Mark Renson
New member
Skies were bright, but cold downdrafts slapped us. Up at Hermit Lake, the avalanche danger was rated as low for Hillman's Highway and moderate for the Bowl. The message that we were to send to the public was that the Left Gully had the most stable (borderline low-to-moderate) snowpack. We were also ordered to put on beacons and carry avie gear. Roger The Eastern Avalanche Guru and I had a short bull session about snow science and he finished off the conversation with a revelation that he had skied The Lip in February in thigh deep untracked on a very stable settled snowpack - the rewards of mastering avalanche studies ! <BR> What was most noteworthy was the fact that there was a substantial gain in the snowpack due to the prior weeks snows and cold weather! There were new snowbanks around Hermit Lake many crevasses were covered over (a dangerous thing) and many of the great ski runs had a healthier look. The Chute which was almost toast the prior weekend had been windloaded and made robust with snow coverage. <BR> There was some scouring which meant that some grey crusty snow was exposed amongst the bright white windpacked snow. I was skeptical at first and held off from skiing, waiting to see if the crusty hardpack would soften. I was disappointed when some friends took off to Left Gully and I stood by the Lunch Rocks. I then blacked out and when I regained conciousness, I was involuntarily climbing up the right side of the Bowl with ski gear ! Funny how these things happen! The skiing was actually much better than I had anticipated with edgeable crust and interesting windpacked fresh snow that was manageable and did not trip you. I was fortunate to make a number of turns during the day. <BR> Watching was almost as fun as actually skiing. Just like last week, I was blown away by the telemark skiers - the show they were putting on topped any alpine skier or snowboarder as they were doing the rowdiest, most elegant, sexiest lines catching bigger air, making grander high speed turns and doing the tightest lines all on the diciest terrain. <BR> The free-heelers were also getting the biggest cheers from the estimated 1,200-1,500 folks there. Normally, a loud cheer will erupt from the spectators when someone gets their arse handed to them as they tumble helplessly into a heap at the bowl's bottom. With the Bowl acoustics, one gets the same feeling that was in the Roman Colusseum when a Christian got chowed down by a lion. But on Saturday, chanting and cheering would start when a telemarker would make some smooth powder turns above the granite outcroppings on the Headwall and rise into an encouraging extended roar as the pinhead unloaded through the intricate lines of the crux and unload into the The Bowl ! <BR> The Ravine had a wonderful glow to it with the bright new snow and a festive atmosphere that was the best I had seen in a long while. <BR> This morning, snow started to fall. I manned the Lunch Rocks and did some informational outreach to the public. Snow surface was crusty and snow fell hard. At most there were 25 people in the Bowl and skiing was tricky. It was cold and Winter was back in high gear - could we be having a repeat of May 1997? <BR> At the end of the day, the hike back down to Pinkham Notch was very beautiful with the dearth of people and the brisk snowfall. It seemed more like November 28 rather than April 28th. <BR> Snowfall made for a treacherous ride home through Ossipee on Route 16. As I drove sideways just like I had all Winter, I murmured under my breath "Is this sh*t ever gonna' end" .... I hope not. <BR> <BR> TUCKS LIVES !!!!