84 Inches at Chimney Pond

My friend Pete and I once took a group of folks into Chimney Pond at Mt. Katahdin in Maine for a week of winter fun at 30 below zero. It was that trip that I skied slowly across the frozen South Basin pond during a light snowfall and understood how important wild places were to our being. We also headed up to the summit in full winter conditions and did some skiing high in the south basin. Some of the folks also tackled some climbs on the Pamola Ice Cliffs near the camp. It stayed very cold that whole week, and the snow was so deep we dug down into a shelter to set up our kitchen.

That was in 1986, when we were still getting normal winters with big snowpacks.

This year may be close to those old days as they have had a great deal of snow up in northern Maine this winter. Pete just got back from a trip there and sent this great shot looking down the saddle towards the Pamola Ice cliffs and South Basin Pond beyond them. Pete reported 84 inches on the ground.

March at the Knob

March always brings back fond memories of our times in the eighties (and 1990) at Gray Knob. Few hikes can match a run up Lowe's on a bluebird day with three feet of snow on the ground. Each section, the flats, the first hill, upper flats, the stairs, the lower and upper chutes all bring a different set of challenges tempered with the solace and beauty of the changing forest. The snow softens the sounds, with only the crunching of your boots (we never, ever, needed any stinkin' snowshoes on Lowe's), crisp air, and the songs of a pair of chickadees in your ears. This is paradise.

While I was only a spring and summer caretaker, three of my closest friends were in that ultimate vocation, winter caretaker at Gray Knob. This job provides the incumbent with cold temps, rough weather, stunning silence, and the best sunsets, coupled with an unsurpassed outdoor playground. There were visitors too. Living at the Knob provides far more powerful influences than any television or xbox could ever kindle.

Because Pete and John and Phil were up there, I was a regular visitor, sometimes staying for two weeks at a time. Weekend trips always brought the three am arrival, which they always looked forward too, or at least tolerated.

As the years have passed, the ability for a caretaker to communicate exactly what they are experiencing to you and I has become easier. We had the logbooks, some of which have been transcribed, and some which have been locked up to protect the guilty.

Now the Randolph Mountain Club website has a running journal going from the 07/08 winter caretaker, Sally Manikian. There are also other caretaker journals available. Read her stories and get an understanding of why this place has such a powerful influence on the folks who have lived there.

Here's one of her pictures, of the Davis Woodruff Memorial Rocking Chair, at the Quay.

Klondike Derby

I grew up doing boy scout activities, a proud member of Troop 76 in Simsbury, Connecticut. One of the activities that we all looked forward to every year was the Klondike Derby, a competition, usually held in a wooded area of several hundred acres, where we were required to pull a large sled, filled with our camping gear, to various stations where we would have scoutcraft challenges presented to us. This was an all day thing that culminated with a winter camp out, and back then, in the middle of February, that meant cold weather. If the temps got below zero, we would get a "blue nose" patch to go with our Klondike Derby ribbon. beats the heck out of playing x-box all day. These types of experiences make long lasting ties to the outdoors.

Klondike Derbies are still going strong today. Here's a report on one in Minnesota.

It's Still Winter

Looking down the Plunge at Telluride, 3,000 feet of turns to Town

My high school had a great ski club and we would get up north to places like Stowe and Glen Ellen (now Sugarbush North) several times a winter. Our knees back then were flexible and strong, and we would crash down through the moguls, it was really a blast. Ten years later we did the same thing at places like Vail and my favorite western mountain, Telluride, but we were freeheeling then on skinny skis, which in my case tough on the knees, but still a blast.

So in honor of youthful knees, check out this list of top ten Mogul Resorts.

Press Clips

Here's some of the latest press:

On Long Island, sportsmen recognize the value of outdoor sports.

In Suffolk County, two notable programs have been promoting hunter safety and outdoor education for kids for close to 15 years. Since 1994, the Youth Conservation Program has taught kids safety through a sportsman education program geared toward junior hunters 12 to 15 years old. During the two-day program they gain a better understanding of conservation, and nature, as well as a hefty respect for safe gun handling and proficiency. The Youth Waterfowl Program, established in 1998, also promotes youth hunting while teaching wetlands and waterfowl conservation. Well over 500 kids have successfully completed these programs since their inception. I would be willing to bet that many of them are out there right now becoming some of the leaders in our society, and stewards of our natural resources, forging ahead on their way to having successful careers and families of their own, with a greater appreciation for what really goes on in the natural world around them.

In Illinois, the Movement spreads...

• Explore a forest preserve nearby after work or during a lunch hour. Find a place you like and make it part of your day, visiting early and late in all seasons. Take a notebook and draw, paint or write.

• Take children hiking when they’re young in a backpack-style baby carrier that holds them at your eye level. When they’re big enough to walk on their own, let them. Take them to a place with a pond or a stream and let them throw stones, touch the water with sticks or do whatever they want that seems safe and non-destructive.

• Encourage older children to visit parks and preserves with their friends. If you have safety concerns, make sure they take a cell phone.

• Encourage your elementary school to participate in Mighty Acorns, a nature stewardship program for fourth- through sixth-graders.

Winter sports athletes lament the loss of snow, and talk about climate change...

"When I was a kid, I remember walking in tunnels of snow," says 25-year-old alpine skier Steven Nyman, who won his first World Cup downhill race in 2007. "It was like that Arcade Fire song where they talk about digging tunnels in the snow to get from house to house. Now it seems like it only happens every five to 10 years.

