Maggot Beginnings...............

[shera]

Is this the place for reminiscences of powmag days? I was stuck in Denver, getting schooled online all week long until the weekends, when I gaped it up like a gaper.

We transitioned (painfully) to TGR. I gave it all up for the mountain life, learned my lessons (also painfully) and am eternally grateful to everyone involved.

Aaaaah this takes me back
"Snow is holy water, face shots are communion, the wind is your preacher, and lord knows that the mountains is the best church ever built!" Reverend Floater

ty

[byates1]

The radness!

[Xover]

.....I've wanted to share it for a while especially with all you old fuckers that were around in those days. Also good for the youngsters to learn how this place came to be.

Shit son; you shoulda been around during the old K2 Forum days
5 Star thread already!
Looking forward to reading your journal entries about the first ever Maggot Summit here in Utah
Might have to go and dig out that photo Splat took of us all and got published in the greatest magazine ever created ........

[Aldo]

Here’s to Armchair Extreme.
One of the good ones.
🥃[emoji481]

[L8APX]

Sub’d to support the history that this place is. Maggots chronicles 25 years later would make for a hell of a collective story/documentary. I was also a Y2K graduate that just wanted to ski/fish/bike for a life well spent.

[comish]

Awesome! Some great history here! I totally remember your trip!

Right about this time I had moved to London w/ wifey, went to Chamonix as every Maggot should, posted up on the board and promptly met a dude by the name of Tom aka Idris (wracking my brain for the previous handle? Tom from Cham or something?) from Powmag/TGR who looked a bit like Murray Ball and followed him around Chamonix a couple times over the next couple years. Met H-man who we realized shared a love of the Arlberg and who proceeded to hook me up more than once in St. Anton over the years.

[easyrdr]

1-30-02
I’ve spent the last few days in Fernie. Rolled into the parking lot of the resort and there are permanent residents living in all sorts of things, some look road worthy, others look like they haven’t moved in years. Total dirtbag village. I’m pretty sure I’ve found my people. Met some dudes first chair that were super stoked to show me the goods. Powder, powder and more powder. They got the same storm as Big Mountain but because of avy danger all the good stuff was closed until I got here. Lightest powder I’ve ever skied, just float take a breath float some more. I’ve been in a powder skiing vortex since Bridger and it keeps getting better and better. Head to the bar for an end of day beer with the crew I’ve been skiing with. They’re on an old guy dude trip, they ditched the wives and kids, ate a bunch of mushrooms and went to Fernie. They decide to take me under their wing. The schedule was this. Wake up, ski, eat, ski drink/eat, hallucinogenics, drink, pass out, repeat. They paid for everything, food, beer, lift tickets. Blown away at the generosity. I asked how I could repay them and they told me to keep doing what I was doing.

2-04-02
Skied Big Mountain the last two days, thigh deep yesterday. I’m ready to bail, just came back to close out the PO Box and head to the great white north.

2-6-02
I don’t know what to say about yesterday. 5 minutes after I pulled into the parking lot it was sealed off by the Sheriff. I’m not really paying attention as I get my gear on and start walking to the lift. It’s the first bluebird day since I got here so I take my camera up to get some pictures of Glacier NP. After I shoot a roll of film I head back down to the truck to drop off my camera. As I came back through the base area to head to the lift, four men are coming out of this V shaped drainage with a frozen body. Right at the base, middle of the day. A 21 year old, skier, got drunk with his friends, left the bar and fell down the hole. Middle of the base area only roped off section of the whole plaza and this guy fell in. His friends looked for him all night. He had been there for two days only 10ft from the parking lot and no one saw him. So I’m standing there feeling like I shouldn’t be there but unable to move. Everything in my body said keep walking but my body didn’t respond. I think it was out of respect that kept me from moving. I did not walk on until everyone moved out of sight. The image of his frozen body was stuck in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I always loved skiing for the fact that once you hit speed and start carving all thoughts disappear, the mind goes blank. Well after two runs I still couldn’t shake it. On my third run I went as fast as I could go, right on the edge, top to bottom, no stops…….and it helped. I spent the rest of the day like that and actually felt better by the end. Today was fucked up, I think what makes it so hard is it's easy to put myself in his shoes, ski all day with friends, get drunk after, fall down while walking home. So sad.

