TRs - July 2013 Skiing

Rather than post many separate TRs, I'll start another sort of Cliff's Notes version thread.

After checking the hourly forecast and weighing the possible risk/reward we made a nearly last minute decision - so on July 3rd I skied some of Roundtop's Wu-Tang patches with dookey67, gone2alpine and his amazing dog Rossi.

Dookey67 on the RZA line of the Wu-Tang Patch...
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG5112cr.jpg

Vets on the GZA line of the Wu-Tang Patch...
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG5127cr.jpg

Gone2alpine sprays while Rossi enjoys a faceshot...
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG5138cr2.jpg

Vets near the bottom of the Method Man Patch...
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG5163c.jpg

Rossi following dookey67...
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG20130703132230c.jpg

Rossi following gone2alpine on the Masta Killa's Hidden Chambers of Death Patch...
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG5225c.jpg

We were rewarded with a great summer corn snow harvest. The risk of storms didn't present itself until our hike out when we got a little wet.
I am now up to 117 consecutive months skiing. I think that dookey67 is up to 67 consecutive months skiing and gone2alpine is up to 34 consecutive months skiing.
(Click on the patchskiing.com link in my signature if you would like to see more than the Cliff's Notes version shown here.)

Keep it alive. I'll be back up mammoth the end of the month. Lets hit a patch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Big Tim

Keep it alive. I'll be back up mammoth the end of the month. Lets hit a patch.

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Sounds good. Saddlebag should still have something. Dunderberg also looks like it is holding snow very well.

Nice!!!

Keeping a ski streak out west is way better and not as pathetic as in the East where you have to use your imagination. July is done, I just need to figure out if I want to fly to make it to 95? :)

Bella and I will be near Round Top on Monday & Tuesday.

^^
MadPatSki, I hope that you can figure out a way. (Timberline is always an option and when I looked at the calendar August 31st is on a Saturday and September 1st is obviously on Sunday, so if you wanted to cut it close you could get in two months in one weekend by flying west on a Friday.)

^
powderhound, I hope that it is still smooth. I have tentative plans for a recon mission on the west shore Monday and a home repair appt. Tuesday morning. If either of these shift it would be good to join you and Bella.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vets

^^
MadPatSki, I hope that you can figure out a way. (Timberline is always an option and when I looked at the calendar August 31st is on a Saturday and September 1st is obviously on Sunday, so if you wanted to cut it close you could get in two months in one weekend by flying west on a Friday.)

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Thanks!!! I've been following you guys also. The drive from my house to snow is definitely not feasible for August.

These last few months have been difficult physically/mentally. Check the name of the TR on my blog (more detail inside)!!!

Avila QC : June 30/July 1, 2013 : Turns under the influence of prescription drugs!!!
http://madpatski.wordpress.com/2013/...ription-drugs/

Anyhow last weekend in the Laurentians (north of Montreal) was a first for me. I've done Timberline in Aug/Sept 2006 (months 11-12). I've also done Colorado's WROD in October 2007. Bridging June/July with a plane ticket 3 times in 8 years: Mammoth 2006, 2010 and PNW in 2012 (even if it wasn't necessarily required for the streak). I wanted to go to NZ for Aug/Sept, but then work insecurity/health/anxiety issues popped on. South America has always been the easy option (2007, 08, 09, 10 and 12). I was in Europe in 2011.

Not to late to decide to go to South America, but my head/body isn't into it :( . It might require a last minute (on points) flight to Portland.

This weekend's scene:

http://madpatski.smugmug.com/Skiing/...DSC_0040-L.jpg

http://madpatski.smugmug.com/Skiing/...DSC_0027-L.jpg

^
If you went through all that for your July turns, I'm sure that you will find a way for August, September, etc....

P.S. I may need to add Avila to my to-do list.

P.P.S. I'm also a fan of the Ramones. Great choice for the embedded video on your site.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vets

^
If you went through all that for your July turns, I'm sure that you will find a way for August, September, etc....

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It will all depend on my mental health (uncontrollable anxiety issues)? Avila was the easier option (Tuckerman Ravine was my previous Eastern July turns options). Avila was 2 hours away from Ottawa plus I need to go to Montreal, so it became only a 30 minute detour for Ott-MTL.

