STowked! A season so far in pictures.

[bushwacka]

The fun starts back in December. With the embryonic start of the stowe woods skiing season. 

Sean thinking the woods are not quite ready enjoys the true packed powder on Standard.



He then gets it done in the early season Park.



Caitlin enjoying the 6 inches of heavy windbuff



On a long forgotten trail in bounds Thorin finds some of the best turns leading up to christmas



Early season required good cross blocking skills and general disregard for all of the small brush sticking though the snow, I guess we can call it bushwacking



The Forest of the Northen Spine and oh what they hold.



Phil Pug made an appearance in our local paper



Thorin go for the mandatory ice water fall in the INbounds chute named Tombas for the Italian Great SL skier.

[bushwacka]

After a couple weeks of getting no pictures but still get pretty good snow fall nearly eveyrday. I meet up with Greg Petrics from http://www.famousinternetskiers.com/

He showed me a a sweet chute somewhere way off in Stowe's Sidecountry

On the way there we score a sweet shot with an opening to the valley.



Me and Alex then go back off in search of snow yesterday. We found it easily. while lots of stuff inbounds was icey and skied off. The 12-15 inches ofnew snow that feel in the past week was still waiting for the daring and intrepid

We both like Deep snow and its the only thin worth working for IMO.





Another lap and more powder again for me. Go pro Frame capture which means there will be video eventually

[bushwacka]

Yesterday I wake up and its time for the local beer league SG race.

http://www.teammmsc.org/cmsuploads/results_51_1675510811.txt

I Did quite well. 13th in a field that has 5 former US ski teamers, elite college racers, and former elite college racers as well as old guys who are true students of how to go fast. The guy just ahead of me, is 100 point GS and SL racer(but 150 point SGer). Still I had 2 mistakes ....went off line into powder trying to set up the next gate and also slipped an edge.  Erik Timmerman took all these photos

Nate had the fastest non suit time



Sam Von Trapp(yes those von trapps) on his way to a 4th place finish. looks pretty ragged as well



Former US ski teamer Kristi Brown on her way to 1st Female, and 22nd overall.



another stowe ski school staff way off line, but still kept it together



Greg our newest L3 on staff explores the limits of balance



and then relizes our outside ski is a much better place to be



Me on the way to my strongest finish yet for this league. SG skis are stupid fun.

[bushwacka]

After the race, I met up with my buddy Adrian and his GF Krysta. Another 2-4 had fallen on top of what me and Alex had skied yesterday.Better write up and more pictures below

http://skiclimbfishbum.com/2012/01/back-to-stowe/

all the ways out in Planet X noone had skied there yet this year and that means deep powder!



Krysta forgetting her cross block!



there is nothing better than powder, and lots of it. Me getting one of the many faceshots today.



down a bit lower the snow was thin and there was ALOT of open creeks, with alot of snow snake waiting. Our exit was a chute formed by falling ice every spring. Not as deep but still good skiing.

Adrian charging the 40 degrees of narrow Gnar

[Liam]

Thank God someone has been getting the goods this season!  Great Stowe shots as always, Greg.

In the off-piste, are you still skiing the Rossi Sickle?

[bushwacka]

I am in most of them and so far so good. maybe a touch slower in tree than the 183cm katana. But it is lighter and more fun and a better all mountain ski.  The thing I hated about the Katana was its heaviness for moving around and lack of stability on hard snow but I am thinking I am missing the full rocker for our woods so I may just have to buy some Shiro's.

[jbotti]

That Northern Spine photo is gorgeous!! Excellent shot!!

Wow, compare what Stowe has had to Tahoe where they still can't open the full mountain at Squaw. Fugly!!

[bushwacka]

That Northern Spine photo is gorgeous!! Excellent shot!!

Wow, compare what Stowe has had to Tahoe where they still can't open the full mountain at Squaw. Fugly!!

The thing is stowe gets tons of under the radar 2-5 inch snows. We get that many days in a row and soon we have powder skiing somewhere you just have to find it. I honestly have 10 days now of skiing what was 'bottomless" powder. Our sidecountry is not like western sidecountry in the way it nearly impossible to route find if you do not have photographic or editic memory(yes in my mind that does exist especially for people with aspergers). Its quite freaquently 35 degree plus with the possibility of moving snow. Also there are many cliff bands and gullies that are terrain traps and keep alot of people out of alot of places for a real fear of becoming stuck in the woods overnight or worse.


We do not need storms for there to be good skiiing, we just need snow with out freeze thaw cycles. In fact quite often a bunch of little snows make for better skiing than big storms that bring out the crowds. 

If anyone ever wants shown around just give me a heads up, my days off are thursday and friday. But I quite frequently ski beyond bell to bell while hiking for turns if you up for that sort of thing. Also if it been snowing recently bring skis that will float and turn quick because I can find untracked for people nearly all day long assuming it has snowed recently. It just tend to be in super tight spots.

[LivingProof]

Josh,

Some great shots and it's great to see some powder skiing in the east.

I am planning on doing your Epic adventure in March, only, I'd be pretty happy just skiing at Stowe! The crown jewel of eastern skiing. I love it for exactly what it is.