 |
 SHASTA: Escaping the heat
As temperatures soared in California last week, it was clear we had to hit the Hotlum-Wintun ridge on 14,162-foot Mount Shasta.
It was game on when we left the Brewer Creek trailhead on the east side of the mountain at 7,200 feet and started hiking with heavily loaded packs. We broke out of the tree line at 8,000 feet to plainly see the entire route, in excess of a vertical mile, awaiting us. The skins went on at 8,500 feet, easing the strain on the back during the push to camp at 10,400 feet. There, we saw two other parties of two. All told, ten of us were on the route, which was a definite minority to dozens on the popular Avalanche Gulch route on the south face.
Sleep came and went before we put on the crampons and booted higher on the textured snow that firmed during the night. A beautiful sunrise and sprawling vistas served to distract us from our task. Before we knew it, it was time for our descent. The corn did have some corduroy type texture and the sun cups weren’t too bad. There was a runnel or two from 13,800 to 13,000 feet where the slope steepened and sun baked. Otherwise, the snow was surprisingly good and the 3,000 foot vertical descent back to camp was well worth the climb. When the skis finally came off, we had all logged descents in excess of 5,100 vertical feet. No better way to beat a heat wave in July. - Matt Tarka
 CAMP OF CHAMPIONS
 HOOD GOSSIP: The weekly round-up
Guest pros in town included Sammy Carlson and Kristi Leskinen. Charles and Vincent Gagnier were also around filming with Plehouse. K2 team rider Chris Benchetler just arrived for his first summer with Windells...CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY...
 HOODLYMS: Summer camp happenings
The arrival of over 30 ski and snowboard camps to Mt. Hood, Ore. marked the official start of summer skiing for 2006. Windells and Mt. Hood Summer Ski Camps are dominating the freestyle scene with their private parks and pro coaching staff…CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY
 KILLER DANA: Late turns off Tioga Pass
6/26 – Tioga Pass had been open exactly one week when we set out to ski Mount Dana on Saturday. Too bad that week was in late June—most everything off Tioga is done—but the Dana Couloir wasn't a bad way to cap off the season. We booted up a thousand feet of sun cups before hitting scree and after a couple grand of scrambling along a ridgeline we reached the 13,053 summit. We shared it with a couple hikers, but the frenzy of butterflies and spanning views of Mono Lake and Tuolumne Meadows more than made up for it. The monstrous sun cups and sketchy wet releases from the summit to the saddle were a far cry from conditions we found inside the couloir. The northeast facing chute, set far back in a canyon, is known as one of the classic ice climbs in the area. But we found a thin layer of corn atop a groomer-smooth firm base. Mammoth local Hans Ludwig claims we found the last remaining quality stash in the accessible eastern Sierra. A thousand feet later the skis were off and the fun was over. If you aren't ready for summer, down climbing loose scree in ski boots is just the trick. -Tess Weaver
 COLIN PUSKAS: Photos by Grant Gunderson
Word to the wise: When you’re lost in the woods without a compass or map and your gut tells you to go north and Colin Puskas tells you to go south, go south. This guy knows his way around mountains. The 26-year-old Calgary native has positioned himself in Banff, an idyllic base for a guy with a sled, a truck, and a desire to ski a new mountain range every month. Though he’s skied extensively in North and South America, Colin’s happiest at home in the Canadian Rockies. Fortunately for us (or we’d still be buskwalking to the car), we lured him to Central Oregon last month, for a late season ski in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Within a pitcher of Mirror Pond, Colin had successfully persuaded everyone at the table to move to the Big North. CLICK HERE FOR THE INTERVIEW
 JACKSON JUNE: The real last tram
Driving up to Teton Village a few days ago hoping to get some turns, I was struck by a realization that heretofore I’d had difficulty accepting: There’s actually not that much snow in June. Attempting to ski, it seemed, would be a pathetic and gratuitous attempt by some winter junkies (i.e. my brother and I) to fend off the inevitable arrival of the hot and stickies (i.e. that period between Memorial Day and Labor Day oft referred to as summer)...CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY
 TEAM CAMP: Groms invade Hood at 2nd Annual Salomon Freestyle Camp
Salomon teamed up with Windell's Camp to host the 2nd annual Salomon Freestyle Team Camp- the one time a year the entire team skis, chills, and torments the Salomon staff together. CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY...