The crazy thing I did to keep it alive was that a flight for WROD in Colorado in October. Some would argue that last October skiing in 4ft Hurricane Sandy snow in West Virginia was probably crazier. For me, its all a question of variety. I did the Timberline thing, but I'm also not sure I want to stop now. We'll see how the meds are doing in a few weeks. Outside chance that I might want to head south.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vets

P.S. I may need to add Avila to my to-do list.

P.P.S. I'm also a fan of the Ramones. Great choice for the embedded video on your site.

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Ha Ha Ha As mentioned on my TR, Avila take the remaining and build a huge mound and cover it in late April. They uncover it and spread it out just before the camp. I heard that Philou Poirier and a few others pros were there during the week.

Yes, that song was really appropriate in so many ways for that TR.

Good luck, Patrick. I am rooting for you.

Sorry we didn't get to hook up in Montreal, the week was crazy, but fun.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hutash

Good luck, Patrick. I am rooting for you.

Sorry we didn't get to hook up in Montreal, the week was crazy, but fun.

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Thanks Hutash. It wouldn't have been possible on my end, as mentioned in my TR, I was hoping to get to Tuckerman towards the end of your stay in Montreal, so I could have hooked up prior to going to NH, but then I got on meds and all hell broke loose. For about one week, I was bouncing off walls and in no-way able to drive for a long distance. Feeling better how, but its been a roller coaster ride.

BTW, you would have driven right in front of Avila (the snow was still covered) when(if?) you went to Tremblant. It is the first ski area you pass in the Laurentians autoroute (equivalent of I-70 in Colorado) on your left. It was probably 25-30 miles from where you were staying in Laval.

On today's recon mission I went above and beyond ski lifts with Mrs. Vets and our dogs Makisha and Penny. This season's 100th day was on The Checkmark Patch.

Vets...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5273c.jpg
...Penny watching...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5279c.jpg

Looking back at the Checkmark Patch on the hike out:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG20130706174019cr.jpg

A pretty cool summer day at 10,500 ft.

hit the summer chute (i think that's what it's called) above leavitt lake on my way to mammoth to go biking. the snow was perfect buttery corn. starting to thin out in the neck. still pretty sweet thoughAttachment 139321Attachment 139322Attachment 139323

^interesting how much can change in 2 weeks...when I skied that line back on June 18th it sucked, to put it mildly. :)
it was hard, deeply pock-marked, and probably only yielded 3 turns of corn before succumbing to the sun-cupped chop.
the other patches we skied on the way back to the truck were the same.
of course we were hounded by cold wind, which didn't allow for any softening of the snow...

then again, that's what's so cool about patch skiing: no patch is ever the same from season to season and even during a season they melt out differently, disappear altogether, get sun-cupped or sow great corn. you never know.

Today (7/10) I skied the Left Patch and the Center Patch up near Forestdale Divide. On the drive up I saw powdrhound and Bella and was given beta that the snow was still pretty smooth.

Looking up at the Left Patch:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5303c.jpg
Thanks to powdrhound for his blood, sweat, and tears effort in setting the bootpack.

Vets, Penny and Makisha on the Left Patch:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5315cr.jpg
I used the custom self-timer setting on my camera for this.
Here is an animated .gif of the first series:
http://patchskiing.com/LPg.gif

Vets on the Center Patch:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5333cr.jpg
Here is an animated .gif of the second series:
http://patchskiing.com/CPg.gif

After skiing we went to Red Lake.
Makisha likes getting a stick...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG20130710143204cr.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vets

Thanks to powdrhound for his blood, sweat, and tears effort in setting the bootpack.

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Yes, one less turn would have been smart. The rocks do stop one quickly.
The skis took it better than my elbow and knee.

Not quite July, skied some a few lines South of Guyot 2nd day of summer(June 22)

Pics here: http://comountaincouple.blogspot.com...-mt-guyot.html

Nice Vets!

Quote:

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http://patchskiing.com/IMG5279c.jpg

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How's the main patch holding up? Think it will exist 2nd week of August this year? :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skier666

Nice Vets!



How's the main patch holding up? Think it will exist 2nd week of August this year? :)

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Thanks. It is hard to say. I looked at the relatively crowded (2-3 cars) main/right patch on Wednesday. It still is fairly long, but everything is melting very fast. (Yesterday I saw a 1-2 foot patch of snow along the trail I was hiking in on, then a few hours later on my return it had completely disappeared) There will likely be better August skiing options at other locations.

