Tales from the Hinterland: 2012/13 edition

Up here in the Hinterlands, things get started a little slower: the snow-guns have just fired up, no lifts are turning, and we just have to wait for the lake effect. After this morning's glance at the Hinterlandian Snow-depth-o-meter, I knew it was time to go skiing.


The weapon of choice was obvious, the Trak Couloirs with metal edges and XCD Omnitrak base. Knowing that the conditions would be a little sticky, I unearthed a rare can of Swix Schuppenspray to ameliorate the effects of wet snow.


I love the smell of hydrocarbons in the morning...


The skis may be ready but the car is not. Here are my snow tires, ready to be installed later in the day:


The current rubber, so called "all-season tires," have had us driving at less than leadfoot speeds lately. Braking is over-rated, really.


Anyway, the car may not be ready but the skis are and the canoe is stored for the season.


While waiting for Telemark Dave, I took a spin around the sideyardcountry, scoring the first turn of 2012/13.


After this warmup, I headed out to the road for more. There is nothing like five inches of fresh on top of a freshly plowed and sanded gravel base. Needless to say, turns two, three and four were rather slow-motion.


TD arrived, and of course much discussion and gear-fiddling ensued. The new green jacket is very photogenic and the new glasses give him a definite Hunter S. Thompson look. The dog just wanted to go.


Then we went for a classic 'schwack through the very low angle hardwoods. Apparently I have been slacking on the trail maintenance. Oh well, there was snow, we had skis on our feet, we were sliding and gliding, so yes, it was skiing.


In retrospect, we probably could have moved faster on foot. But that was not the point. The point was to ski, and today was day one. Welcome to the TFTH for a new season and let's hope the snow gets less sticky from now on!

Hmmm.. Yes, there was a touch of fear and loathing on the ski trail today....

(Okay, none really, I'm just playing along... I never thought of the Hunter S Thompson "look" when I got the aviators, I was more stoked on their carbon frames... )

Remind me to drop off some of the Toko spray-on for you to use next time... It's a lot more toxic and probably has some mild hallucinogenic properties... Add some White Rabbit and you'll be good to go...

TD

Was the dog wearing orange so he wouldn't be mistaken for a deer?

Telemark Dave wrote

 
Remind me to drop off some of the Toko spray-on for you to use next time... It's a lot more toxic and probably has some mild hallucinogenic properties... Add some White Rabbit and you'll be good to go...

TD

Funny stuff right there

Looks like U guys had a blast---cool

Nice to see one of my favorite threads spawn a sequel.

Looking forward to more shenanigans!

pro2860 wrote

Was the dog wearing orange so he wouldn't be mistaken for a deer?

Haha, he's a bit short to be a deer but he does like to harass the bambis. The orange coat helps me keep track of him when he takes off after something.

Good to see the Hinterlands open for ski business. It was particlularly funny to see snow covered snow tires waiting to be mounted......I guess you Northerners need some snow as a reminder. It is the same here in the Flatlands. My snows are scheduled for tomorrow......thanks for the reminder.  

Finally.. On the first day of winter and the end of the world (or at least the Mayan calendar..)

Snow's coming down pretty heavy.. There's only remnants of the last snow fall 2 weeks ago for a base..
Of course SBR is off to South West PA to visit his Mennonite in-laws for X-mas so I'll have to file the TR's..
...could be interesting.  

Stay tuned ...

TD

So little snow has made us desparados............here it is Christmas day and there's only 4" of snow on the ground...

No worries as being Hinterlandians we tend to look at the beer glass as being half full.........
But before the skiing began, I had to drive from my inlaws where we were spending the day, down the road about
5 minutes to SBR's abode....I had to feed his bipolar feline Keller....

As there was nothing of note interesting in his fridge, I didn't linger long....



Back at the ranch, we went out the back door and stepped into our skis....



My wife B, is seen here chasing after my son, snow all the way up to her edges (okay no edges really!)



We skied out past the ball diamonds...



What's that over there?...............a skate park????



This box needs a hill.....



But these skis aren't quite up to it.......



As you can see, the "original Kronen Schliff" skis are not park skis.......oops....
Anyways, it was time for turkey.



TD

Telemark Dave wrote

...SBR's abode....I had to feed his bipolar feline Keller....

As there was nothing of note interesting in his fridge, I didn't linger long....

What? You don't like vodka, coconut milk or salad dressing?

