Melt refreeze cycle

Finally, we have a real winter. It may take some traveling, but I've been on natural snow every weekend, and Maine is forecast to get some more. Yet when we get new snow, rocks still appear, grass grows through the powder, and sidewalks turn into slush ponds.
Somehow, this seems to correspond with school and life. Get some extra energy, and it slowly melts off, exposing some rocks, grass, and dirt. The ski travel life, winter study, and exploratory shenanigans must come to an end, with problem sets and labs poking through. Education is fun, but a different fun. Scaring you by seriousness or bulk, rather than sunburn, frostbite, and face shots.

Pine Cobble Ski (De)scent

This morning, while finishing off some pancakes, my friend SP got a call from Julia asking for my number. Luckily, I was right there, and quickly arranged for a ski descent of Pine Cobble. Pine Cobble could be ideal for skiing: good snow accumulation, easy access (.5 miles from campus), 15-25 degree slopes, marked ascent trail as part of the Appalachian Trail. But it isn't. At least not with 10 inches of snow, or even 36 inches. 12" fresh with two feet crust underneath and it would be skiable, as all the sharp rocks and logs and stumps and vines would be buried, leaving only small trees, some larger birches and maples, and obviously a lot of evergreens to navigate.

 Leaving Williams, nice cloud cover and fresh coating of white

Adie showing off mad tele skills

Sun at the summit 

Started skiing near my ski coach Bud's house in the housing development, and was very glad I brought my rock skins. Even following the summer trail, sharp rocks stopped progress every few hundred feet. We met a nice fellow out snowshoeing; said he'd lived on the mountain his whole life and had never seen anybody ski down. We made it to the summit viewpoint, switched into downhill mode, and started shredding the 10" fresh powder over ZERO base. Slow going with lots of not-quite-falls, sudden stops of motion, and skis tangled in branches. But we made it down, edges mostly intact, no core shots.

Unknown if this is the first ski descent of pine cobble in recent years, but hopefully its my last, unless New England can get a 5 foot dump, which might turn the world upside-down.

I am no longer going insane

Snow is my existence during the winter. And we've had a major shortage the past two years out here (back in the Cascades, there's a 10 foot base, so at least summer skiing will be good). But it's finally changing. We haven't had a major snow even since early January, so now Williamstown and Prospect Mountain may get a whole foot of snow. My race skis tell me that they aren't to be used on rocks, and they may finally get their wish this weekend. 

No bets on whether this will actually change my mood, convince me to jump out my window, or stop me from scheming new ski trips, but I will no longer look longingly towards a two story parking garage, hoping some squall will appear out of the sunshine and bring some fluffy white goodness. And if this storm snow can last a few weeks, I'll be set until the Republic of Georgia.