PNW Part 2: Washington
003.24.05 - After three great days at Whistler/Blackcomb, Reichert, Bell, and I headed back into Washington searching for more powder. We decided on the nation's leading yearly snowfall getter, Mt. Baker, for phase 2 of our trip. Although Dave tried to warn us, nothing could have prepared JR and me for the Blackcomb to Baker culture shock. I realize no ski resort in the country could live up to skiing's Disneyworld, but Mt. Baker, even with its 600+ inches of snow per year, has more similarities to a desert than to North America's ski Mecca.
Being the 8th car in the lot at 9:45, we parked the Pinchot-mobile 30 feet from the ticket window and 15 feet from the safety-bar-lacking double chairlift. We decided to suit up in the lodge because no one else was using it. After reading the no-refund policy followed by the trail report warning half of their terrain wasn't open, we bought $30 tickets and boarded our first non-high-speed, less than 4 person chairlift of the trip.
It was quickly evident that Baker has a ton of sick terrain. The first views from the chair were of an enormous cliff band with hairball chutes snaking throughout. It was also obvious that the typical snow king of the country was in severe danger of losing its throne. With the lift servicing the best terrain closed, we were forced to interview snowboarder after snowboarder concerning where we should go. Luckily a transplanted Mets fan pointed us through a back country gate towards the best potential for the day. As the weather changed from rain to snow to fog, we stopped by the truck for shovels, probes, and beacons and hiked straight back through the BC gate to "10 Minute Trees" and beyond.
We ascended quickly through the mixed bag of precip to the top of a steeply pitched chute. We performed a quick avalanche cut test followed by surveillance of the area for filming purposes. After ripping the most pleasurable fresh turns of the day, I held up halfway down to shoot Bell and JR with the video camera. I captured some pretty sweet footage, even as my subjects smoothly battled the transition of powder to glue while approaching the valley floor. Finishing my run with a great feeling of accomplishment, I knew we had reached the full potential of the day. We slowly trudged back in bounds to the truck discussing our next destination; Olympia for a day off.
Some people forget that there is more to do on a ski trip than what can be accomplished with your boards on. Knowing we would be hiking Crystal the following day, we opted for sleeping in, a mellow hike, and a great meal. Bell took us into the Olympic National Park for a Washington style lesson in old forests. We wandered around the Skokomish Trail area checking out big trees and relaxing in clean air, free from the constraints of bindings and cliff bands. A stop at The Ranch House BBQ on the way home treated us to some of the best wings, ribs, chicken, and chili this country has to offer (as well as the most over-the-top, outrageously nice waitressing I have ever seen). Straight to bed this night with visions of the original focus of our entire trip: Crystal Mountain.
Like the Griswalds driving into a closed Wally World, we stormed through the parking lot of a closed Crystal Mountain. It was painfully obvious that they were in the middle of their worst winter on record. We met up with Crystal local/ski patroller/lone area inhabitant Alex Pinchot in the ski patrol room. He quickly set me up with his Gotamas (probably the first time in 10 years someone has adjusted bindings I would be skiing on besides myself) and we set out with all the back country gear we could carry, minus a lighter. Alex drove his snowmachine out of a grassy field and shuttled me, Bell, and Jr up the mountain to the base of the skin trail. 30 minutes later we emerged in Silver Basin surrounded by the epic peaks of Crystal Mtn.
Alex and Bell did the scouting and route finding while JR and I struggled to keep up on our snowshoes and skins. Upon reaching the top ridgeline, Mt. Rainier's silhouette emerged in the panorama of Crystal's backside. With low avalanche danger, we were free to attack our chosen lines and with multiple video cameras on hand, we set up for some nice filming opportunities. Alternating one by one, we arced huge GS turns down a long untouched pitch. Our crew lapped the bowl three times that afternoon, each one with different sunlight and visibility, each one lead by Pinchot's blistering hiking pace. Bell lagged behind with me on our zig zag skin path to show me the intricacies of how not to tear your ACL while doing kick turns with AT bindings. Our final run featured the worst visibility of the week as we descended through FFF, DMF, and 2500 vertical feet back to the deserted base lodge.
Dana Mock, Bell's girlfriend, hooked up a Stewart's Tri Tip steak and burning grill for our return home and we bragged of our day's adventures over dinner. Another night on the town, featuring varying degrees of Whiskey soaked drinks, concluded an outstanding trip. A huge First Chair thanks goes out to Dave Bell for hosting and guiding us, and Dana for hooking up the great food and catering to our phone calls from all over Washington and Canada requesting hotel and motel information. Thanks to Joe Quinn for letting us borrow avalanche gear. And a big thanks goes out to Alex Pinchot for giving us his truck for the week, touring us around Crystal, and letting me use his skis for the day. A great trip with great people; next time, I'll have to work on that "worst snowfall of all time" problem. Didn't stop us from getting fresh tracks everyday though!
