TR: Slacking in The Great Gulf 2008-05-25

[jumpturn]

Here are some photos from the Great Gulf on Mount Washington on the first good day after the Auto Road opened. For this event, random resort skiers come out of the woodwork to "groom up" the descents, but they mostly have the good sense to stick to the East Snow Fields.

Turkey Chute, Space Walk and Airplane (partially occluded), Great Gulf, May 16, 2008.


Great Gulf descents, May 18, 2008. Photo: jshefftz


Wildflat skier threads upper Space Walk for first tracks, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


Wildflat skier smoking the middle of Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


Wildflat skier exiting lower Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


Boot packing Airplane with Space Walk behind, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


awf170 drops into Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


awf170 digging into the 1st turn on Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


awf170 checking his velocity on Space Walk, May 25, 2008.


awf170 banging the left turn into the choke on Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


awf170 threading the rocks in the choke on Space Walk, May 25, 2008.


Cowabunga! VT telemarker drops into Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


VT telemarker turning around rocks on Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


VT telemarker checks his speed on the center line on Space Walk, May 25, 2008.


VT telemarker styles Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


VT telemarker really checks his speed above rocks on Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


VT telemarker reverts to jump turns at the choke on Space Walk, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


Random skier carving the corn on Airplane, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


Dicey snow blading on Airplane (try that with no poles!), Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.

[brutah]

Dicey snow blading on Airplane (try that with no poles!), Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.


Boot packing Airplane with Space Walk behind, Great Gulf, May 25, 2008.

due to these two pictures I nominate this the weirdest TGR TR of all time. I mean a snowblader? really? i hope that wasn't someone in your party cause that's probably the gayest thing I have ever seen. Who hikes for their turns and then snowblades? I wonder if they have skins for them

and what's up with the smoke in the second pic?

conclusion: east coast skiers are strange.

[splat]

Watch out for that rock!



I think blowing snow in black and white is very progressive.



Way to get after it guys.
I just love that I met you in Bumfuck, Quebec and now you post weird TRs here, jumpturn. heh.
Didn't afw170 just get some Bros?

This dude is puttin down a turn!

[Sutter]

The smoke is from the Mt Washington train, the snowblade picture is from bizarro-TGR

[gpcharles]

sweet work JT... wish we had met up! i was looking around for you figuring you were up there, but i guess it just wasn't in the cards. sick sick pics.

hey AWF if you're out there... i think we met you on inferno saturday (way back in april) at the summit, no?

[awf170]

Didn't afw170 just get some Bros?

Yep, hopefully to mounted to with dynafits for some Mt. Washington and Chic Choc action next season.

sweet work JT... wish we had met up! i was looking around for you figuring you were up there, but i guess it just wasn't in the cards. sick sick pics.

hey AWF if you're out there... i think we met you on inferno saturday (way back in april) at the summit, no?

Yeah, that was me. What did you guys end up doing for runs in the GG on Sunday?


BTW: That snowblader was not in our party, thank god.

Edit: NVM GPetrics just read what you did on Sunday in the other thread.

[jumpturn]

This is just a photo sampler on probably the raddest NH line with good snow right now. A couple others were tossed in from the adjacent Airplane. You can look up my TRs and other people's on T4T for actual stories and wider angle shots in the Great Gulf (3rd time in there in the last two weeks).

Yeah, I don't know how the snow blader balanced on her feet, let alone on some blades on a 45º couloir! Might be bizarre and dicey, but you got to give her credit for getting out there and not cratering.

Splat: The action is up top. Check out the landing if you miss the left turn. This dude is ripping on the widening section. Very experienced local skier.

gpetrics: I should have figured it was you with the kicker over on the snow fields. I just stuck to the steeper and longer GG lines. Plenty of photo ops but it was hard to stop for them until later on!

[gpcharles]

gpetrics: I should have figured it was you with the kicker over on the snow fields. I just stuck to the steeper and longer GG lines. Plenty of photo ops but it was hard to stop for them until later on!

we were in the GG on sunday too... that's why i'm surprised we missed you. agreed on the goodness over there... too good to stop for photos

[robrox]

while JT and company were over the Great Gulf slaving away to get those glorious turns and fabulous photographs, yours truly was cooking up something different over on the East Snowfields.

Namely:


The Kitchen (Biff's photo):


The House Party (also Biff's photo):


Made a few turns and fewer later in the day after experiencing the new taste sensation: The Highland Shooter (name speculative on my part, actual name of the creation is pending)

Randy made a nice phone viddy (QuickTime): http://www.telemarkeast.com/images/east_snowfield08.mov

[SonnyBoy]

not bad sir, not bad

[Arelius19]

seriously snow blades?
you hike that long for to snow blade down that…

im straight up confused

[jumpturn]

The smoke is from the Mt Washington train, the snowblade picture is from bizarro-TGR

Here's what the Cog Railroad looks like. A couple years ago, they installed snow making halfway up the mountain and ran "ski trains." Didn't pay off so they dropped it.

Skiers often access GG by hiking the rail line when neither the Cog nor the Auto Road are operating. No crowds when you have to hike for it.

[robrox]

On Sunday one of those locomotives broke an axle on the summit grade. Its was quite a while before shuttle trains were able to get to the top and begin what must have been an excruciatingly long transfer process at the switch partway down the line.

[jumpturn]

seriously snow blades?
you hike that long for to snow blade down that…

im straight up confused

They now pay $20 to drive their car up the road so they can walk 400 meters downhill to where the skiing starts. This is why there was a crowd there on Sunday. Normally, there is close to nobody because, at a minimum, they have to hike 3 km and gain 1000 meters in elevation to get there. However you get there, after skiing down your chosen line, you have to boot pack back out to ski again or leave.

As for the snow blades, who knows ... probably just lured out there by their friends... Not likely to get too much skinning in on those boards!

[buckethead]

nice report jumpturn!
wishing i'd been able to get up there this past weekend

[Tips^Up]

distant 2nd to "Best 07-08 season TGR TR including SnowBlades"
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=117769

[gpcharles]

distant 2nd to "Best 07-08 season TGR TR including SnowBlades"
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=117769

i'd just like to point out that we who comprise the stowe crew pioneered a frontpointing technique in snowblades earlier this spring seen here:





full report here:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...3&postcount=14