Archive for the 'Trip Reports' Category

Surprisingly Good Skiing!

Published
by
Andrew
on December 5, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 9 Comments
Despite reports of only five inches of new snow, the skiing this morning was great.  Maybe even beyond great, in a stable, face-shot, knee deep kind of way.  We found a chute that had additional depth from the sides sluffing into it.
B-Rad Barlage booting a chute in knee deep pow.
B-Rad Barlage booting a chute in knee deep pow.  This photo was taken with my new Canon G9 camera from about 50′ away with a slight zoom. Considering the low light and fast boot movement, I’m amazed at the quality of photos this camera takes.

 

Tommy Chandler, Backcountry.com's in-house photo man and a friend from way back.
Tommy Chandler, Backcountry.com’s in-house photo man and long time SLC friend.

 

If this is what five inches skis like, I can't wait for a ten inch storm!
If this is what five inches skis like, I can’t wait for a big real storm to come in.

 

Tommy Chan living the "It's all about the down" dream.
Tommy Chan living the “It’s all about the down” dream.
 

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Ushuaia 2008 - Trip Report & Gallery

Published
by
Andrew
on December 4, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 5 Comments

Although this barely qualifies as a trip (it was only six days or so) and we never even came close to our intended goal of skiing in Antarctica, this trip was one of the funnest outings I’ve had in a long time, mainly because it had so many great people involved.

Doug Stoup of Truckee, CA came up with the idea of chartering an entire 300+ foot ice-going cruise ship for ten days, filling it with skiers/boarders, crossing the Drake Passage twice and going skiing in Antarctica.  While this is a fairly common voyage for a cruise ship, what made it special was that instead of stopping at penguin rookeries and decaying whaling stations, we were going to stop at prime ski spots, spend the day skiing, then have a great meal on board, travel to a new spot over night and do it all again.

Unfortunately the ship had mechanical problems and although all 106 of us were packed on board, the trip was canceled.  This was a huge disappointment, but considering the boat’s sister ship had sunk in Antarctica the year before, nobody really doubted the wisdom of the inspectors.

The cruise has been rescheduled for 2009 and further information on it can be found at Iceaxe.tv, or perhaps skicruise2008.com   For a chance to ski in Antarctica, this is a very affordable once-in-a-lifetime type of trip. 

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The Eternal Tahoe Crew

Published
by
Andrew
on November 22, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 4 Comments

I had the great pleasure of going to Tahoe yesterday as part of the Alpenglow Sports slideshow series.  It was a blast.  I always forget how many people I know there and it’s like having a party with 100 of your best friends and meeting fifty new ones.

One of the highlights of the evening for me was meeting Rick Sylvester, who I had known of since I was a little kid as the guy who skied off of the 3,000′ face of El Cap and later skied off the even bigger face of Mt. Asguard for a stunt in the James Bond movie, “The Spy Who Loved Me.”  Rick’s jumps predated BASE jumping by years/decades and he said “We just called it Ski Parachuting.”  At the time, they were using circular, non-steerable parachutes, which definitely added some spice to the sport.

Tahoe locals Glen Poulsen (left) and Rick Sylvester (center) humor me at the Sawtooth Cafe.

 Here’s the James Bond trailer of Rick’s stunt work…

 
Although I knew that a lot of legendary climbers and skiers came from California, until talking to Rick, it never occurred to me that many of them were not only from the Tahoe area, but of the same generation. 

Holy horsepower. I wonder if the people at this table knew that they were going to shape the future of American climbing, skiing and adventure for decades to come? From the Fermin bar in Truckee, CA sometime in the 1970’s (photo credit unknown (Craig Calonica?) - sorry).  Kim Schmitz (2nd, left), Jim Bridwell (3rd, left w/beer), Galen Rowell (back right corner), Steve McKinney (flannel shirt, front/right). In subsequent years, skiers such as Scot Schmidt, Glen Plake, Tom Day and many others have come out of the Tahoe area as well.

I would easily slice my spleen out with a rusty sardine-can lid to have been at that table, yet at the same time, I recently was, as the photo below illustrates: 

The 2008 Tahoe Crew in Ushuaia, Argentina. From the left, Doug Stoup, Glen Poulsen, Tal, Jason (?), JMack, Kip, Chris, Susan, Andrew, Heather, Jessica Quinn, Kevin “Quinner” Quinn, Keoki Flagg, John Morrison, Karyn Stanley, Dave and Allen Riley.
I’m sure many people in this photo will continue the Tahoe tradition of redefining the future of American climbing and skiing, and it’s great fun to hang out with them all.
The road goes on forever and the party never ends.  ;)
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My Camera is Finn-ished

Published
by
Andrew
on November 12, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 0 Comments

My cameras have a history of dying with funny shots, and as sad as I am to see my trusty little Canon SD 850 go, it went out with style.

As some background, this photo was taken on a recent trip to Ushuaia, Argentina where we were hoping to get on a boat and then go skiing in Antarctica. This boat never left the dock and the trip was canceled (trip report coming soon), which left everyone with a two week supply of beer, wine and various alcohol and only a few days to dispose of it before getting back on a liquid-free plane. The ensuing party was memorable.

