pessimistic view was wrong but all it took to save the day was a call from Dude-man to go earn some turns. I hung up saying, “meet you in an hour at The Back Country.”

Jan 03 2012

To Sulk or to Skate? W’ither it be?

…smooth as glass for thousands of yards in the long direction and 300 yards wide along the narrows. The cracks were long, thin and young so they weren’t deep enough yet to grab your blades. And the ice was growing and cracking from the expansion and it sounded like a pod of ice whales, singing to each other to the rhythm of the cracks.