15 New Summits
+6 New Classic Ski Tours in the Northeast
Had a blast ticking off some classic ski tours the last few months despite the lack of appropriate snow cover through most of the beginning of the winter. Among these were Black Mountain Ski Trail and Maple Villa glades (maintained by Granite Backcountry Alliance). I did some "slack country" after skiing at Wildcat resort with Steve one morning and skied off the backside and down the Wildcat Valley Trail and had a total blast on the snowy pump track through the woods and I highly recommend it! Another gem I explored was the Thunderbolt Trail on Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts. This is a classic original downhill track on the highest peak in the state and despite some low cover in spots was SUCH a gem. I highly recommend skiing it and reading up on the very interesting history of the crazy races that were held on this famous route.
This season I also began dabbling in some backcountry nordic skiing, which is completely new for me but a very fun way to explore. I took my hand on a one-way ski down the Avalanche Brook trail starting at Pinkham Notch, complete with many fast singletrack downhills on very skinny skis and soft boots that really tested my newfound nordic skills. I had a total blast and can definitely see some more nordic backcountry in my future.
+5 New Lines in the Presidentials
As more snow began to stick up high come late February and March days up on Mt. Washington began to make themselves a bit more plentiful. I managed to get out with Abby for a day to check off the COG railway ski (and summit) which is technically in both the Presidential Ski book and the Classic Ski Tours (BONUS!). I also a day testing out some more technical ski mountaineering with Chris to tick off Central Gully in Huntington Ravine with a bonus ice bulge because of the low snow conditions this year.
Come late March I snuck in two awesome "party ski" days to finish off some lines I've skied, but never from the top before. Main Gully in the Gulf of Slides for my birthday and Hillmans Highway on Bootspur for some sleeper powder turns were both total treats. Feeling dialed in on my steep skiing, gear choices, and general efficiency up in the alpine was probably the biggest accomplishment this season so far.
+1 New FKT
NH 3-Mountain Winter Challenge
There are 3 NH 4,000 footers that have ski resorts on them. The challenge is to hike and ski each one as fast as you can. With no natural snow at this point in the season yet and seeing some friends go out for the challenge I thought I'd give it a go! Wildcat, Cannon, and Waterville Valley resorts are all places I spent a lot of time skiing as a kid so this one was pretty special to me. You can find a full trip report and details on the FKT site here.
+3 New 4,000 Footers
Managed to tick off a couple more 4,000 footers this quarter, two on skis and one on a multi-sport day that included a winter trail run. Two of these are actually funny technicalities because I have skied up and down both Cannon and Mt. Washington many times, but had never actually touched the technical summit signs. Washington came on a fun surprise bluebird day with Abby and Cannon during the FKT above. Because of a lack of snow, I also snuck in a winter run up Mt. Moriah with Johanna one day to finish off all the peaks in the Carter/Moriah/Wildcat Traverse.
Other Adventures
Despite the slow start t the season while waiting for the glades and ski lines to fill in, i managed to keep myself plenty busy. It was nice to start off the season finishing off an avalanche course with Steve, as well as brushing up/practicing my rescue skills. I also spent the most time ice climbing this year than I maybe ever have, making it my goal to get very comfortable leading moderate ice and with my alpine ice skills. I'm excited to incorporate even more of this technical ability into my skiing, as some of my dream lines will require it. Lastly, I had a chance to crew Brody at Last Skier Standing, where he not only skied through 3 days and nights straight but won the event and raised a bunch of money for Protect Our Winters! It was a very fun (and exhausting) experience and I think this post sums that up well if you are interested.
It was really nice to finally be able to travel a bit this season for skiing, for me, for the first time post-Covid. Steve and I headed out to Utah in early April to get some resort days and I even snuck in an awesome backcountry day with tour guide Brody after the avalanche conditions eased up a bit!
Later in April, I had a chance to tag on a few extra days onto a work trip to Oregon with the goal to ski Mt. Hood and possibly snag a few FKT's with Amy. Because of 4-6 ft of snow Oregon received in the week prior, this goal wasn't in the cards to do safely so we pivoted and enjoyed time powder skiing, trail running, and exploring all around Oregon! It was an absolute blast, but I'd be very excited to head back for the summit bid on a future date.
Fundraising:
For Q1 of this year total pledge amount of $18 per summit and $200 in flat donations. With my total of 15 summits in this quarter which means I raised $470 for the causes I believe in. The breakdown of how this money is distributed by each cause can be found below.
| # Summits | Q1 Pledges | Donations | Total |
Share Winter | 6 | 108 | 29 | 137 |
MWAC | 5 | 90 | 29 | 119 |
Women's Sport Foundation | 1 | 18 | 29 | 47 |
AMC | 3 | 54 | 29 | 83 |
Access Fund | 0 | 0 | 28 | 28 |
Kismet | 0 | 0 | 28 | 28 |
NH State Parks | 0 | 0 | 28 | 28 |
| 15 | | | $470 |
To date I have raised $2761 for causes I believe in (almost 3% of my $100,000 goal).
Looking Forward:
Looking forward to Q2 I'm excited to sneak in some more steep skiing with a later snowpack this year before transitioning to run & climb season! I don't have any running events on the books planned for this year, so I'll be focussing mainly on my tracing, peak bagging, and FKT goals :) As far as climbing goes I'm excited to see where the season takes me, to keep ticking off climbs at Rumney, and maybe hop onto some of my 5.12 projects later in the year. Overall, I'm just excited for more time in the mountains!
A reminder that if you want to follow my day to day training and adventures my Strava, Instagram, or my Twitter are the best places :)
That's it for now! Thank you for your support and for sharing this journey with me.
Keep following along for my adventures to come and I hope to see you out there!