(for more photos of our trip, please see 'On Camera' / Photos and scroll down)
~Brian Parmell
Termas de Chillan Chillan, Chile (August 21-23, 2005)
11.01.05 - It's day nine of a fourteen day excursion to Chile. Its our fifth ski day of a trip designed to accommodate six to seven ski days, and our second day skiing Termas de Chillan, a mountain about 300 miles south of Santiago, offering up approximately 2,300 in vertical and well over 30,000 acres of piste and off piste terrain. It's about 9:20 a.m., and I?m sitting on the El Huemul double, angry. No, El Huemul is not broken. Rather, it is moving as fast as the El Huemul travels. At this stage of the trip, being stranded on a lift was not the source of my anger...
02.26.06 - So, I give the Dominos guy 7 bucks on a 23 dollar bill and he looks at me like I'm the one who should be delivering pizzas in a snowstorm. Good thing me and Shmibda are unemployed or else we wouldnta caught the dump that gave way to bluebird solitude today at Mammoth Mountain, Cali. Sure their 12 foot base is the largest in the US and sure my Volkl Karma fatties had no problem pizza wheeling through the fresh half meter left over night, but what's wrong with a seven dollar tip?
The Phantom Menace: Crystal Ship
07.01.05 - Every once in awhile you stumble across a ski you didn't think existed. Gerlt and I were auditioning various websites for a potential First Chair storefront when a generously proportioned, Doors-themed ski jumped off the page at us. Neither of us had ever seen this ride before. Further investigation revealed a small ski company, Phantom, with one ski dedicated precisely to the conditions we worship: East Coast powder filled trees...
06.16.05 - Last year Line's catalogue looked like an army recruitment brochure. This year, it resembles a romp through the Playboy mansion; the Line reactor binding spread out on a pimped out velvet background. After 10 years in this business, Line has released their best skis yet. From 3 different Prophets to 2 different Chronics to a couple of women's skis, Line is putting it all on the table this winter...
Igneous Skis, "Don't call it a comeback..."
06.05.05 - When Igneous Skis closed its Jackson Hole doors and shut down operations in March of 2001, Adam Sherman (half owner) thought there was a small chance they'd be back. The company had lasted 5 years but couldn't make ends meet in a market dominated by enormous ski moguls like Atomic and Salomon. Igneous' niche, custom skis, allowed the consumer to choose between multiple options...
Insider's Guide to Tuckerman Ravine, Mt. Washington, NH
05.24.05 - Skiing Tuckerman Ravine is a ritualistic sacrifice for some of the best skiing exeriences imaginable. Mount Washington, the home of the ravine, boasts some of the world's worst weather. Extremely harsh, cold, and snowy winters pound the slopes of the 6000 foot New Hampshire resident every winter. Snow falls, builds, packs, slides, fills, and falls again throughout the season. When this weather cycle dies down in March, Tuckerman Ravine opens for business...
Salomon Releases 2005/2006 Skis
05.15.05 - Salomon has long been a leader in skiing equipment and the 2005/2006 gear continues to help set the standard. Salomon skis will feature 2 types of construction this upcoming winter. The Titanium Monocoque (for power and energy) is used in the Racing and All-Mountain categories while a Composite Monocoque (for lightness and maneuverability) is utilized in the Freestyle/Freeride series...
03.24.05 - After three great days at Whistler/Blackcomb, Reichert, Bell, and I headed back into Washington searching for more powder. We decided on the nation's leading yearly snowfall getter, Mt. Baker, for phase 2 of our trip. Although Dave tried to warn us, nothing could have prepared JR and me for the Blackcomb to Baker culture shock. I realize no ski resort in the country could live up to skiing's Disneyworld, but Mt. Baker, even with its 600+ inches of snow per year, has more similarities to a desert than to North America's ski Mecca.
03.16.05 - After 4 years of hearing about great skiing in the Pacific Northwest, I finally chose this season to visit Dave Bell and find out what exactly is going on with the often underestimated resorts of Washington state. I got the call from Bell about a week before JR and I were set to leave. "I think you should fly in somewhere else, we just don't have any snow..."
03.14.05 - Any mountain that has the word "kill" in it is good by me to begin with. Ski Plattekill in Roxbury, NY didn't exactly make me giddy thinking about their 1000' of vertical, two chairs (neither high-speed) and seeming lack of terrain, but I was enthusiastic about not having to sell my stereo for the lift ticket ($40) and I knew the mountain was owned by a husband and wife. There's a somewhat golden glow that radiates from your soul when you're not skiing on the Man's mountain...