2-9-02
Time for the next leg of the journey - B.C. Tomorrow I’m going to ski Big Mountain one last time. Had to say goodbye to E., she wanted me to stay, I told her to come with me. Looks like I’m flying solo….Kicking Horse here I come. From there, I will go where the maggots are, and I’m pretty sure that means infinite possibilities.

2-11-02
I love Canada, killer drive, only counted a million places to ski on the way to Golden. Rolled into town late afternoon day one and drove straight to the hill. Just a big muddy parking lot with nothing so I park and cook up some food and meet this couple from Seattle. It was their last day but they had a 3 day pass and offer it up. We chat for a while and they are super stoked on my adventure. Husband goes and grabs his truck pulls up to pick up his wife and gives me a case of Alaskan Amber he had left over from the trip. Wished me well and they left. Good people are everywhere. This place is nuts, It’s like I've arrived at the birth of a ski resort before the resort part exists, There is nothing here, tiny town with nothing. Can’t wait to ski it.

I find the further I travel the less I’m updating the Powmag forum. Party because waiting in line to use a computer at a library is annoying and partly because I don’t always feel like giving updates. I’m sharing less and less, not because I don’t want to tell them, but the stuff I am finding, it’s just something that has to be experienced to be fully understood. The guys on the forum have helped me, shit without them I wouldn’t be here, which is probably why I can’t help but feel a little bit guilty not sharing as often.

2-12-02
So I call JR from the forums. He tells me if I can get to Nelson, I can crash at his place, ski Whitewater etc. Got vouchers for lift tickets. Game on. Heading that way after Kicking Horse.

2-13-02
Kicking Horse rocks! I’ve arrived at the biggest ski resort I have ever seen, 4000vert, sprawling terrain with gates everywhere, pretty much if you can see it, you can ski it. Met some locals today, happy to show me the goods. All O.B. terrain, beacon is a must here. Describing the skiing is tough. No words will do it justice. It was like the shit you see in the movies. Each run scared the hell out of me and at the same time was the coolest run I’ve ever done.

2-16-02
The 14th was even better than the 13th. Insane lines, steep chutes, 4000 vert, untracked snow everywhere. This place is HUGE!!!!!!

[shroom]

hell yeah

[pfluffenmeister]

Oh yes.

Must.
Ski.

[xyz]

Here’s to Armchair Extreme.
One of the good ones.
🥃[emoji481]

Did we lose AE? He was certainly some OG mag entertainment.

[easyrdr]

2-17-02
Got to Nelson last night. Met up with JR from the forums. Couple beers at the bar then head to his house. He gives me the keys, says he has to leave town for a few days for work and when he gets back he will show me around. Tells me to eat whatever I want out of the fridge and buys the dog a giant ass bone, if I had to guess it looks like a cows femur. P-Tex is happy. I continue to be blown away at the generosity of the maggots, I don’t think I would believe it if I wasn’t living it on the daily. Skied Whitewater today, in perfect condition, 8 inches of fresh.

2-18-02
Whitewater is rad. While the resort is small the O.B. stuff is awesome. Followed some locals around the hill today that were happy to share the goods. Tomorrow JR returns and we are headed into the backcountry.

2-19-02
Holy shit what a day. 8Km sled in, 2-3 mile skin, 1400 vert on steep ass shit, knee deep pow. We were able to get 3 runs in, by the third skin my thighs were lead. Tomorrow one more spot he wants to show me. I can’t fucking wait!

