Tales from the Hinterland: 2018/2019 edition

Cunningstunts wrote

That's LOW tide.  Jeebus.  That's full-on best it gets for me.

Occaisionally we get a King Tide in November. This is four years ago, to the date.


It was knee deep, two feet minimum.  

tjf1967 wrote

I'm in love with the chair.  Great report from the hinterlands.

Thanks tj, we keep trying. The notoriety of the chair is quite remarkable.

All is ok in the world.
The chair lives.
It's official!!!

Niiice!

Pulled out the the really fat rockered boards today:

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Pulled out the the really fat rockered boards today:

Those are the waxless backcountry version, really cool.

PeeTex wrote

Those are the waxless backcountry version, really cool.

Yes, good thing too, as that sinew wax is really hard to find these days. If anyone cares, the slowshoes are a 1952 "pickerel nose" style made by Snocraft Inc. in Norway, Maine. Mine have "U.S." stamped on them, which confirms they were military issue. According to the Internet, they were made for use in the Korean War. The two pairs I obtained came through a surplus jobber who bought the contents of a container that was discovered on a base in Nevada. They were like new when I got them 20 years ago, though the leather bindings had deteriorated to the point of being unusable.

On that local note, I spotted Captain Funkatelic the other day. Once again he's out roaming the woods...

Jeff LeChef wrote

Yes!

There have been yetis seen in the woods lately.

Second time’s a charm, here goes:

The chair does not lie, but then again the chair does not tell the whole story. This picture is from two days ago and not much has changed, other than the fiery orb appearing in the heavens and the normally grey sky turning a rare colour of blue. The snow has been rained on, refrozen, rained again and refrozen again. As a result it has the consistency of stale sponge toffee and is less than desirable for skiing. I mean, you could ski on it if you had to, but who really has to?



In light of that, on Saturday I teamed up with notable locals Karl Ullr and Jeff LeChef  and attended the 35th annual Ski Telemark Warm-Up Day at Mount St. Louis Moonstone Ski Resort in central Hinterlandia. I even waxed my namesake skis for the occasion:



MSLM could be considered the Killington of Ontario, if snowmaking firepower is the main criteria for judgment. Let’s just leave vertical drop out of the discussion.



Ski Telemark is a mobile ski school created in the 80s by my friends Holly and Steve. After taking a tele clinic at MRG from NATO guru Dickie Hall, they decided to spread the gospel of telemark here in Hinterlandia. Amazingly, they continue to do so to this day. The Warm-Up Day is a fun event designed to get telemarkers fired up for the season ahead, combining clinics, tele-fellowship, dinner, entertainment and great door prizes all in one day. I can’t claim to have attended all of them but I do have a few under my belt. For this celebration, I wore the instructor jacket I am seen sporting in this 80s-vintage image, from the day we demonstrated telemark technique on an artificial snow ramp in downtown Toronto (that’s me on the left).



Of course, my 80s-level instructor skills have all but evaporated in the era of plastic and buckles, so I signed up for a clinic focused on “Finding your centre” with Rob and Garry. Rob and I go way back, in fact he failed me on my first attempt at becoming a certified telemark instructor 30+ years ago. Not holding any grudges, I signed up for his class because I know he is an exceptionally talented skier and technical instructor.



It was great day, with excellent early season snow conditions and well over 30 telemarkers in one place. Once skiing was finished, we relaxed, had refreshments, watched “A Telemark Tale,” ate a good dinner and everybody won some kind kind of swag.



What a fine way to start the season!

Looks like some fine Tele fun, my brethren.

Trying to decide how and when I might spend my very few lift-served days.  Hopefully I can remember how to use my edges

Cunningstunts wrote

Trying to decide how and when I might spend my very few lift-served days.  Hopefully I can remember how to use my edges

Pick your days well. Go when conditions are forgiving and ski with other telemarkers if you can. Stoke is contagious.

The chair is the snowlovers equivalent of a girl in a bikini. It doesn't really matter that much if her hair is wet.

I had also heard that Killington is the MSLM of Vermont.

Dickie Hall is my hero. Is he a good guy or just a legend?

Sick Bird Rider wrote

This is awesome.

That’s some quality stuff right there SBR!

Nicely done Sir.

Nice, SBR!! You gotta dig the Tele Love!!

Wait till you see the chair. This is from my driveway a few minutes ago. Still snowing. Reboot the mission.

Here ya go. What a difference a day makes, not to mention a little lake effect:

Jeff LeChef wrote

On that local note, I spotted Captain Funkatelic the other day. Once again he's out roaming the woods...

Just now getting caught up on my dose of the chair

This right here is continued proof I want to party with you guys!

campgottagopee wrote

This right here is continued proof I want to party with you guys!

Yo, Campy, when you coming night skiing with us?