Yesterday (7/12) I skied the "4th of July Lake Trail Patch" and the "October Patch"

Here is a custom self-timer on the "4th of July Lake Trail Patch" with Caples Lake in the background...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5347cr.jpg

I'm happy after skiing the "4th of July Lake Trail Patch"...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG20130712154239c.jpg

The top "knife edge" of the "October Patch"...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5359c.jpg

My tracks on the "October Patch"...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5360cbwc.jpg

I wonder if this patch will make it until October this year. However, the suncups were small and the snow was soft and smooth,

Nice to see people getting some still

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skier666

Nice Vets!



How's the main patch holding up? Think it will exist 2nd week of August this year? :)

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Get ready for an update. I'm about to post some photos and a video from some of the patches including the main patch. We would likely need some significant snowfall in order to make it to the 2nd week of August. However, significant July snowstorms are unlikely.

Dookey67 and I returned to ski some of the Forestdale Patches yesterday (7/16.)
It was maximum fun in marginal conditions.

First, we rolled to the top of the divide and milked the "Right of the Right Patch" or "The Forestdale Divide Patch"

Dookey67...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5381cr.jpg
...back on the top for more...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5432cr.jpg
...and hop-turning further down...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG20130716162254c.jpg

Vets on the giant-rock-slalom course:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5428cr.jpg

Looking back at 8-10 laps of tracks:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5489cr.jpg
(I did 8 laps and dookey67 did 10 laps. The line at looker's right nearly became a mogul run by the time we finished.)

Next we headed to "The Right Patch" or "The Main Patch"
It had separated into upper and lower sections.

Vets with a lunar surface in background and the foreground:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5494cr.jpg

Dookey67 on an upper section of "The Main Patch"...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5533cr.jpg

We also have video from three different patch areas:
http://youtu.be/AvgozVF5mhU

We made the most of what was there.

i love bro skiis!!!!! the lhasa pow is so sweet!!!!!!!! deep bows to you, vets, and your crew!!! i suck at math so i had to break out the abacus to realize that you have skied every month nearly 10 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not sure how many folk realize how risky summer skiing is!!??! personally, i have far more respect for this level of stoke and love of the sport than i do for gate times of "pros"!!!!!!!! ullr jr.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^ Thanks for the kind words.

the best summer thread by far !!!

Hit up left and center patches a few days earlier- morning of the July 7 and snow was perfect for good times. Left patch was extra fun.

http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=200...ap_730X550.jpg http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=200...ap_730X550.jpg

July 4th was on various patches on Lola- hella hot that day.

http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=200...ap_730X550.jpg

On page 1 Dookie mentioned the snow at Leavitt being shit when he was there last. I hit up the Y on 6/22, although it wasn't technically quite a patch yet--the top was nice, but yeah...the bottom was total shit.
Top:
http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=200...ap_730X550.jpg
Bottom:
http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=200...ap_730X550.jpg

Yur gonna wear out the snow!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by splat

Yur gonna wear out the snow!

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Splat, you might be right about the Forestdale patches. When dookey67 and I did 8-10 laps on the right of the right/divide patch we could see and feel the snow getting thinner. Also, when driving up to Carson Pass yesterday I noticed that the left patch looked like a little dot, the center patch was very thin, and it looked like the right patch had completely disappeared.

Yesterday was a return to Roundtop day along with EastCoastPDR and his dog Zater.
We tried to beat the heat (over 80 degrees at over 8,000 feet) by spraying some corn snow on the "Method Man Patch." (The longest visible patch in the Carson Pass area.)

Zater did some grooming/slope maintenance stick removal...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5582cr.jpg
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5586cr.jpg

EastCoastPDR...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5588cr.jpg
...is joined by Zater...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5590cr.jpg
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5593cr.jpg

Vets spraying corn snow in an attempt to cool off...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5600cr.jpg

Zater enjoying the view:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5607cr.jpg

Zater joins Vets on another run...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5614cr.jpg

A fun day and it did cool off slightly on the hike out when the clouds rolled in and we got a little bit of rain.

I was up at some smaller patch closer to RT lake. Overcast and light rain did make it feel much nicer than the forecasted temps.

Some dude totally lost his shit at RT Lake- flipped out about someone's German Shepard doing something. This guy even took his pants off at one point during his rant, laid on his back in his old man underwear and screamed that if anyone wanted to see an "anus" take a good look- no shit. It was odd that he used "anus" instead of "ass", because every other word he used was explicit haha- what a jackass. I wish I had brought my GoPro along because he'd be a viral superstar by now.