2-21-02
I’m pretty sure yesterday was the best day of me life. Drive two hours, sled in a long ass way to some town cut off from civilization in winter. Park the sled in the town and by town more like some hippy commune thing. As we are getting ready this dude strolls up out of nowhere, and if it isn’t Santa Claus then it’s his twin brother. I just fucking snowmobiled to the north pole or some shit. We shoot the shit and he wishes us well. Within minutes we are skinning up this narrow ridge, by the time we got above treeline I was fully puckered. 100ft wall of rock on one side a deep blue solid sheet of ice on the other. JR decided it would be fun to show me some billion year old ice. The dude comes up, chips some off, takes it home and serves it in cocktails at parties. Once we get out in the open the snow turns into a windblown slab of shit, the start of the glacier. We continue up zig zagging around crevasses and boulders. At this point I’m praying to god I don’t die. Of course I keep it to myself as JR seems to be enjoying it. So to say I’m sketched the fuck out would be an understatement. JR turns to me and says this is the sketchy part so we will go one at a time. We have to cross this bowl and nothing about it say this is a good idea, one giant terrain trap. This is probably where I should mention I took one avalanche course in my life and the tone of the class was don’t go in the backcountry it will kill you. The only good thing about the class was I got 20% off my beacon purchase. So here this guy is sketched out and I have been sketched out for the last two hours. Do he goes first, he waves me on, I say a prayer and start across. I can not put into words the wave of relief once I got to the other side. A few more zig zags and we are at the top. Having a snack before we ski down and a helicopter appears out of nowhere, lands, dude jumps out and comes over to us. It’s a guide, he spotted us and couldn’t believe we were up here, asked us how the snow was, then quickly followed it with don’t worry I’ll take my clients somewhere else, and with that he was gone. I’m beginning to wonder is this actually happening or am I dreaming. JR then shares this is a popular run with the heli company but due to the unstable snowpack this year they haven’t skied it yet. In my head I’m thinking we just skinned up this whole fucking thing and they won’t touch it due to stability, and now we have to ski it!

We got to ski two pitches to get to treeline, rocks, crevasses, glacier shit. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I feel a mix of relief and terror. Relief that I”m getting the fuck off this glacier and terror that a crevasse will swallow me whole or an avalanche will take me out, or both. The first pitch waist deep pow, incredible, straight-line the flats, one down, one to go. Start the second pitch, fucking whiteout out of nowhere, can’t see shit. I was to scared to stop in fear of pretty much everything and reasoned the faster I go the better chance I have of jumping over anything in my path. And we made it to tree line. Thank God. And then JR says he wants to do it again because he likes the face shots. I got to feel relief for barely a minute and now I’m going back up into that nightmare for a second lap. I reluctantly agree and then continue to silently pray for the next hour and a half. By the time we get our skins on the clouds lift. Our skin track has completely filled in, so JR takes that as a sign to make a new one, I take it as a sign as we should not go up there. Yet I follow him. We get to the top in one piece. Ski it a second time. Now safely back at the trees we have about 2000 vert of 40 degree chutes/trees, steeps. There are an infinite number of ways to go. Chutes, cliffs, it has it all, all untracked. The snow was so deep.

Back at the sled I’m just standing there staring. Trying to comprehend what we just did. Trying to figure out how to put it into words that could even begin to do it justice. I am indebtedl to JR. Places like this don’t exist.

On the way home we hit the hot springs, a series of caverns, it was cool as shit. The perfect ending to my trip to Nelson. Tomorrow Red.

Backstory on the above:

The first night JR gets home he asked me if I backcountry ski. I told him I took an avy class (a really bad avy class) and had a beacon/shovel, otherwise no. That was enough for him to take me out there. The funny part is I had only downhill gear, shit wasn’t mainstream yet. So the dude digs in his gear closet and finds me some Alpine Trekkers, then he digs out some old skins. He grabs a role of duct tape. Puts the skins on my tips and wraps duct tape around the tails of my skis to keep them on. They are not cut for my skis, don’t fit properly at all but he declares I am ready. I’ve never seen skins or trekkers before so I assume he knows what he is talking about. The other funny thing is after we get back to the sled he shares that his girlfriend refused to go up there because she thought the snowpack was too dangerous. That was my first experience backcountry skiing and I was hooked.

[Danno]

One last thing from the forum today, the new mantra for my trip posted on the powmag forum by Reverend Floater

“Snow is holy water, face shots are communion, the wind is your preacher, and lord knows that the mountains is the best church ever built!"

Damn, the good Reverend might have not just the best post in TGR history, but the two best!

[Not DJSapp]

Subscribed for a retelling of the thread that got me to join the maggot horde.

Maggots are awesome.

[huckbucket]

Post 32 is epic. Just wow

[shera]

I love this thread so much. This was what formed my psyche, my understanding of happiness and adventure, back in the day. Maybe it can inspire me this season too.

