River Season Redux

"There is great vigour in the waters that come down from the snows of the Misty Mountains"

-Gandalf

As the snowpack flowed forth from the various mountain ranges of the West, the Skier Boyz hung up their puffys and touring flannels as they descended into the towering canyons of the intermountain west's legendary river corridors. In their second season attempting to diversify their portfolios, the Boyz took a more or less educated stab at the activity commonly known as "river running", though perhaps it looked a bit more like drinking case after case of beer in the hot sun while sitting on boats of varying type, and most certainly, quality. As usual, a prestigious and oh-so-generous local Academy provided ample resources in this endeavor and we are, of course, eternally grateful. The Boyz were spread far and wide across these adventures this year, with some familiar faces making noteworthy, but brief appearances, and others quite deep in the mix. However, a number of new faces, many of them elegantly bearded or scantily clad, appeared amongst the crew this season. Some say they come from a mountainless and desolate place far to the East called Missery. Others suspect they are a rival ski gang attempting to infiltrate the mighty SB. Still others believe they have emerged from the seedy, ironic world of hipsterdom, and have forged a strange and unholy alliance with members of this beloved, and similarly elitist, ski organization......So goes the endlessly circulating rumor and increasingly mysterious lore of Skier Boyz.

Some exceptionally descriptive and accurate portrayals of these gentlemen appear below....

GJBT, aka "the Barnacle"

aka

"Gee-Jay is the Name, Crystalz is the Game, Boi"

Laser, aka "Junior",

aka "Geico Caveman"

aka "Bronze River God"

Bobby, aka "Drunk Bobby" aka

aka "Fuck You, and Your Organic Brautwurst"

Brett, aka"Rossetta Stone", aka "Bip" aka "Who is That Fucking Hipster?"

Some long overdue highlights from an amazing summer on the water....once again i must thank the Academy for making this all possible. Enjoy!

The Owyhee

Highlights:

Explaining punk rock to Paco, an amazing firelight rant from Drunk Bobby, Tilt malt liquor and burnt panckakes for breakfast, Laser's Big Top Wind Circus, an ill-fated mushroom hunt, and the debut of the Academy River Trailer.

Mascot:

Bobby's Duff Beer Hat

note bobby double-fisting his approxamately 13th and 14th beers

Lil' cutie pie just couldn't go the distance

forward recon mission of the Chancellor

Safe Sandy representz

Squintin' at them there rapids

Boats of varying size and quality

old prospector cabin at our campsite

The Colorado and Dolores

Highlights:

Some dear friends from Missouri, the Inescapable Eddy from Hell, The last voyage of Bip's veggie truck, an entire river rig loaded into the back of a Mazda hatchback, and an incredible shuttle through the La Sals back into CO (thanks to the Chancellor and the Academy)

Mascot:

Larry the Lobster

Cheers!

For those about to rock....

Heater gettin' biz on the oars

The Green A, Jones Hole Creek, and Fish N' Bikes

Highlights:

Ryan Van Buren, witnessing the explosive power of a full scale dam release at Flaming Gorge, Sonic Chili Fries, a Brittany Spears themed river log, slaying trout after trout after beautiful trout, Crane Fly Larva, closing down the Wells Club with Dody, playing dice in the hallway of Second Nature Uinta's headquarters, a taco'd bike wheel, squatting houses while we drink beer and wait for the rain to stop, and, most importantly, the introduction of Bud Light Lime.

Mascot;

"The MVP" (gee jay's mini-cooler)

flaming gorge dam at full throttle

Brittany Spears campsite

FISH ON!

Beautiful Jones Hole Brown+ Handsome Angler

The Hole

The MVP dont care, MVP doesn't give a shit!

La Nina left us too much snow, all the fishing water in the Uintas was blown out. Might as well take some pictures with our useless rods anyway right?

A love affair is born

The San-diest of Juans

Highlights:

An Unexpected Party, down and out in Mexican Hat, A dead body in the river, Deon's canoe, the Heady Shroud, the return of the Darkhorse (and subsequently a budding romance), a cowboy swingin' steaks, and the Rise of Bud Light Lime!