 AK SYNDIKATE: Closing weekend at Alyeska
Alyeska Resort squeezed out one more weekend of their healthy '05-'06 season. On Saturday, June 3rd Simon Evans and I arrived at the tram at aleisurely 1:30pm. We missed the sunny skies in the morning as we were greeted with gray-bird, but we still couldn't complain--we were skiing lift served in June.
Despite thethe milky light, visibility was good and the skiing was smooth and forgiving. Due to the warm temps the change in snowpack was drastic compared to last week. The melt was actually creating new lines and features that weren't around last week--slivers of snow to straight line, bottleneck chokes, technical linking of snow patches, dirt patches and bushes to gap, and even the kickers and cat tracks made for some fun jumps. -Jason Scheben
Alyeska's Big Easy ski and snowboard camp is slated for early summer. Go to alyeskaresort.com for details and dates.
 MENDEL'S PRIZE: Garre, Poulsen, Parkhill ski Mount Mendel's Right Couloir
6/15 - Powder's Uber Guide in 2000 named Mount Mendel's right couloir one of America's ugliest faces. In 1980 Chris Landry was the first to ski the ice couloir, which in 1965 supposedly caused Yvon Chouinard to go home, redesign his ice axes, and change the future of ice climbing. Not until El Nino's 1998 record snowfall were tracks laid down the Mendel again, this time by America's father of steep skiing, Andrew McLean.
Two previous attempts at skiing the couloir had fired my drive to make turns down the 13,691-foot peak. After a five-hour drive and six-hour tour the previous week I was turned around by a late season Sierra storm. But I was able to see the shot and knew it was good to go. I couldn't wait to get back.
Last weekend I met Glen Poulsen and Andrew Parkhill at the North Lake trailhead to try again. Glen had to work on Sunday so he took off early, while Andrew and I packed in gear for the night. When we made it to the Lamarck col at 13,000 ft. we stared right at Mendel's prize. To the left is Mount Darwin, a great ski from 13,830 ft. (Landry and McLean which skied this as a warm up by). I was staring at Mendel when I noticed Glen's tracks in the shot I was aiming for. After congratulating Glen he was off to work, while Andrew and I set out to ski the Mendel.
We set up a quick camp, unloaded our heavy packs and headed up to the apron of the couloir. Warm temps made for easy skinning and we made it all the way to the base of the couloir. The bottom ice bulge was in good shape and we set off. The relentless pitch didn't let up, but good snow made for easy booting. Crampons and ice axes we all we needed.
Halfway up, the snow was in our faces and it looked to be getting steeper up higher. Not the longest shot but really steep and narrow, about 800 ft. in the couloir and another 1000ft. to camp.
The descent started about 15 ft. from the top. Things narrowed and the snow changed to ice. With enough room to set my 183 Gotomas across the couloir, I changed from crampons to skis and studied the line down--it was wide enough that turns had to be made in a sequence so as not to be facing right and having to turn right. Some precise turns up high and some slipping through the ice bulge and we were on the apron ripping bigger turns.
Down on the apron Andrew and I stared up at three sets of tracks. Glen, Andrew and I had done it. We were excited to be done with such an intense run, and we set up camp with a view of our ski. Glen was probably at the car by now and Andrew and I were hanging out with the marmots, ready to cap of a great weekend by skiing Darwin the next day. -Kip Garre
 MAN OF THE HOUR: Pics from the Marc-Andre benefit
Photos by Jon Kleinman
TGR hosted the Saturday benefit, which drew hundreds of supports to a Jackson Hole park to party for Marc-Andre Belliveau and raise money for his medical and rehabilitation costs. He hadn't planned to come to the party, but then surprised everyone by traveling about 10 hours from Quebec City – where he is undergoing rehab – to Wyoming for the event. The party raised more than $18,000 for Belliveau.
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
 AK SYNDIKATE: Memorial Weekend at Alyeska
5/27 - On Saturday May 27th Simon Evans and I slashed the never ending spring corn at Alyeska Ski Resort, located in Girdwood 30 miles south of Anchorage. Girdwood and the surrounding areas have been experiencing record breaking temperatures for this time of year and today was no exception.
