Mark Renson
New member
Once more, I was roaring out of the gate (Exit 26) onto I-495 with high beams on my putt-putt pick-up at 3:30AM. I didn't expect much for the weekend given the foul forecast. Over the Kanc and through Bear Notch to Pinkham I went with no real sign of the forecasted crappy weather. I put on my pack and trudged upward. After the prominent flat bridge across the Cutler River (the one before the Huntington Ravine Fire Road), I started to see patches of snow in the <BR>woods. <BR> After getting settled at Hermit Lake, I headed up to the Bowl. Once there, I listened to a bagpipe played by some guy dressed in a tartan <BR>kilt fill the Bowl with an eerie dirge. To me this was signifying the end of the season, the last minute of a wonderfully exhausting 15 round heavyweight bout. I manned the rocks for a little while before getting the opportunity to head up. The crowd in the Bowl was surprisingly sparse given the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The forecast had scared people. Instead, our weather was fantastic. I trudged up to the top of the bottom half of the Sluice. The top half <BR>has melted out. Right Gully is half gone and Hillman's is 1/2 gone. The Bowl is open beneath the rocks and Left Gully is a long bump run <BR>barely connected to the Bowl at the bottom. My 1st run down Sluice was fantastic. Despite the warmer temps, snow was firmer than the prior week - apparently, we are getting down to the firn, the bedrock of the snowpack. Nice rotten corn on a firm base. I did kick off some minor sloughs - nothing like the prior week - which was like revisiting an old friend .... that wondrous Presidential spring snow. <BR> Afterwards, I napped by the Lunch Rock Rescue Cache. I'm not sure how long I napped - it was a mystery. When I awoke, I staggered about <BR>in my boots and then ran into Jonathon Shefftz. So, he and I along with Patroller Jim and Justin geared up for the same ascent. Oh well, another good run was had just like the prior one, except <BR>that we started from a higher point and wound up traversing the steeps - just another way to hone some steep skiing skills. Jonathon departed and Jim & Justin went for Left Gully, while I rested a bit. <BR> Later, Patroller Sheila and Roger twisted my arm for 1 more run. <BR> After skiing, we all assembled on the HoJo's porch for our annual dinner which inculded honored guests such as Rennie the retired USFS <BR>Ranger and some family. Under the clear skies and towering crags of the Boot Spur over downtown Hermit Lake NH, we gorged on extra spaghetti and chocolate pie. This was extra special as this was Head Snow Ranger Brad's last weekend. He and Tuckerman his dawg retire next week. The Patrol gave him a special gift and a high ranking <BR>official from the Eastern Division of the National Ski Patrol presented him with a special honor which has almost never been given to anyone outside of the National Ski Patrol. Brad is an exception, however, as during his 40+ years of service to the Bowl he has made an enormous contribution and had a huge presence to the sport of skiing in this Temple of Eastern Skiing. <BR> Sunday, I awoke to the pattering of rain on our shelter at 6:30AM. Then it halted. I stopped outside at about 8:00AM or so and observed <BR>the high grey clouds and someone off in the distance in the Bowl climb for a morning run. Perhaps the weather will hold up, I thought. That <BR>was not to be as after I geared up, the rains fell. Nonetheless, we all expressed thanx that the Mountain Gawds gave us a great day <BR>(yesterday) that was unforecasted. I trudged up into the Bowl to retreive gear from the Connection Cache. Some hardy Tucks faithful <BR>went into the Bowl for a run and my hat went off to them for their love of sport. <BR> So, I trudged down in the rain with my backbreaking load of gear. I'm tickled about next season already and look forward to strengthening skills in time for refresher on the first Saturday of March.