Brothers in Backcountry Day 2

After considering the crowd situation in the High Peaks Region Scott, Anthony, Adrienne, and myself decided that we should avoid that area and head over to St. Regis. The four of us found lots of snow, open tree lines, and a little added extra adventure.

After skiing a few great laps in great terrain with unbelievable snow, we skinned back up so we can check out another area on our way down to the car. Unfortunately this "other area" ended up leading us down to a miserable swamp, which was an unknown distance, in an unknown direction, from the car. The only sure bet was to follow our tracks all the way back up so we could go back down the trail we first skinned up.

The ski back to the top was a lot quicker than I thought it would be, and I really didn't mind getting to ski another lap in that awesome terrain. I think this ski ended up being a bit longer than Scott and Anthony had intended, but we are all a little stronger and wiser today because of it. Winter seems to be taking a bit of a break right now, but March is still yet to come.

Almost Forgot: An Unforgetable Overnight

On Thursday Margaret was kind enough to accompany me to visit my friend Nate at his house on Lake Colden. Now this is a different kind of visit because you have to ski 7 miles to Nate's house. We packed heavy packs and enjoyed a good meal in one of the most remote cabins around. The first few steps were tough ones with heavy packs, but we got the hang of it. After our night in the cabin Margaret and I skied up to Lake Arnold, and back out in time for dinner. It was a really special experience being that comfortable in the wilderness. I hope Nate likes company because I will be back to visit soon.

Sharing

It happens so seldom that you get to share a great day at your local spot with someone from far away. Usually when someone comes to visit the water is just a bit too low, the trail a little bit muddy, and the snow just not quite deep enough. Today I got to share my local ski spot with my brother and Anthony. The weather was perfect, the snow was awesome, and we were able to find plenty of fresh tracks. Tommorrow, we're heading over to do a little bit longer tour. It ought to be intersting.

Super Sunday Funday

While the Patriots and the Giants were preparing to play in the Superbowl this Sunday, there was another, equally arduous athletic event taking place in the High Peaks Wilderness Area. Four and a half courageous adventurers set out to ski Mount Marcy. The Frazers (Bill, Mel, and Aspen), Brian (Bagel) Hartman, and myself were looking forward to a casual trail ski up New York's tallest peak. The score of the skiing Superbowl ended in a tie. Mount Marcy 1, Skiers 1.


















































Although the skiers were able to make it to the snowy summit, and back in one piece, the mountain managed to teach us a little something about humility. After making it to the summit, we skied down a little too far and completely in the wrong direction. Not knowing it we continued to head in the wrong direction for the next haf an hour. Eventually we figured out that the trail was behind us and uphill quite a ways. We eventually found our way back to the trail around 4:30. Any member of our group that says they didn't have frightening visions of us spending a night out in the woods unprepared would be lying.








"Anyone see a trail around here?"




















"Aspen knew the way the whole time"






We made it back to our friend Al's house before half-time and enjoyed stuffing ourselves with super bowl type food while watching the Giants win a spectacular victory over the Patriots. It would have been a real bummer to have missed that. Special thanks to Aspen for pulling us all on the trail, and to Bagel for suffering through it all without even a whimper (well, at least none that anyone could hear).