Mascot:

BLL!

The Barnacle in all his Glory!

Aye Aye Daddy Cat!

Captain Murtaugh

Highlights:

a long awaited visit from two champion bike tourers, a shaggy muppet name Geoff Demitz, Marcus Cline telling us the scariest waterfall iv'e ever seen in my life is Class 3, WATCHING A GOLDEN EAGLE TAKE OUT A GREBE IN FLIGHT!, and Alisha Waller sticking her arm elbow deep down the throat of said avian casualty.

Mascot:

it's a tie between the Grebe and Geoff

Sandbagger!

Dylan, determined to beat everyone in how much time his paddle spends in the water

El Beardo!

Get it Sheesh!

Till next season....

-Rossetta Stone

CAST the green mountain freeride send system

CAST. the Green Mountain Freeride Send System is making its way out to the Prototype Team.

The Skier Boyz and Green Mountain Freeride are first to test out Lars' New Binding.

http://www.facebook.com/messages/1160664303#!/media/set/?set=a.2741616057175.149292.1160664303&type=1

If this link works it will bring you to photos Lars has of most finished system.

A box of goods. Thanks to Lars.
I just wanted to let you guys see how the binding is looking these days.

This is the Base plate for the FKS race binding. Holes match to fit old screw holes in ski.

Lars makes this plate for many other bindings.

Remember we are the test team and we are making this work with something outside

the box.

My FKS toe on the G.M.F.S.S. slider plate.

At this point you have to be a tech guy to make things fit super smooth.

Once in full swing, parts will be set and ready out of the box like any other binding.

This is a plug rossignol race boot. A great way to test out the Send System and

get in shape for the winter tours.

Lars made up a jig that I have. We can use it to make any plug style boot toe AT ready.

Here it is ready to send. I'll let you know how the first turns go.

Thanks to Lars a legend in his own time.
"Peace, love, and deep powder."

-Flyin' Ryan

Crossman

Lar's New Bindings

Congrats & buena suerte! Psyched to make some turns with you in UT and AK.

ESPN Story

I'll be testing these binders in Utah in March. Expect a full report.

- U.K.

Oahu

Winter came early in Anchorage and we are on pace for record setting snowfall in November. Skiing has been terrific in town and in the mountains, but it has also been down-right cold. On Saturday morning, I had training at North Bivouac at 8 AM: -15°F. By that night, I would be swimming in a warm tropical ocean. It was time to recharge the batteries to take on the long winter.

Goodbye Turnagain Arm

We opted to forego the big city feel of Honolulu and Waikiki for the laid back atmosphere of the North Shore. Days were spent barefoot while laying out, swimming, or drinking over-sized / over boozed icy cocktails. Doors were left open at night and island breezes and crashing waves serenaded us to sleep. Country being the country, roosters gave us a 90 minute heads up of the impending dawn.

Mokuauia Island is about 300 yards from the beach at Malaekahana Bay. It's a straight-forward wade/swim once we avoided the Hawaiian Monk Seal that was sleeping on the beach. The island itself blocks most of the surf so getting out there is easy, but I was glad to have some reef shoes as the bottom is sharp and uneven.

Our Private Beach on Mokoauia Island

Barcode gave me the inside line on a nice rock to jump off of into Waimea Bay. It's a 20-25' launch into the warm blue ocean. After a few hours of swimming/jumping/napping it was time head into Hale'iwa for food and trinkets. On the walk out I noticed lots of chalk marks on the long black wall. This crag had dozens of routes right along the beach. The sand was softer than any crash pad. Most of the the routes seemed to 5.8 / 5.9, but there were definitely a few that were more difficult.

Sussing a Difficult Problem

It'd be worth it to bring some climbing shoes if you ever make it to Oahu. A harness and rope would also be a good idea for some of the longer routes, but there is plenty to keep you busy for a morning without ever getting more than 10' off the sand.