[paulster2626]

My kids are 11 and 9. This thread has convinced me to buy them ski journals for Christmas this year. Incredible - this could be published.

[abraham]

Glad to see story this after you threatening to post it at various points.

[tgapp]

absolutely love this thread, amazing

thank you so much for sharing

this place is so special

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[easyrdr]

2-22-02
Red is awesome. They got a couple inches overnight. Ski two laps with these old dudes. One guy was 83 the other was 77, I swear it was just like those guys in P-Tex Lies and Duct Tape. Cliffs, steeps, good tree skiing. This mountain kicks ass. Would love to spend more time here but I need to start heading south. The forum guys are meeting up in Utah and I need to get down there. Tomorrow Targhee. (I can’t remember who, maybe Beaver hooked me up with a voucher to ski this day, I know someone from the board did, I think they were on patrol there but had the day off and left it for me at the ticket window, wish I could remember who it was)

2-23-02
When I crossed the border into Canada they asked what my purpose was and I told them to ski, theirs eyes lit up and they wished me well. When I crossed the border back into the U.S. they asked what I was doing, I said skiing and they asked me to step out of the vehicle put me in a holding cell where I could watch out this little square window as they systematically disassemble my truck looking for whatever border patrol looks for. Within a minute of their search they realized the wolf in the truck wasn’t going to let them search shit, so then they come let me out to bring the dog in the jail with me. Then they pull out everything, even the flooring, insulation, everything in the bed of the truck. It was fucked up. When they are done, and found nothing at all, they leave all my stuff in a pile on the pavement and tell me I’m free to go. I spent an hour putting my truck back together. At this point it’s getting dark, not a big deal except the headlights stopped working on the truck about a week ago so driving at night isn’t the most fun. So I drive to Spokane in the dark and spend the night. Congratulations U.S. border dudes you win the assholes of the day award.

2-26-02
Rolled into Targhee parking lot a few days ago, got there late afternoon so went into the bar, this bluegrass band was jamming out and I scored the last seat at the bar. Sitting between two couples I grab myself a beer. This blond next to me takes an interest and starts talking to me. Her bearded friend is not exactly happy about it but not a dick either so there’s that. I share my story and find out they are just friends (clearly the dude wants more but she ain’t having it). Any way the dude works at Targhee and has a free slope side condo for the night because it’s dumping and it’s provided to employees when it’s dumping. She offers up couch space for me and the dog. Things kept going the way they were going and we spend the night together. A good night then wake up to bluebird with 12” of fresh the next day, Snow was great, terrain was okay, hard to get excited about it coming from B.C. So after a few days, said my goodbyes to my new lady friend, thanked her for the accommodations and headed to Jackson.

2-27-02
Took a day off and rented cross country skis today, all sorts of trails to go on with the dog and I was looking forward to a down day. The shop dudes give me directions to a cool trail that runs along a river in this canyon, sounds cool so I go check it out. Me and the hound get about 3 miles in and decide to turn back. As I come around this bend we come upon a giant fresh pile of shit. It wasn’t there when we passed through so whatever it is is real close. I get P-Tex on leash. Sure enough we go a little further and it’s a giant fucking moose, in the center of the trail and he ain’t moving. The dog is doing everything a giant dumb dog would do using every ounce of his being to get to the moose, I’m on flimsy ass cross country skis holding on tight. It is clear the moose does not want us there so I turn around and head back up trail dragging the damn dog. I’ve heard enough stories of moose stomping dogs to death to know we need to ditch the moose. Unfortunately for us the moose decides to follow us. So we are boxed into this canyon, the only way out is the way we came in. I make the decision to cross the river with skis on, with the dog, there is enough room on the other side to go down and pass the moose then will have to cross the river again to get back on the trail to the parking lot. First river crossing goes great. solid snow all the way across. Other side is a season’s worth of untracked snow, deep as shit. No big deal, after all I got cross country skis on, I can go anywhere. We make good progress as the moose just watches us from across the river, he goes back to eating a tree and we keep trucking. This whole time I am fighting the damn dog because he is convinced if I let me at it he will kill the beast and provide us with dinner. So now it’s time for the second river crossing, one ski broke through the snow bridge, I immediately sink into the water, knee deep, fuck it’s cold. The dog of course is still on top of snow just staring at me like I’m the idiot that decided to go swimming in winter. Took me about 10 minutes to right myself, untangle gear and get back on trail. At this point the sun has just dropped behind the mountains and it’s cold enough that my pants are rock hard. Thankfully the moose had moved on during all this. I tell the gear shop dudes about my moose encounter and they said I was lucky the moose didn’t charge us.