So now that we are back to the snow levels of Nov. 28,


(pic taken 1/2/13. Compare to 11/28/12 at the top of page one)

I squeezed out a few hours at Hidden Bump.

Despite the holiday timing, the cold weather kept most folks at home.



The ski school classes were small and the lift lines non-existent.



Kudos to the hill operations people for their snowmaking prowess. Conditions were pretty good, all things considered. After about 27 runs, I left at noon, just as the crowds were starting to gather. It was a good morning of clearing out the cobwebs. I am lucky to live 10 minutes from this place.



Significantly more snow has fallen in the meantime and tomorrow, TD and I will inspect the local BC. Should be good!

The snow is just fluffier in the Hinterlands isn't it?

Looking forward to tomorrow's report!

So there was a thaw, then it snowed and got really cold. Sound familiar? Since today was Chore Day at SBRHQ, going to a ski hill was not in the cards. Just as well, since it was cold, blustery, snowy and, well, perfect conditions really. Anyways.

Chore day is not really so bad. It generally involves sleeping in, a leisurely breakfast with Blue Toes, walking the dog and a lot of vacuuming. Today some additional snow clearing was required as well. The six inches or so of fresh wet snow had consolidated after the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, so needed some attention. With all this done, it was time to go snowshoeing.

The woodies and dog are ready to go. Note the freshly scoured driveway.


Utah the wonder dog enjoyed the firm snow conditions.


We checked out Secret Hill. This new snow will be an excellent base. It needs another 6 to 8 inches of fresh for primo conditions.


It is pretty nice to have this for a back yard.


Frost on frost. I tend to go low-tech when slow-shoeing.

WOW!

Those are some kinda' slowshoes!!!  Tip rocker to the max, and nice flat pintails!
Even looks like they have tech binders on them. Ultralight leather thongs or similar!


..... Sorry, couldn't help myself.  

TD

What wax comes after Polar? That's -20 F for you southerners. Local radio claims -37 (-35 F).


School busses are cancelled due to the cold.

Hard Wax?  I bet even klister is hard at those temps.

Some hills remain secret even after being exposed on the interwebz.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Quoted for truth.

The deep freeze seemed to be coming to an end so I headed to Hidden Bump yesterday for a little tele-fun. The primary purpose of this experiment was to see how my knee dealt with hardpack tele turns. Verdict? Knee is good, hamstring still needs some work.


It was a Friday afternoon, so the hill was pretty quiet.


I skied until the street lights came on.


Today, there was sleeping in, back bacon and later on, a little snowshoeing with Blue Toes and Utah:


Our woods are still in full "winter wonderland" mode, so I, as trailbreaker, got a little snow-covered.

Gotta love our Canadian friends. That is a classic  shot of the Trailbreaker. I love the views from Hidden Bump.

Given the weather forecast and my brief freakout over in the weather thread, I slapped myself upside the head and went out into the new snow tonight. I had considered skiing but given the late hour and two glasses of wine, snowshoeing seemed like a safer alternative.

Remember this picture from this morning, it's "before the melt." And you can mentally add the four or five extra inches that came down afterwards.


So out into the freshly cleaned driveway we went.


The dog was keen at first. After a few sniffs of the night air, he decided to wimp out and I let him back in the house.


The clouds were breaking and the moon was bright enough for navigation. The snow was beautiful, consolidated and really should have been skied.


Whatever the next two days brings, I can remember this:

With snow squalls in the forecast, I planned to hit the local slopes this morning. It is always a bit of a crapshoot, as sometimes the over-zealous groomers will have flattened everything out. Not today. Four to six inches of dense, fine grained snow covered the MGG and I managed to get first tracks on my first three runs.

I got the green light to a powder morning.


They diligently clear the railing every morning, so this is a true measure of new snowfall.


I got first chair, ahead of the patrollers and behind only the liftie destined for the summit shack. You can sort of make out my tracks on the Flying Dutchman as I head up for run #2 on Wildcat.


The race coaches blow my mind. "Hey, kids, ignore all those people hooting, hollering and having a great time in the fresh snow, we are going to set up some gates!"


After skiing every run at the place, including Dipsy Doodle, I headed home at noon, stopping in town for lunch and to do a few errands. By that time the Saturday crowds had arrived and things were pretty tracked out. Like Harv says, skiing like a local.

Paying the price now, though. I did feel a little under the weather this morning but brushed it off in the powder frenzy. Posting from bed, sick as a dog.