Topping Out on a Difficult Problem

Something More my Speed

Returning to the airport was difficult. Winter's icy grasp lay in wait just 5 hours away. But so did faceshots, northern lights, good friends, and down jackets. But that didn't stop me from praying that I'd get bumped.

-U.K.

Big Wind AK

The winds over the weekend were certainly a nuisance. They made for sensitive wind slabs with whomphing and shooting cracks. Fortunately we managed the terrain well. Since the weekend the winds have picked up dramatically with insane gusts recorded at local weather stations. The winds have finally died down, but I expect people to find an entire new level of wind hammered.

Thompson Pass recorded a wind gust of 152 mph on November 16th at 1:21 AM. This weather station is on the road (not a ridge) and is 26 miles out of Valdez at 2,800'.
DOT Data

Not to be outdone, the Site Summit weather station above Arctic Valley just north of Anchorage had some impressive gusts of their own. This station sits on a ridge/mini summit at 3,924'.

• November 15 2:53PM Wind Speed: 109 mph Max gust: 157 mph


• November 15 10:53 PM Wind Speed: 108 mph Max gust: 153 mph


• November 15 11:53 PM Wind Speed: 103 mph Max gust: 188 mph!!

Soon after the 11:53 PM reading the weather station ceased data transmission. Link

Other max gusts from around South Central Alaska:

• Independence Mine, 3,450', Hatcher Pass, Max gust of 41 mph on 11/16 at 4:00 PM


• Fresno Ridge, 3,440', Summit Lake Area, Max gust of 24 mph on 11/16 at 7:00 PM


• Seattle Ridge, 2,400', Turnagain Pass Area, Max gust of 57 on 11/16 at 6:00 PM

Data from CNFAIC.

Have fun out there!!

- U.K.

Cornbiscuit & Hatcher Pass: November 12 & 13

Clear skies and tales of stability and aggressive skiing dominated the week. As Friday approached, I grew restless. It was my turn to get after it. The pieces were all falling into place on Saturday morning: The Noodler was in, the avi forecast was encouraging, and there was snow aplenty. But it was not to be sender-fest; it was a weekend of tiptoeing through storms.

We headed south to Turnagain. The roads were snow covered and spirits were high as we parked at the Cornbiscuit trail head. It was a Class V skinner through the alders and forest, but who doesn't love a being slapped in the face for 60 minutes? We finally were through the worst of it and began to climb in earnest.

The Noodler on the Prowl

There was evidence of about 6 large glide avalanches. We opted to pull a move from my Utah bag of tricks: CTR (choose the ridge). As we climbed, the storm intensified: wind and plenty of snow available for transport. Today would not be the day for going after big objectives. New snow slabs were building and were extremely sensitive: whoomphs and cracking, but only on the new snow. We kept the angles low. The Noodler did pop out a small slab on a steep rollover whilst performing a ski cut. The low angle love was low density powder and definitely more fun than the sketchiness higher up.

Time to Back Off

There were big winds forecast for Sunday in the Turnagain area. The nice thing about Anchorage, is it's proximity to several different snow packs and weather patterns. Instead of South, we went North to Hatcher Pass. Unfortunately, it was more of the same. Wind with snow available for transport creating sensitive slabs. Sigh....

I didn't feel comfortable exposing the large group to questionable terrain. So we had an avalanche safety refresher day. Pits were dug and analyzed. Beacons were buried and located. Talk focused on looking for signs of instability, other quick tests that can be done on the skinner, picking pit locations, and so on.

Hatch Peak Getting Blasted

The instability this weekend seemed limited to recent wind loading. There weren't any problems in the meat of the snow pack. So hopefully the wind slabs heal quick. And in other good news, there is more snow at Hatcher right now then at any point last year.

Alpenglow and the Pinnacle

I didn't get the big line I was hoping for, but it was a super productive weekend and I will never complain about spending the day outdoors with fun people.

- Martha Macy Mae Marlene