Helping to keep Climbers, Skiers and Hikers Safer on Mt. Washington, NH, USA
Chris Josen of the US Forest Service is one of a small group of avalanche forecasters and safety personnel on Mount Washington’s east side, where Tuckerman’s Ravine sees thousands of backcountry skiers per season. Not all come well equipped or knowledgeable about how to safely travel in the winter snow-scape. Learn more about what Chris does on Mt. Washington, the highs and lows, and what motivates him.
Archive for the ‘Climb/Ski/Mntneering’ Category
Snow Safety on Mt. Washington
04/02/2012Decision Making in Avalanche Terrain
01/12/2011By American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education,
Thanks to Climbing Life Guides and Casey Henley for posting this..
Along the Road to Milford Sound, NZ
01/11/2011
Nothing to see here, keep moving..
Milford Sound is renowned for its world class beauty, its fjords, hikes, and waterfalls, wildlife and dramatic alpine terrain. It’s something to put on your “must do” list, despite its popularity with so many that come to New Zealand. However, the drive through (and under) the mountains, on NZ Highway 97 and its the 1270 meter Homer Tunnel also got my attention. I’m looking forward to getting out into the Darran Mountains soon, where there’s granite and lots alpine adventure to be had.
A sense of perspective and vertical relief from our sunroof
We took a day off, and drove over to Milford last month, and thought we’d share a few images.
Heading back to Kingston, we caught a glimpse of the wind farm, which is somewhat controversial in this area, and stopped to take an image of the huge blades above the fields of sheep.
Yep, we did get out of the car, these are just some images taken along the road. More on the backcountry and Milford Sound in another post.
Windmills in New Zealand
Paragliding/Speed Riding Aiguille du Midi
01/11/2011The Late Antoine Montant Speed Riding down the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Not something you see every day, and.. not quite what we’re into on a regular basis here at Mountain Spirit, nevertheless, thought it was worth the post..
Sharpen your edges for a quiet backcountry tour down a north face...
Climbing Films – Reel Rock Tour
18/10/2011
This will get your attention - Click on the picture to play the trailer
Spring Skiing in New Zealand’s Backcountry
16/10/2011
The View of Kingston/Lake Wakatipu From Above
“Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” Walt Whitman
The other day, as the spring corn was coming onto the scene, I finally decided to investigate the moderate ridgetops of our valley here in the Wakatipu Basin in Kingston, New Zealand. The skiing wasn’t the steepest, and the “peaks” aren’t the sharpest in the Southern Alps, but the snow was damn perfect. After all, the first ski hut in New Zealand was just down the road on the Nevis Road. There must have been a reason for that being the first NZ ski field.
What I found after a two hour hike to snowline, were broad snowfields of cornsnow with some minor peaks along the ridge. Evidently this is where a snowmobile/heli-ski operation brought people up last season. I could see them lifting off, just across the road, and thought, “If they’re headed up there, must be something to it.” We live in Kingston, a sleepy little town, home of spectacular scenery, rock climbing, dramatic walks, a long pebble beach at the south end of the second largest lake in New Zealand, and home to an eclectic community that hasn’t been discovered by Queenstown yet. Oh I almost forgot to I mention the Kingston Flyer steam train, which is now up and running, after a number of years in receivership. Look closely at the image on right, the clouds of smoke are from the steam train’s maiden test run, and from the fires it started along side the tracks.
A long, fun day. Rising at 4:40 I hit the DOC trailhead by 5:30, and got back to the car around 18:30 I was a little tired, but jazzed. Fortunately there were freezing temperature up high, so by 10am, there was perfect corn on the northern aspects. I took some pix and video, so decided just to blend them into a movie for the day…Enjoy.
The Story of the Splitboard, from Utah
15/10/2011I couldn’t resist a great story.
Wally has always had the spirit of adventure and lightheartedness with his business building bindings, skis and boards. Good on ya Wally.
Good on ya Cowboy Kobernik for being tenacious with your idea.
Learning to Snowboard Indoors and then.. Spreading the Wings
27/09/2011By R. Richards
Marco Wells, Coronet Peak, NZ - Image: R. Richards
Last Friday, I had one of the strangest, (but good) experiences of my outdoor career – I took a 14-year old friend snowboarding for the first time in the mountains. However, it wasn’t his first time snowboarding . He had learned at one of forty indoor ski facilities in the world, Snow Planet in Auckland, New Zealand. He learned to board over of a number of years, but had never been outside on natural snow on a mountain. At Snow Planet they have a Poma style tow-lift. He had been on a chairlift once with his family, but that was in the summer without a snowboard on his feet. So combining his indoor boarding skills and one-time on a chair lift ride, gave him a collection of skills to head outside. Taking him up Coronet Peak’s chair for the first run, was like watching someone who was putting all the pieces together. He kept saying, “Look at all this snow!” and, “We’re high up on this chair”. His skills were solid and it was quite an amazing experience to see someone come out of their shell or out of their building. The next days were filled with a trip in the backcountry, and an afternoon at the Remarkables Ski Area, where he was exposed to all sorts of terrain and conditions and handled them admirably. It reminded some obscure fact of how many indoor rock climbers never climb on real rock, or never end up placing a piece of rock gear for protection on a climb, (what they quaintly call “trad”, I call climbing)
Anyway, congrats to Marco for coming out of the indoors ski gym and joining me in the mountains. Come out again soon! We’ll be waiting.
Turning Passion into Purpose
15/09/2011
The North Face makes good
Cedar Wright on Turning his Passion into Purpose and an upcoming Expedition to Summit for Someone
By Cedar Wright, The North Face
This year I had the privilege and pleasure of attending several Outdoor Nation events to represent the North Face as a proud advocate of the movement to get more youth outside. I told my story of finding passion and direction through climbing in Yosemite, to hundreds of young people who are committed to turning the tide on the sad reality that at no time in human history have kids spent less time outdoors.
I spoke alongside Juan Martinez who is an Outdoor Participation ambassador for The North Face’s initiative to inspire more people everywhere to explore and push their personal limits in the outdoors. His story of growing up surrounded by the negativity, gangs, and crime in South Central LA and then having his life changed by getting the opportunity to camp out and see stars for the first time was truly inspirational. Juan’s journey reinforced what I have always believed; that these programs are invaluable for creating a bridge from the hustle and bustle of urban life to the quiet magic of Mother Nature. read the rest of this story..
Ed note: I take back everything I ever said about The North Face. Well, we still need to curb consumerism for consumerism’s sake, old stuff will do, and when that’s trashed, but durable goods. But I do commend the company for their initiatives in funding worthwhile orgs and projects under their grant program called the Explore Fund.
New Zealand Lenticulars
06/09/2011It’s been quite windy the last few days, but warming up here in Southern Otago, New Zealand. Spring skiing and ski-touring season. Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are classic indicators of high winds aloft. As you can see, as the sun set last night, the winds were howling up on the ridgetops just north of the house. This view taken from our balcony.
Lenticular Clouds over the Remarkables as Sunset
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