10 Signs Jay Peak is Officially Blown Up
02.15.05 - Anyone who was at Jay last weekend noticed one thing was more abundant than the supposed 36" of snow that fell: people. An aggressive marketing scheme and a reputation as the East Coast Powder King has helped to attract skiers and riders from all over New England, Canada, and beyond. For those of us that have been skiing Jay for 5 + years, it is frustrating to see our mountain be taken over by intruders. How do I know Jay is too popular for its own good? Read on...
02.08.05 - This winter sucks, plain and simple. Nearly any Jay bird will have career low ski days this year. I can count my powder days on one hand and my face shots on one finger. December was descent up until the 30th; then the rains came. The east coast rang in 2005 with a month of boilerplate trails leading to injuries and fatalities. However bad it seems here, it's as bad or worse in other places...
01.25.05 - You can twiddle your thumbs, follow a sport you don't care about, take up knitting, or put your head underground and bang the topsoil like a drum, but when it's not snowing, you feel crazy, cheated, gypped, depressed, anxious and underwhelmed. Part of the magic of the skiing lifestyle is the anticipation of the BIG DUMP. Driving up north on a Thursday night in blizzard conditions is what keeps us young, vulnerable and appreciative. Skiing is nothing without the risks involved and the glory in overcoming the odds both inside and outside of ourselves to reach the mountain...
10 Things To Do At Jay This Year
01.15.05 - The lack of quality skiing this season has sent Jay regulars in search of alternative activities in the Northeast Kingdom. Some people may not know exactly which hot spots to hit, while others may just need a little encouragement. Here are a few ideas to keep the sanity levels in check while waiting for the next big dump.
01.09.05 - Jay is in bad shape. Really bad. The worst I have seen it in 5 years. The recent warming trend and rain events have basically ruined what looked like a promising year. If you are looking for a cruel joke, refer to the article I wrote 370 days ago (A.P.B. - Jay Needs Snow) to see the same thing happened last year, it just wasn't this bad. Last year also had help from the 200" of snow we got in December. Out of 30 people I know who ski Jay Peak regularly, not one went up there this weekend. Half of us found deeper snow on Berardi's roof Friday night than we would have in Beaver Pond. And despite partying on his Boston roof top past 2am, we were a lot safer compared to skiing Jay's glades.
12.04.04 - "Could it have really snowed 5' in Tahoe?" I pondered as I read an email from this tele-skier Chiquita I know. It was October 22nd. I had no reason to believe there was 5' of fresh goodness out west. It was still 65 degrees in Boston. It was October in the western hemisphere. Nope. No reason to believe. So I did what any ski-geek-bum does these days: I checked the Squaw web cam.
11.28.04 - With a packed parking lot and a cold spell in the air, big things were in store for our first day of the year. None so big as my willingness to leave after 3 turns. As I navigated my way down the only open trail, I quickly realized that every type of skier was strutting their early season style. Race teams practicing race drills, beginners practicing sucking, and everyone in everyone else's way was the recipe for ski day # 1 for JR and me.
Older Archives
11.19.04 - Let's Get This Season Started
09.29.04 - 5 Tips to Skiing Better This Season
09.18.04 - Summer Meditation
07.27.04 - Pics of the PNW
07.14.04 - Line's New Line: 2004/2005
07.06.04 - Yesterday
06.15.04 - Cathedral
05.13.04 - Tech Tip#2: Post-Season Tune-Up
05.01.04 - Atomic Releases 2004/2005 Skis
04.13.04 - First Chair
04.07.04 - K2 Releases 2004/2005 Skis
03.25.04 - Redemption
02.29.04 - Big Jay on Leap Day
FC Mag Goes Colorado Styles:
02.11.04 - Day 1: Vail
02.12.04 - Day 2: A-Basin
02.13.04 - Day 3: Breckenridge
02.17.04 - Days 4 and 5: Crested Butte
02.22.04 - Day 6: The Other Vail
01.27.04 - Part 2: Champagne on New Year's Eve,
Utah Style
01.20.04 - Freedom
01.12.04 - Part 1: Champagne On New Year's Eve,
Utah Style
01.05.04 - A.P.B. - Jay Needs Snow
12.28.03 - Big Jay
12.27.03 - 6th Chair, 1st Chair, 1st Tram...A Great Day
12.08.03 - Big Monday
12.07.03 - Anticipation
12.05.03 - Opening Day
11.22.03 - 10 Ideas to Kick the Pre-Season Blues
11.01.03 - Tech Tip #1: Pre-Season Tune-Up
10.04.03 - Tenney Mountain Opens – October 4th
09.01.03 - FC Magazine Launches Online Winter Home