3-02-02
I skied Jackson Hole the last few days. The terrain is incredible. A lot like Kicking Horse with a fuckton more people. It has the vert, it’s huge, and there is good stuff everywhere. I could see this becoming my home mountain. Talking to the locals there are tons of jobs here, they say the problem is there is no place to live. Back to the skiing. I stood on top of Corbetts today for 30 minutes. About a 15ft drop to hard pack to get in. I couldn’t get the courage up to do it. My head just wasn’t feeling it. Okay so I totally pussed out. Then this dude out of no where comes flying down the hill launches, straighlines the whole thing. Me and another guy standing there are blown away. First time I’ve turned back from skiing something in bounds in my life. Guess I’ll have to come back. Hit the road after skiing settled for the night in Ogden Utah. Tomorrow driving down to Snowbird to meet the maggots.

[Bunion 2020]

Talking to the locals there are tons of jobs here, they say the problem is there is no place to live.

Same as it ever was.

Great recounting of a time and places. Thx.

[skiJ]

Thanks, easy- x2

skiJ

[easyrdr]

3-03-02
Arrived in Salt Lake and headed up Mill Creek Canyon to hike with the dog. Went to the top of Grandeur Peak. Just chilling up there these two guys come up, unpack parachutes and just run right off into space. I watch them float down, and am now way less motivated to continue my hike back to the truck. Their way looks way better. From there I drove up to Snowbird to meet up with the maggots. I found beer but no people. Maybe I got my days wrong. Tomorrow skiing Alta.

3-04-02
Another bluebird day. Alta is a maze, all the good stuff is a boot pack, side step, or traverse away. My first few laps were lame as I couldn’t figure out how to get to what I could see from the lift. Finally hooked up with a local girl on the lift who was down to play tour guide. Not a ton of vert here but really cool terrain. Meeting up with the maggots tomorrow.

3-07-02
Last few days have been nuts. I’m not sure how many people are here, maybe 30 or 40. First day at the Bird, in a posse of maybe 25, break up into two groups to go ski different shit. Everybody rips. Learning names but it’s easier going by internet names rather then learn real ones. Skied with Rusty, Greydon Clark, Superstar Punani, Crossover, Meatdrink and GT40. Me and Meatdrink straightened the cirque, GT40 shot pics. The dude rips. Day two was at the Canyons, good company but I’m not sure why people really ski there, just didn’t do anything for me after a day at Snowbird. I’ve never skied with a group of 20+ skiers going full speed everywhere, it’s like a biker gang, people see us coming and get out of the way. Also noted the guys that are assholes on the board are actually nice guys. The whole crew is solid, good people, who would have thought.

3-9-02
Yesterday 16" of fresh at Alta. No crowds, full on powder mayhem. It was soooo good! Today hit Snowbasin, I just followed Meatdrink and crew around, though I bailed on some of the shit because the dude is a freak of nature. Hucking shit I would never consider, but man it’s fun to watch. Snowbasin is a cool mountain, lots of good terrain. Definitely will ski there again. And the rumors are true, some of the nicest toilets in the industry. Tonight was the big maggot party. I met so many people I don’t know who is who anymore. Amazing to be surrounded by a group of people you talk to daily but have never met. It was like catching up with an old friend combined with meeting someone for the first time. What can I say other than this whole trip, this whole experience has been the best trip of my life. I’ve decided I’m either moving to Jackson or Salt Lake for next season.

