NHpowderhound
New member
Oh boy, what a day!I had an opportunity to sneak in a Swissbob run down the Sherburne today before I had some responsibilities to attend to this afternoon. <BR> <BR>I show up at my best friends(NHcouchpotato)house this morning to find he has forgotten to set his clock ahead and he's running late,no big deal.We get on the road and swing into ragged Mountain Sports so I can buy some new boot laces.I bring in the old laces and the guy behind the counter pulls out a 3' tape measure to see how long they are.Now I am not a math scholar,however I can add 36+24=60 without much problem.Not so for Brainiac behind the counter.After much brow wrinkling and head scratching comes up with a confident"84 inches".Yea kid, my laces are 7 feet long,I hike in boots that go up to thigh.I think he used to work at Dairy Queen but has taken up rock climbing and retail. <BR> <BR>Anyhow,we get to PNC and get the last parking spot in the main lot and conditions look terriffic.Nice and firm(firm=fast),bluebird sky with temps rising,full cover on the hiking and ski trail and a nice size audience for our dazzling sliding abilities. <BR> <BR>Now since I still have stuff to do later,a trip into the bowl isnt going to happen.We made decent time up to Ho Jo's.Lots of people on the deck.The smiles were contageous.Tuckerman and Cutler(the avy rescue dogs)were enjoying the crowd.I watched two pairs of ice climbers going up the crux of Dodges Drop.Now that run is definately no fall territory. <BR> <BR>The Little Headwall which blew out from torrential rain earlier in march has filled in again.Just amazing.There is still a good 3-4' snowpack above 3000' with maybey6"-2' below.The ski trail only had 2 bare spots,they were all the way down and it was only a small section between the bumps. <BR> <BR>We started our run and conditions were perfect!The top section of the ski trail,which is fairly flat, was firm enough that we could easily slide it without having to get up and walk the flats but it wasnt ice,just a little firm. Of course as we get lower on the trail things got a little softer but it wasnt mush,it was that world famous Mount Washington spring corn!The stuff heros and ledgends are made of. <BR> <BR>We slid down to the second to last pullout and I decided that today was a day to be irresponsible and made the choice to climb back up and do it again!To heck with my structured day! <BR> <BR>Much of the same for the second round of up and down.We headed over to the Tuckermans Pub at Wildcat for some grub and suds afterwards.I drop off NHcouchpotato and check my messages from his house to find that MY mother has my son,who is supposed to be with HIS mother,and everyone is looking for me in a panic.My mom is ready to call the state police and tell them I am a missing climber.I am in my thirtes,live on my own,and am a single parent.I was only 2 hours late andit was only 3pm..Talk about an overreaction.But you know what,I would do it again,no regrets.I'm not selfish or irresponsible but today I was.Today was for me and I loved every second of it.