Year: 2008 Page 11 of 12

A Flight to Remember

On May 12, 2008

Went to Dana and Eric’s fabulous wedding in the mountains of North Carolina. It was a gorgeous day, and both the bride and groom looked stunning, and their exit to the opening riffs of Kashmir was eminently appropriate. The party involved pulled pork, a meal expertly prepared by Ashton, moonshine drinking on a verandah, and interesting mix of Princeton graduates, Atlanta residents and a few yankees. It was a real cultural experience.

While the events were perfect, the transportation there and back was not. Our flight into Greensboro was on the heels of a category 2 tornado with winds of approximately 130 mph. Two FedEx planes were damaged, pushed into a fence and ditch. We landed safely, but saw some sweet lightning and experienced some pretty strong cross winds.

You’d think that this would be the extent of the travel related incidents, but our flight back was even more exciting. The flight on Sunday night was cancelled due to crew worktime issues, so we were rebooked to Monday morning. Janet scored us a free night at the airport Marriott thanks to her impeccable negotiating tactics. The morning flight to Laguardia was fine until the approach, just after we passed over Lady Liberty. At that point, the pilot came on the intercom and informed us we were having “mechanical trouble” and were diverting to Philadelphia. It turns out that the flaps were malfunctioning, so a higher landing speed would be necessary to avoid stall, requiring a longer runway than Laguardia has. A perfectly reasonable explanation, but not the one that was offered at the time, so there were some ripples of passenger nervousness. Lou popped a Xanax and Janet tightened her seatbelt.

Philly was also experiencing strong crosswinds, so our first approach got down to perhaps 50 feet before the pilot gunned the engine and went around for another try. Again, not out of the ordinary, but when mixed with the previous circumstances, people started to get freaked out. The second landing was trailed by emergency vehicles, and I managed a quick snap of one just off the wing.

Great Gulf

By Josh

On April 27, 2008

In Outdoors

With the the arrival of spring in Boston, it seemed prudent to drive north and find the last remaining slivers of snow. Drove up to Intervale on Friday and slept out under the stars, testing out my new winter sleeping bag. It wasn’t quite cold enough to really stress it, but it was nice and cozy. With an early start, we got to the Cog Railway base around 8:15; the second car in the lot. There was no snow to be found in the woods, so I chose to hike in sneakers and carry skis and boots on my back. It made for a heavy load, but the extra comfort and ankle flexibility was well worth it.

Goodman’s guide book describes the Great Gulf as the “wildest reaches of the White Mountains,” and I agree. The sheer size of the cirque and the consistent pitch seem more reminiscent of the Rockies than the Presidentials. We went up the Jewell trail and then across Clay Col, ending up to the skiers left of Pipeline. We skied a nice narrow 45 degree pitch, eventually getting to Spaulding Lake after a nice bushwhack. Had lunch there, and then climbed up Airplane for another run. The drop from the col to the lake is about 1300 feet, so I was pretty tired after the climb up. Did a half run of Airplane on perfect corn snow, and then dragged myself back to the ridgeline. We were the last people out of the Gulf at this point; the solitude provided by the relatively remote location is a far cry from the party scene at Tuckerman. Hiked across to Lakes of the Clouds and then skied out Monroe Brook. Got back to the car at 6:30, the last car to leave. Second on the mountain, last off; a sign of another epic day in the Whites.

Sangre de Cristo

By Josh

On March 9, 2008

In Outdoors, Travel

Went to Taos for Lynn’s 60th birthday bash. It was a nice opportunity to get to know Martha’s family more, and I managed to skip out for a day to go skiing. Turns out Taos is about to open to snowboarders, so I got there to see the end of an era. Hiked up Kachina Peak and dropped off the ridge just below the summit. The slope wasn’t as steep as other things I’ve skied, but the foot of fresh powder made it just as much fun. On a weekend when the east was covered in rain, I was living high under the high desert sun. Not a bad life.

On Kachina Ridge

My line

Ridge panorama

Our favorite truck

Mt Percy

By Josh

On February 16, 2008

In Outdoors

Ventured into the far north woods of New Hampshire for a weekend off the beaten path. Greg found Mt. Percy by scouring Google Earth for bald peaks; it’s beyond route 2, but close enough to a snowmobile trail that it’s pretty easy to get to. After a long drive beginning at some ungodly hour, we got to the trailhead around 10. Skinned in on the side of the snowmobile trail, diving for cover whenever those ferocious machines sped past. Next time, we’re bringing a rope and getting towed. Once we got to the hiking trail, the noise dropped off and we were alone. We didn’t see any signs of recent skiers, only a moose bed in the deep snow.

The mountain juts above the landscape, only 3300 feet but still two thousand feet above the road. The bald peak looked like a perfect ice cream cone. Sadly, due to equipment issues and our late start, we didn’t make it above treeline, turning around at 2:30 near the col between the two peaks. Still, the ski down was fun in the light powder, and we stopped at a gravel pit on the side of the trail to play on the 40 degree slope. The snowmobilers were impressed by our antics, although we both looked at each other like they were crazy. Cim, Greg and Pat had impressive rides, and I gave it the old college try. The black and white shot below is just prior before a spectacular wipe out.

Hale Yeah

By Josh

On February 9, 2008

In Outdoors

Went skiing today at Mt Hale, just past the Seven Dwarves Inn in Twin Mountain. We thought it was somewhat off the beaten path, but the 15 cars in the parking lot told us this stash was not so secret. Although the skin track was well traveled, the trees still had plenty of freshies. After a long approach up maybe 3 miles along a frozen streambed, we ascended up a logging road through beautiful birch stands. The trees were thinned by selective logging, and made for several excellent runs, and less ‘shwacking than expected. Took movies of Greg and Pat ripping it up.

Covered in snow

Action Shot

Pat

Yeuhi

Logging road

Streambed