The Stoked Thread

Thanks, Ashley. Skins and snowshoes are definitely the way to go.

That was the bottom and I had to get to work back in Burlington. This is what we hiked for.

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Adam, I'm concerned with how powder hungry you are. You're slowly becoming a connoisseur of East Coast pow.

STOKED! Heading home tonight. Good news to share but I'll wait...

:-)
 
gnarly bro, looks like the goods were alot better up @ Stowe!

the vid of you guys blowing past that 3pack hiking up is unreal, so damn funny hahaha.

steve and I peaced out of Pico after 2 runs, it was SOOOO blown. I've never seen that much snow cemented that quickly. Thankfully we ran over to the big K and found the goods.
 
Someone somewhere on the east coast is going to be fucking obliterated on Monday into Tuesday. The question is, who?

Storm tracks are bouncing EVERYWHERE on the models.
 
Did yoyo laps through the BC all day with a good friend, and it was great skiing. Soft and creamy, and way better then inbounds. Sun was out, snow was stable, and life is good.
 
I just got off all my meds for my knee on thursday, so last night we celebrated by getting tanked and going galactic bowling, it was sick! After that was a VIP showing of Flash Gordon (best movie EVER) with free pizza at 1:00

Then got back to the GF's house at 3:30 only to be locked out for a while...some pounding on windows gained admittance from a hostile roomate. This morning we went out for gigantic breakfast burritos at a super nice place downtown, then watched Borat and rounded out the best 24 hours I have had in quite some time. I have made some significant changes to my life the last few weeks, and the past week has verified 100% that I have made the right decisions.
 
^ Sick! Love the yeah b! at the end. It makes me think of Half Baked.

Jay was sick today. If any of you live on the east coast and don't come up here this season, I will be personally offended. Then, I will post videos of the backcountry we're doing tomorrow and you will feel sad. No one wants that.

Jay needs more groomers from Adam Newhard on Vimeo.
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^Adam, you know I'd take the offer but I ski for free at K, live 25 minutes away and work most days.

Maybe I can sneak up sometime to sample the goods up there!
 
1 - The groomers I rode at Loon today were SO much better

2 - Great choice to mix it to

3 - We are supposed to go see Ed's new nephew next weekend but I think we're going to have to cancel that

4 - Fuck, I love Jay
 
Just rocked out the tax return.

Haven't done the state taxes yet, but with me returning to school, and a high taxing performance bonus based job earlier in the year, me and the wife are due a $4,991 return.

Ohhhhhhh yeah.
 
That's pretty cool Patty, That seal would get tons of hits on FB if either TV host were to mentioned it on their show.

But come on,.... I would think the ladies would prefer Stewart over Colbert
 
through some discussion with the gf I have managed to be doing my trip out west solo, which means way more flexiblity, chance to ride with a bunch of buddies and hit up better stuff. Not that I don't want to spend time with the gf...this is just the way I prefer to do my travels
 
So I have this coming weekend off from work. STOKE!

But also, my boss came up to me to say, "Did you see the schedule? I hope you saw that I have to have both Rachel and Nate come in on Thursday (that's my solo day). I need two people to cover what you can accomplish. You're a great server Ashley, I'm glad we mended our issues. I'm proud to have you as part of my staff. Enjoy your weekend."

 
so, last night i dropped my iPhone in a gas station parking lot after missing my pocket, shattering the screen on the pavement. not just a few cracks, the whole screen was a spiderweb. totally sucked. i couldn't figure out how to get a hold of Lele, so she was freaking out and worried i was pulling the plug on our trip (not the case, i stoked!), i couldn't get track down my dealer to pick up a half O for the trip... it was rough. well, i went into the Apple store this morning and had to set up an appointment to get a new iPhone and have it set up for 5:40pm and was told the replacement fee was $300. fuck me in the ass. whatever, you gotta do what you gotta do.
i go back for my "appointment" and this pretty rad guy helps me out. we get to talking while he's setting my stuff up and i got a few accessories to go with my phone. just as i'm getting ready to hand over $300 he says, "dude, you're a chill guy and i'm glad you're stoked on Apple. no charge on the phone." mofo saved me $300. i could have asked him to marry me. here i'm freaking out trying to figure out how to pay for this phone AND afford my trip to Tahoe (which i leave for in about 7 hours) and this guy made my fuckin day. STOKED!!
 
that is pretty fucking awesome. My gf has a half smashed screen on her iPhone right now. Unfortunately it's the first gen one up here in Canada and as a result Apple can't help her at all.
 