The boat had a variety of nationalities on board, including a group of Finnish tele skiers/riders who quickly became popular due to their quite demeanor and amusing personalities. Here they are punishing one of their country men for an unsanctioned nap…

Mad Dog Finns. When I showed them this photo the next day, they quitely laughed and said “Hmmm, yes, these things will happen.”

This was followed by some Karaoke renditions of “Sweet Child of Mine” at a bar, where much to our surprise, when we opened the door to go back to the boat, it was broad daylight. Hmmm. When I made it back to my berth, I went to review the evening’s photographic evidence and discovered my camera had silently passed away during the night. Perhaps it was the mechanical bull. Maybe it was the attempted swim in the Beagle Channel. Then again, maybe the camera just committed suicide after taking this photo.

I’ve got a new/used Canon G9 coming soon. May it survive many years of hard use and die a spectacular death.
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Blow Out

Published
by
Andrew
on November 3, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 0 Comments

Huh. There were many things to consider on a trip like this, such as crevasses, staying warm, avalanches, etc., but it never occurred to me that the boat would never even leave the dock and Quark, the tour company, would just cancel the trip, which is what has happened.  It seems hard to believe.

After being a day late, we sat around and waited for progress reports, which were always “soon.”  At a final meeting, one of the Quark representatives got up and said that in the process of trying to fix a seal water had gotten into the main engine compartment and now instead of a small repair, it was going to be a huge, multi-day affair and thus the trip was cancelled.  This is a HUGE disappointment for all involved, but none more so than for Doug Stoup and Karyn Stanley who have spent the last year organizing the trip.  To actually be on board and ready to go, the get shut-down is almost too cruel for words.

About a third of the people (myself included) are going home, another third are hanging around in Patagonia and some others are jumping on to another cruise ship to Antarctica.

Bummer!

Delayed

Published
by
Andrew
on November 1, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 0 Comments

Our Ship has come in… but it is not going anywhere, at least not very fast.

After getting all excited and tucked away on the boat, we woke up yesterday morning to see that it was still attached to terra firma.  Bummer.  As one of the first trips down to Antarctica of the season, as well as being the sister-ship to the Explorer (which sank down here last year), the Argentinean inspectors are going over the ship’s systems with a fine-tooth comb and have delayed the ship for 48 hours.  So far.  This is drag as part of the allure of this trip was that it was fairly short, at least by Antarctica terms, so the delay of two days puts a real crimp on the agenda.  Still, plans are being juggled and between everyone having a flexible schedule and positive attitude, things will work out.

Since we spent last night at the dock, we had an onboard Halloween party which was a blast.  Chris Davenport looked disturbing as a School Girl, there were pigmies, monsters, a few penguins, and the Finn’s dressed as themselves, which was naturally scary.

To pass the time, I’ve come back into Ushuaia and am hanging out at a chocolate shop, which is a dangerous idea – strong coffee with a slab or two of handmade chocolate on the side.

To help pass the time yesterday we got out for a few turns behind the town and tried out our roped travel systems.  The teams are broken up into groups of four with a guide,  Our group consists of Gregor Wilson, Kellie Okeneke, Scott Fennel and Sam Bass, all of whom are a blast to ski with.

Hurry up… and wait

Published
by
Andrew
on October 30, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 0 Comments

We survived a massive meatfest for dinner last night, then a round or two on the mechanical bull, but the super heated rooms almost killed us.  For some reason all the indoor areas of Ushuaia are smoking hot.  Fortunately that shouldn’t be problem as soon as we get on the boat and head out.

The boat is coming down from the Arctic and is a few hours late in arriving.  Right now it looks like we will be casting off in a few hours.  Unbeknownst to me, this is one of the first “cruises” of the season down to Antarctica, so all of the systems are still being worked out as far as getting the port, logistics, etc., back in action. On the plus side, the wildlife should be in full bloom/bore with an expected 60,000 pairs of penguis awaiting us on some landings.

The weather looks a bit stormy, but not too bad for a Drake Passage crossing, but then again, that is in Ushuaia and things can, or most likely will, change once we get a bit offshore.  People have already started putting on seasickness patches.