More on Snowshoe Evolution

I wrote recently about my feeling that snowshoes are tools to be used when necessary, and how the outdoor industry has moved beyond that.

Now there's snowshoe racing.

The first racing snowshoes — a far cry from the six-foot-long wood and rawhide relics that hang over so many log cabin fireplaces — were developed in Leadville, Colo., in 1988 by Bill Perkins, a triathlete looking for a way to train in the off season. His snowshoes, manufactured under the name Redfeather, featured a V design and an aluminum frame. Twenty years later, most every major manufacturer makes racing snowshoes, which are typically less than two-feet long and cost from $250 to $350. Each maker touts its own advantageous feat of engineering.

Now all we need is some snow...

High Thrill Value

From Backcountry.com, check this out.

Getting Away From the TV

Here's a recent community calendar entry from Cuyahoga Valley NP.

Friday

Moonlight sledding — The National Park Service is sponsoring a moonlight sledding program from 7 to 9 p.m. at Kendall Hills in the Cuyahoga Valley. Meet at Pine Hollow off Quick Road in Boston Township. Bring your own sled. You might hear a few coyote howls. A hike will be staged if there's not enough snow. For ages 7 and up. Advance reservation required — call 216-524-1497.

If the idea of moonlight sledding can't get us away from the TV on a Friday night, what can? Moonlight skiing is also a blast. For those with more advanced skills, here's more on that from the Rocky Mountain News.

I once did a TV piece for WFSB in Hartford, where we went out skiing by moonlight in the wee hours of the morning. It was a blast and easy to do, all you need is good weather, snow and a full moon. No flashlights needed.

Skating

We used to skate a lot on at a place called Great Pond, which would freeze over nicely and allow us to skate all over its 25 acre size. Especially fun was skating by full moon, you just did not need a light.
I continued my skating later, as a women's ice hockey coach ata boarding school. We would rag the young ladies out at 5:30 am every day to get them over to the rink. Despite the early hours and a mixed record, we all had a blast.

Here's a new article about getting kids out to skate in Philly.

"I'm always amazed at these kids who have no experience, who have such a good time with it and do so well," said Wilfoort, 48, of Emsworth. "They're like, 'What do you mean we have to get off the ice? We don't want to get off.' Then they discover there's music inside or they can roast marshmallows on a bonfire and they're on to the next thing."

Snow Day

Been crazy at work and then today we have a 1/2 day because of snow. We used to have lots of snow days in CT when I was a kid, and we would wait for the snow plow to pile up the snow at the end of our driveway. We'd then use the snowblower to clear the driveway and pile up even more snow , which made a great basis for a snow fort. Here are some example of recent snow forts.

It's Winter, Go Outside!

Back when there was "real" snowfall, We used to consider snowshoes as tools rather than recreational devices. You needed them just to travel in the woods on other than untracked surfaces. The outdoor industry has done a great job of boosting the image of snowshoes to the point that folks use them even when the snow is not really deep enough. As the technology and design has improved, it's now like skiing. That's a good thing as it get more people out in the woods.

During those big snow years, we also would look for the really big snowdrifts, places where snow would blow into a small draw and really pile up, so we could start digging snow caves. I remember one we dug, maybe in 1979, up in NH, that was big enough to park a volkswagon in. An then there's the annual snow cave dig at Gray Knob on Washington's Birthday, but that's another story.


The cave at Gray Knob.

What's this mean? With climate change and lessening snow amounts, the frequency of really good snowpacks is not what it was. But before we even get kids digging snow caves, they have to be willing to go outside when it's cold. The frequency of that is not what it was either. Here are some tips.

Cold Runs

It's cold here today, but the forecast is for 60 by Sunday. It was a brown Christmas here in VA, although Connecticut, where I grew up had some snow cover, enough to sled on. We were relentless in our sledding and tobogganing as kids, and the climate back then allowed for 90% of our Christmas vacations to be white. I came across this column from Mississippi, and the writer's experiences are really similar to my own as a kid, although I did stay off the ice unless I was convinced it was thick enough. I wonder if the same is true with others?

Unlike too many of today’s kids, I spent my childhood out in the elements. I was free to play and roam and discover. There was certainly the risk of injury and all the other things parents worry about today, but such things didn’t concern us in the ‘70s — all to my benefit.

Snowflake Bentley

We have family that lives in Jericho Center, Vermont, so we're familiar with the work of Wilson Bentley, also known as Snowflake Bentley. Bentley "captured" and photographed more than 5,000 snowflakes, each on unique. Like birding or catching frogs, checking out snowflakes is a great way to connect kids with nature, especially when school is cancelled.

The Bentley Website says:

From the earliest memories of our childhood, many of us can remember hearing the phrase "no two snowflakes are alike". This discovery was made in the small rural town of Jericho, Vermont by Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931).

Check out the Snowflake Bentley Site here. Lots of good info and links.

First Snow Misc.

Driving overe the Blue Ridge last night I saw the lights on at Whitetail Ski Area and I knew that winter was coming. Then today we got the first snowstorm of the winter here in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Blue Ridge, one of those Alberta Clippers. Nothing like what hit New England a few days ago, but enough to close the schools and strain the limited number of snowplows in this neck of the woods.

We've had a link on the site for some time to the Greater Cincinnati’s Leave No Child Inside site. There's another site in Ohio-- Leave No Child INSIDE Central Ohio Collaborative, check it out here. Lots of good stuff coming from Ohio.