Stoked on rounding out a long weekend in VT with the GF.

Cross country around the Cabins at Stowe just off 100.(where we stayed) Ben and Jerry's on friday

Bolton valley saturday and the magic hat brewery to pick up 6 growlers.(mmmmmmm I love my magic hat) single chair/hefeweiz/#9/roxy rowles/honey ale/poppy agave pilsner

Burlington sat. night for a martin sexton show @ higher ground.

Just over 7 hours burlington back to southeast PA sunday.

Nice relaxing weekend with the lady.

It was a bitch staying 20 mins south of stowe just after 16 inches or so and not going anywhere near it.........but I'll be back for sure.

Oh and old ass yota 4runner made it no problem, tapping like a champ and spittin antifreeze.

 
I hiked the pipe all day yesterday and learned a number of new pipe tricks. Finally got sw 5s at the end of the day which were way easier than I expected because you can spot the landing all the way thorough the rotation.

And the goggle tan is getting better.
 
Stoked on just enough snow to ski the backyard.

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That last one is my two friends who were over drinking and sledding with us. Around 10 we got drunk enough that we thought skiing the backyard would be a great idea. It was really, we had a blast. It was both these guys first time on skis this year and the blonde kids first time ever, he kept bitching about how he couldn't get in and out of the ski. I then explained to him what line reactors are :)
 
Yota and the Cabin At Stowe (actually located about 20 mins south of stowe)

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Rachel cross country skiing around our cabins off rt. 100. She loves this shit, personally I think it's a little too slow but it's still fun in the snow. (josh's #1 rule of photography: Get the camera case in every shot possible)

Bolton Valley

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"It's hard to ski when the snow is actually deep." "Welcome to powder dear, you'll learn to love it or there's the door"

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From this picture it almost looks like we went down that black diamond behind rachel. No such luck. She did really well though, went down her first blue square glade and had a hell of a time with all that deep snow.

I gotta stop going ahead of her though, i had to watch her eat shit on the last run of the day. She lost a ski and some snowboarder picked it up and brought it down to her. I thanked him as he passed and it was very obvious I was waiting there for her. All in all great weekend.
 
Looks like a real good weekend.

I do find enjoyment in XC skiing, but I always find myself looking at mini-golf lines to ski on some burly skis when I am out XC skiing. I really should get some skins and barons lol.
 
Same here, I got pow skis just waiting for some type of touring binding and ski. I almost pulled the trigger on some markers, but I don't know if I trust em and they look pretty beefy. I should though, I don't wanna go a whole season without riding these big ass k2s.

PS I'm for sure coming up to see you, and that greyarea fella. Don't know exactly when but it's gonna happen.
 
Holy crap I just found this looking for a pic of full tilt boots.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbsteers/98173414/

Great Race by dbsteers.

It was a damn long way to run in ski boots...

The Victoria Day long weekend used to be a really big deal in Whistler. It marked the end of skiing for the year. Once upon a time the ski season used to go out with a great big bang. There was the Mogul Bash, the party at UBC club cabin, the semi X rated party down at the Christiana, the neighborhood party in White Gold, and of course the Great Race.

The Great Snow, Earth, Water race grew from modest beginnings into a monster. It eventually got so big that nobody was willing to try and stage it. It became a victim of its own success.

It began in 1975 with a fairly simple concept. Hold a race that begins at the top of Whistler and ends in the valley. Thrown in some other sports. Have some fun. The rules evolved as the years passed.

. The first year the race was run down the Creekside. Competitors started at the top on skis, then had to get to the valley any way they chose. Some chose to ski as far as they could and then run, walk, and sometimes crawl down to the valley floor.

Others chose to ride the gondola down, a plan which involved much less effort but which fell apart when a liftie at the bottom forgot to wait for the return carriage and de-railed a car. Competitors stranded on the stopped cable could only watch in frustration as all those who chose to run got to the bottom first.

Nancy Greene had a 4x4 waiting for her at mid-station. There were a few trial bikes. There was one hang-glider but mountain management nixed that plan.

When the skiers/runners/riders got to the bottom they handed offf to a team member on a bike. The bike rider passed off to a canoe team. The canoe team eventually passed off to a runner.