3-13-02
Been in Carbondale for the last few days. Haven’t been able to write in my journal because I left it in my truck which is stuck up on the access road to Mt. Sopris. My local buddy tells me it would be a good hike for the dog, don’t worry about the road it will be fine. Turns out the road was not fine, it was a fucking snowmobile track. I punched through, the truck is sitting on its axles all four tires are off the ground. I had to walk back to town. Once I got to the main road I tried to hitchhike, no one would pick us up, so we walked about 8 miles to get back to my buddy’s place. After 2 days of being stuck this Mexican dude I met offers to help. Load up shovels and jump on his quad to get back up to my truck. Two days of digging and we got the truck free. I offer to pay him and he refuses, just a good dude. With the truck back now the ski trip can continue. Tomorrow Highlands.

3-14-02
Waist deep pow at Highlands. It was awesome! Heading to Telluride tomorrow to visit Emily.

3-17-02
The truck is on its last leg. It is so bad I just pray it will get me back to Michigan. No stereo, no headlights, doesn’t shift well, rear diff is leaking, something else is leaking under the engine. So many problems I no longer bother to address the issues, doing the bare minimum to get it to go. Telluride was fucking nuts. Hanging with Emily is always a trip. The guy she’s with is a patroller at the mountain, and some crew of patrollers knew some rich somebody and rented a commercial space for nothing at the base that they turned into their own private bar/clubhouse. They call it ’the lounge.” Basically a private bar where all the drinks are free. I can’t make this shit up. The deal is show up with a bottle to leave, drink whatever you want, don’t cost nothing. Multiple shot skis later and off we go for dinner and bar hopping. Met a girl at the bar, spent the night at her place, woke up and have been puking since. I think it’s time to go.

3-18-02
Made it to Durango. It was as far as I could get with this hangover. Thoughts of home are strong at this point. So I got the truck back in order and came across the list I made of every place I wanted to ski this season, I made the list back in Bozeman, what seems like forever ago. Hadn’t seen it since and now it turns up. Of course the universe is sending me a sign. I reread the list. Thoughts of home are put on hold. There is only one resort left……Taos. The truck may or may not make it, I don’t care anymore, I’m going.

3-20-02
Durango kicks ass! Some of the nicest people I have ever met. A possible place to live? The drive from Durango to Taos is a trip, there is nothing out there, just space. Once I got south of Pagosa I think I only passed one or two cars in 3 hours. I can say Taos is one of the stranger ski towns I have ever visited. Actually forget that ski town isn’t the right word. I can’t put my finger on it but something is off here. The resort reminds me of Alta. Short vert but tons of hike to terrain, steeps, chutes, cliffs, etc. Terrain wise definitely would make the top 5 for me. Thing is not a whole lot is skiable because it’s hot as fuck here. Lots of rocks. Man this place would be awesome on a powder day. No competition either the whole place is snowplowing Texans. Will definitely come back for good snow.

[cat in january]

Some good stuff here. It’s the people that make the place special. Thanks for sharing.

[ski_the_fraulein]

easyrdr - we’re kin. I just know it. Thanks for sharing! I know I stumbled upon this thread back in the day.

I’m slightly older, but a Michigan maggot too. Born in Dearborn to parents who both came from skiing families. My first time on skis was at age 3 in 1970. I spent my early years at Schuss Mtn in kid’s ski school and still remember my first slush cup there - spoiler - I endoed into the water.

My parents made a trip to Taos in the early 70s and shared their amazement of the area which ultimately inspired me to want to live in the West.

Later my mother befriended the owner and ultimately help run a little, no longer existing ski hill outside Oxford, that I spent my “formative” years skiing more than 90 days a season before high school. It was smaller than Pine Knob, Mt Brighton and Mt Holly, but not built on a trash dump…. We did however have a snow maker and a bunch of stoners working it, so the snow mounds they made gave us some opportunities to huck way above our weight!! Mt Grampian was a unique gem.

Long story short, after winning a bunch of races in high school - I chose Utah over UVM and UC to continue my skiing interests. Turned out I liked drinking beer and skiing powder, and chasing cute girls at the U, then bashing gates. I made it my life’s mission however to live and ski the Wasatch, which I’ve been doing since 1985.

I had previously worked on some prose highlighting my experiences skiing that you’ve helped inspire me to revisit. Thank you for that and look forward to the rest of your adventure!!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Danno]

Amazing to be surrounded by a group of people you talk to daily but have never met. It was like catching up with an old friend combined with meeting someone for the first time.

Well said.

And you nailed the vibe of Taos, lol.