Antarctica - the Advenure Begins

Published
by
Andrew
on October 29, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 0 Comments

Hello from the Southern most city in the world, Ushuaia! After 28 plus hours of travel, I finally made it down here, and not only that, all of my luggage arrived as well. This should be a very cool, unique and exciting trip (hopefully not too exciting…) and the cast of characters is top notch. In a nutshell, Doug Stoup from Tahoe basically chartered an entire cruise ship to cross the Drake Passage then spend about 10ish days skiing in the Antarctic Peninsula. The boat will move at night, and then we will get off during the day via Zodiacs, go skiing, then come back form dinner on the boat, move again at night and repeat. It should be a blast. I’ve been down to this area once before, and even though we spent most of our time in a leaky tent in the rain, it was still one of my favorite trips as the skiing is to surreal with the penguins, whales, seals, ocean and general location being so mind-blowing. The town of Ushuaia is much bigger than I would have expected and is fairly cosmoplition with a population of about 40-60,000 people. We went out for some first turns of the season yesterday and it was GREAT! You could easily spend a week/month down here just taking a taxi from the hotel to the trailhead, doing some skiing, then coming back. I’ve been hanging out with the guides group for the last day or so, most of whom are from the Tahoe area, or somehow associated with it. They are a very fit, accomplished group and we had a blast carving corm yesterday. Probably the main worry for the trip is the two crossings of the Drake Passage, which can be as nauseating as it gets if you get seasick. A preliminary weather report showed lots of red (low pressure) on the horizon, so we may be in for some rockin’ and rolling in the next few days. Once on board the ship, internet time goes up to $3.00 per minute, so updates may be sparse. Doug is running daily updates at iceaxe.tv (I think) or there is probably a link on skicruise2008.com. Yeehaw!

Trip Report - New Yorker Festival, NYC

Published
by
Andrew
on October 8, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 6 Comments

As a person who has accidentally made a half-assed career out of writing, I’m always in awe of the literary skills of the writers at The New Yorker magazine.  The sign of a good writer is when you can take a seemingly mundane subject (elevators, shoplifting, MapQuest, etc.) and turn it into a story that readers can’t put down.  In this regard, the New Yorker is the tops.  It is one of the few magazines I subscribe to and I read through almost every issue in hope that more than just the ink will rub off on me.

A few years ago, Nick Paumgarten,  came out to Utah and wrote a profile called “Dangerous Game” on ski mountaineering for the New Yorker.  Nick is an excellent skier, we had a great time and the article was a classic New Yorker piece.  As part of the annual New Yorker Festival, Nick put together a panel to discuss “Extreme Sports” where he was the moderator and Greg Child (Alpinist), Lynne Cox (open water swimmer) and myself (ski mountaineering geek) were the guest speakers.

Sign
Parking
Chrysler Building

Skyline
New York at Night
Andrew McLean, Lynne Cox and Greg Child

Panel
Katz Deli

 

The talk was a blast and the hour-and-half seemed to go by in a flash. I’ve known Greg for years,  and it was a true honor to met Lynne, especially after reading the profile on her in The New Yorker and her book “Swimming to Antarctica” which was 21 years in the making.  A very cool thing about meeting Lynne was that even though I have zero interest in swimming, there were a striking amount of similarities between ski mountaineering trips and long distance swimming expeditions. 

Lynne started out with long distance swimming (The English Channel) and is now focusing on swims that connect different cultures, especially ones in cold regions.  She recently swam in Greenland where she completed a mile of open ocean in 28.8 degree water!  For reference, most people would barely survive five-minutes in water like that. When asked what the scariest part of a swim was, Lynne said that it was the first contact with the water (they/she jumps in - no easing) as there is a big risk of cardiac arrest when a nerve in the nose somehow shuts down.  It sounds incredibly painful and grueling to me, but I loved the chance to meet someone who was the personification of a sea mammal and was so good (and excited) at what she does.

We also got into other festival events including a talk by Malcom Gladwell (dangerously smart and sharp), cartoonists Lynda Barry and Matt Groening (oozing humor) and an “out of character” talk by Stephen Colbert.  The Colbert talk was packed, so they shuttled the free-loader festival “talent” off to a waiting room to make sure they had enough room for the paying guests.  While we were there, a very distinctive looking woman walked in with her “talent” pass on and we started talking.  She said she was an author and had been on a panel discussion earlier today.  Greg introduced himself and she said “Glad to meet you.  I’m Joyce Carol Oates.” It was probably the highlight of the show for me, although meeting David Remnick (editor at The New Yorker) and the fancy party at the Gramercy Park Hotel rooftop were right up there as well.

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Winter - Coming Soon to A Mountain Near You!

Published
by
Andrew
on September 26, 2008
in Trip Reports
. 5 Comments
Ahead of time, it often seems that the Black Diamond Avalanche Forecast Party is always held too early in the season, but inevitably, within a day or so of the party and seeing all of the skiers get back together after a hot summer, the weather begins to change and people start having skiing on their mind.  Living in Park City (outside of the cute part by about 10 miles), the temps are coming down and the Aspen’s are in full flame — winter is just around the corner!
The aspen's are starting to go off at 7,100' in Park City!
The leaves are starting to go off at 7,100′ in Park City!

 A Fall Rite-of-Passage is to go harvest firewood, which is really just an excuse to play with chainsaws.  This year we ended up having a great harvest, especially considering it only took us a couple of hours to collect. 

Got wood? Ski partner Brad "B-Rad" Barlage shows off his van stuffed with wood.
Got wood? Ski partner Brad “B-Rad” Barlage shows off his van stuffed with wood.

After getting all of this wood home, it turned out there was a Yellow Jacket nest embedded somewhere in it and Brad took a dozen stings for the team.
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