snow

Mt. Hood is special to me, not only because it provides flowing rivers to paddle during the spring melt, but also because it provides entertainment in the winter as I carve my way down the slopes. I have recently grown to know and love Mt. Hood for yet another reason…… Read the rest

After a month of pedal-powered skiing adventure in a truly fascinating corner of the earth, we are all back home in Vermont again–safe and sound. To the wonderful country of Norway, the weather gods and the many new friends we made along the way: We cannot thank you enough for… Read the rest

Barely a word was spoken as we made our way up to the mountain. Anger was not the culprit for this lack of enjoying conversation. Powder was. Both Brad and myself wore goofy expressions on our faces, entranced by visions of ourselves flying through “hero” snow. We stopped, picked up… Read the rest

I leapt from bed to turn off my alarm clock, which kept screaming at me like an annoying car alarm. To make it to the Olympics I was going to need to be out early as I was again meeting up with Brad and Joe to tackle a peak with … Read the rest

It is said that the earliest record of snowshoes goes back to several thousands years ago. For me, growing up in Quebec, they were simply part of the winter package. The snowshoes I had back then were not the fancy, technical ones found today, but instead the classic Native American… Read the rest

Fall became winter in three glorious days of Ullr’s blessings nuking the landscape with blankets of white. Early season powder was upon us, and with it the decision of picking the right terrain. Our plan was to get out early, polish off a good tour, and ski sick pow. Quality… Read the rest

Rain. Surprise. With fall starting, the forecast for the Pacific NW was not alarming in the least. However, an also rapidly decreasing freezing level piqued my interest. Maybe, just maybe there would be some of the good stuff. Like a kid sneaking pumpkin pie early at Thanksgiving dinner, the idea… Read the rest

The temperature was finally beginning to drop to a normal level and the forecast was looking good. It was time to head out to another beautiful area in the northern area of Mt. Rainier National Park, only this time the focus was getting in July ski turns. Kyle had returned… Read the rest

We hurriedly packed up everything into my Subaru and squeezed into the seats. “Do we have everything?” we all seemed to ask in unison. After the mental quadruple check, we felt confident that we were leaving behind nothing of importance. Cranking the Blue Scholars and the defrost, we backed out… Read the rest

You would think that the infamous Pacific Northwest precipitation would translate into powdery trails up in the mountains. That’s what you would think. The reality is that a lot of the time we’re graced with days, even weeks, sans snow, leaving us an icy layer to attempt to play on.… Read the rest