Anyway, during my hike out a few people stopped me to ask if I was with the skiers they had seen- must have been you guys.

http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=400...ap_730X550.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PBR and POW = FUN

I was up at some smaller patch closer to RT lake. Overcast and light rain did make it feel much nicer than the forecasted temps.

Some dude totally lost his shit at RT Lake- flipped out about someone's German Shepard doing something. This guy even took his pants off at one point during his rant, laid on his back in his old man underwear and screamed that if anyone wanted to see an "anus" take a good look- no shit. It was odd that he used "anus" instead of "ass", because every other word he used was explicit haha- what a jackass. I wish I had brought my GoPro along because he'd be a viral superstar by now.

Anyway, during my hike out a few people stopped me to ask if I was with the skiers they had seen- must have been you guys.

http://www.tgrmedia.com/i.ashx?w=400...ap_730X550.jpg

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That looks like what is left of the Wu Tang Patch. It can be a lot of fun coming out of the little choke near the top.

Weird to hear about the guy at Roundtop Lake. Usually most nearly all of the people I see on the trail are happy and friendly (or at least somewhat sane) around there.

Did you see if there was much snow on the "Driveway Patch" (other side of Roundtop Lake) or the "October Patch" (just past Roundtop Lake on the way toward 4th of July Lake)?

[QUOTE=PBR and POW = FUN;4027593]I

Some dude totally lost his shit at RT Lake- flipped out about someone's German Shepard doing something.

Could have been the two German shepards staring my dog down when he was swimming after rocks I threw in the lake for him to cool off

Sent from my SPH-L710 using TGR Forums

Here is the first of three late July ski days
Saddlebag Lake, July 28, 2013
"Big L Chute" near Lower Conness Lake

Makisha looks up at North Peak on the approach:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG1070c.jpg

Penny encourages me to get going...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5616c.jpg
...then follows...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5618c.jpg

Makisha and Penny head up while I get ready for another run:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG1085cr.jpg

Vets:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5649cr.jpg

Looking back at the "Big L Chute"
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5661C.jpg

I'll post photos and videos from the next two ski days after I get them sorted out.

The second of three late July ski days.
"The Tribble Patch" on July 29, 2013.

Looking across Tamarack Lake, Vets points at the "Tribble Patch":
http://patchskiing.com/IMG0004c.jpg
(The elusive "Bird of Prey" is further to the left.)

Vets rock scrambling above Tamarack Lake on the approach:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG0005c.jpg

Dookey67 spraying summer corn snow:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5698cr.jpg

A panoramic view looking down from the top of the "Tribble Patch":
http://patchskiing.com/July29Panorama2cr.jpg
(L to R: Tamarack Lake, an unnamed lake, dookey67 bootpacking, Hunewill Lake)

Vets:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG0014c.jpg

Dookey67 is happy with our graffiti:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5718c.jpg

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT6EGBYkRFw

Dookey67 can provide a more detailed description of our day.

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The third of three late July ski days.
Jack's Glacier, Dunderberg.

Vets starts the bootpack up Jack's Glacier:
http://patchskiing.com/IMGPanoramaJacksGlaciercrS.jpg

The view from the top:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5756c.jpg
(Dookey67 can be seen heading up on the left.)

Vets:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG0052CR.jpg

Has dookey67 found thigh-deep snow or is he about to ski over a ridge?
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5763c.jpg
...further down...
http://patchskiing.com/IMG5769cr2.jpg

Vets:
http://patchskiing.com/IMG0063cr.jpg

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-_Oc_85Ylo

Now I need to start a TRs-August 2013 Skiing thread.

indeed!!!! this crew has my vote for the best go broke for stoke on broke thread!!!!!!!

Yo! Patch killas!

The glacier actually calved while we were there.
We had just finished our last lap and I was half considering going back up to lay down a little more graffiti when a rather nice chunk just slid off and into the pond causing large ripples that turned into waves.
Be willing to bet that a bit more calving went on this week and if we get another blast of high temps more will happen.
The glacier was in really interesting shape, aside from the calving. The entire center of the glacier, when you look at it, is pale blue ice. The only really skiable portions are looker's left and right. We've never seen it in this state before. It's kind of cool, but also makes you wonder how much longer this little slice of glacial heaven is gonna be around.