The first year proved the race was a hit and was probably one of the few races that was as fun to watch as it was to compete in. As it grew in popularity it inevitably grew in complexity and the rule book got longer.

The start became a Le Mans start. Those in the skiing leg had to place their ski equipment up around tower 18, back away from it some 100 yards, then, when the starting gun went, run like hell for their gear. Running full tilt in ski boots isn't the easiest thing in the world to do and the older bindings weren't always easy to fasten. The start was often side-splittingly funny.

It was decreed that skiers had to get off the hill under their own power. No more trucks, bikes, or lifts. Not only that, they had to arrive at the bottom with all their ski gear. Canny competitors screwed drawer handles to the shovels of their skis to make them easier to drag. Hours were spent debating whether it would be faster to carry hiking boots and change into them at the snowline, or just go like hell for the bottom in ski boots.

The skiing leg was fairly easy when the snowline was relatively low; it was hell when a warm spring chased the snow up past midstation. Those years the skiers would often arrive at the bottom covered with mud, bleeding from scrapes on knees and hands, absolutely exhausted.

After the town center was poured race organizers decided to run the course down the north side of the mountain. The north side has a much gentler grade than the Creekside which was both good and bad for competitors. The gentler slope angle meant falling ass-over-teakettle was less likely, but it also meant the run was longer. Much, much longer.

By the time the move was made to the north side the course was pretty well set. The skiers skied off the hill and passed off to a bike rider. The bike rider would ride around the West Side road and pass the baton (actually a bottle opener) to the canoe team at Wayside Park. The canoers would paddle up Alta Lake, through the River of Golden Dreams, then up Green Lake. The canoe team would meet a runner who would then run back to the village.

The bike stage was fairly hard to watch so most people the skiers come off the mountain and then headed straight for the River of Golden Dreams. The best action always happened on the river.

The canoe teams were widely distinguished by abilities. Some of the ringer teams had, especially in later years, world class paddlers. Most of the teams had members who could tell the front of a canoe from the back. A few teams didn't even have that.

The River of Golden Dreams is not the Mississippi. Stuff over a hundred canoes into it and the results are predictable. And usually hilarious.

The ringer teams knew their skier had to get down near the front. They knew their biker had to finish in the top ten. That's because if their canoe team, even if it was comprised of Olympic gold medalists, hit the river after even a dozen teams had gotten into it, their efforts were probably all for naught.

The River of Golden Dreams is cold in May. Many, many Great Race competitors found this out the hard way. Between the sweepers, bridges whose overheads would vary with water levels, and other canoes, it often seemed like half the canoes that went into the river went into the river.

Noisy, excited, beer-guzzling spectators lined the length of the river. Almost all carried cameras. Those brave spectators were a boisterous group, they expected a good show, and they always got it. There are hundreds of ways to tip a canoe. Canoers would misjudge a corner and run the bow into the shore. With the bow stuck the stern would swing across the stream. The following canoes would ram it. Most or sometimes all of the teams would end up in the water. Camera shutters clicked madly.

After the last canoe had gone by everyone would jump back on their bikes or into their cars and hurry back to the town center to find out which team would win. The neat thing about the race was that the various legs took so long that it was possible to watch the skiers come off the mountain, then go get some beer and watch the canoes run the river, then head to the finish to cheer on the winners.

As the years passed the race got bigger and more serious. There were more ringer teams. It was beginning to resemble (to a lesser degree) adventure races of the present day like the Ego Challenge. Towards the end a cross country leg had to be added to separate the skiers The year before the cross country leg was added a lot of the skiers who went into the first corner didn't come out of it. It looked like one of those crashes in the Tour de France bike race where one guy goes down, ten crash into him, then ten more crash into each of those ten, and so on and so forth. People and ski equipment splattered all over the hill.

Eventually the race got so big it was taking almost as many marshals as there were competitors to run the thing. Since each team was comprised of five members, and there could be over two hundred teams, it obviously required a lot of volunteers. And a lot of organizing.

It became too much. A couple of years ago no one could be found to run the race. All the likely candidates, the people who knew the race also knew how much work it was, and they all bowed out.

It might be possible to resurrect it. It was a great race. It would probably take four to six months to organize and require an overhead team in place no later than the middle of next January. Any volunteers?
 
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