The forecast predicted not a cloud in site. It was one of those perfect spring skiing days- t-shirt, lasting deep snowpack, smooth snow, and that flavor in the air only late season skiing can bring. It's refreshing to be skiing while most are in summer mode--no crowds, no powder panic, hero corn snow, mid-mountain barbequing, and drinking cold beers.
Alyeska, who's season snowfall total hit 710", is still boasting a healthy 145" at the summit. On Memorial day the skiing and conditions couldn't have been better. People were even catching the last chair at 5pm. The resort will be open next weekend, June 3rd and 4th. Check out alyeskaresort.com for updated conditions. - Jason Scheben
 SO STOKED! Hjorleifson & Hjertass ski Mt. Victoria
Here are a few photos from the decent Kevin Hjertass and I made on the North
East face on Mt. Victoria a couple day ago. Two beautiful days. Perfect snow
and weather conditions allowed us to climb and ski the 2000-foot face, with a
about 6000ft of gained elevation and a top elevation around 11000ft. I have
dreamed of this line for years. It was absolutely an indescribable
experience an is one of the greatest ski descents I have been able to
accomplish. SO STOKED! -Eric Hjorleifson
 NW SPRING: Medville, Ogden hit Rainier, Adams
LAURA OGDEN
 ALTA CLOSING DAY: Re Wikstrom captures the High Boy party
Photos by Re Wikstrom
 K2 BACK NINE AWARDS GALLERY
If anyone suspected that Mike Douglas, the godfather of freestyle skiing, was past his prime, think again. The 36-year-old Whistler native donned the winner’s gold jacket and took home the $20,000 first place check at the inaugural K2 Back 9 Mini-golf Invitational Awards Gala.
Once Jurassic 5 wrapped up their crowd-pleasing show outside in Whistler Plaza for the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Invitational, the much-anticipated Back 9 party was set to kick off at the Gariboldi Lift Company (GLC).
CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY!
 INDIA DISPATCH: Altitude, butterflies and spring corn
This message will be short and choppy—I've written and lost it three times so far. The keyboard is so dirty I can't see the keys and they're so sticky it's hard to type, but here goes...
16,400 feet, 1000 butterflies, four headaches, three Delhi Bellies (stomach bug) and two avalanches made for an adventurous three days of heli-skiing. But Alison Gannett put our minds at ease with her vast knowledge of the area and mountaineering and guiding expertise. Finding great spring snow with amazing backdrops (actual butterflies all the way up to 15,000 feet), it was easy to forget the pounding elevation headaches that I eventually adjusted to. A few accidental skier-triggered slabs kept us off of the steeper terrain but we ended up touring and skiing around 20,000 feet of unrivaled corn. I am truly humbled by the size and enormouty (is that a word) of these mountains. They could have easily eaten us up in avalanches or burned us up from overexposure, and they tried to do both. The Himalayas, meaning "world covered in snow" are truly majestic and powerful creatures in themselves. Attracting people by the thousands who travel for days enduring deadly road conditions (among other things) just to touch snow for the first time, these mountains are humbling. -Lynsey Dyer
CLICK HERE FOR LYNSEY'S LAST UPDATE
 DOWN DAYS IN AK: Hank de Vre shots from Points North
In Alaska, skiing is only a part of the experience. Often a small part. Here are a few shots POWDER photographer Hank de Vre' shot while waiting for the weather to break at Points North Heli Adventures (alaskaheliski.com) in Cordova, AK.
 AK SYNDIKATE: April Fools at Alyeska
After a couple weeks of high pressure and a melt/freeze corn cycle, Alyeska resort was hit with a nice late season storm on April 1st. Alyeska received approximately a foot of dense snow which couldn't have been better timing. With partly sunny skies and the majority of the mountain open, Simon Evans and I were able to find some big lines. Skiing was consistent and quality all day with the upper mountain staying soft and the lower mountain corning up by late afternoon. The Christmas Chute area and Chilkoot Ridge were stellar.
Alyeska is boasting a total snowfall this season of 588", and the upper mountain pack is still a healthy 158". It should be a solid spring season. The 29th annual Spring Carnival and famous Slush Cup is scheduled for April 21st-23rd. - Jason Scheben
alyeskaresort.com
thealtahouse.com
|
