Good Old Kirkwood

Another monster storm headed into Tahoe last week and brought a classic Sierra dump.  Friday saw road closures on both highway 50 and 80.  We decided for an early AM start on Saturday, a trick I've never quite mastered.  Even the thought of bottomless pow turns are no match for a bottomless bed with warm pillows and blankets for me.  I hit snooze way to many times (sorry Paul, Ashley and Sara) until first chair was a distant memory.  After a wobbly start we got up to a busy Kirkwood and started the hunt for fresh tracks.

Still fresh snow if you know where to look.

We did what we do best and headed to the backside.  The temperature stayed in the single digits keeping the snow light and dry, a rare thing for Tahoe.  With a little digging we found some fresh in the trees and left trenches in our wake.  We met up with Kate, Evan, Josh, Jamie, and Kate and shared some turn on the backside to end the day.  Even as the place got tracked it stayed light and fun.  But the real star was Kirkwood, we've been skiing there for years now and it really feels like home.  Laid-back, lo-fi, that's the place we love.

A lovable Kirkwood local. 

Paul, Ashley, Sara and myself decided to make it a South Lake Tahoe trifecta by heading to Freshies for a quirky dinner and crashing at Camp Richardson after a day at Ze Wood.  Paul read the Tahoe Mountain News classifieds aloud before bed, which is actually quite entertaining.

Anyone in the market for a pair of used chaps, size 40.

Everyone hit the road Sunday AM to deal with the real world and I decided to shred the gnar solo.  Turned the iPod up to an unsafe level and charged as hard as I could.  Kind of fun really.  Looking forward to next weekend!

Back-Up Plan for the Back-Up Plan

The mountains will do what they want to.  It doesn't matter what you have planned or how many days off work you can take.  If you're not ready to be flexible with the mountains you're going to get screwed.  And flex we did.

The plan was simple, assemble a crew of smartasses, Kevin, Bernard, Sara, Erin, Pace, Brian, Danielle, Chris, Paul, Kate, Ashley, Peter, Mara and myself.  Drive up to Yosemite after work on Thursday, ski in on Friday, and ski out on Sunday.  We've been doing it for years now but every year it's always an adventure.

Ours started with a storm that will go down in history.  After weeks with no precipitation we got hammered.  By Friday morning the road to the trailhead was closed and we were forced to come up with the first of countless back-up plans.  A friendly ranger named Heidi checked the tread depth on all of our tires and told us the road wasn't opening so we skinned up and started skiing up the road, adding an extra five miles to an already long day.

About two hours later and nearly to the trailhead the road opened and we managed to get our cars up to Badger Pass and the normal trailhead.  It was late in the morning now and the storm continued to build, it was looking like an epic slog and night entrance to Ostrander.  That is when we met Jason Torlano, the Operations Manager for Badger Pass.  He informed us that the road was closed again and the ski into Ostrander would be a waist deep push of impossibleness.  He said we could crash at the resort if we laid low and respected the place.  And that is where the story really starts.

The crew gets comfortable in the kitchen.

Maintenance crew takes us on a night cat ride.

It was obvious we made the right decision when we saw our cars the next morning.

Up to the mirrors in about 18 hours.

By this time we had learned that Jason was not only the operations guru for Badger Pass but he was also a sponsored skier and climber with a laundry list of first descents.  He came up with the next back-up plan.  Instead of breaking trail in waist deep powder to Ostrander he could groom a trail to a different hut ten miles away.  We took him up on his offer.  We loaded our gear on the cat and slid on a groomer all the way to the hut with daypacks.  Ridiculous.  Along the way we sampled the fresh.

Jason to the rescue...again.

Pace gets a taste of the snow off trail.  Would've been a long ten miles to Ostrander.

Pace's Pitch from JonnyB on Vimeo.

The hut was amazing, perched on the tip of Glacier Point the views were absolutely gorgeous.  It was one of those moments in the mountains you just can't plan for.  You have to go and let it happen.  

Private hut and cat at the ready.

Bnard and Kevin clown around at the edge of a 3000 foot cliff.

The ski out was a breeze and we even capped it off with a parking lot dance party.

Parking Lot Dance Party from JonnyB on Vimeo.

The more I do it the more I realize it's not about the summit it's about who climbed it with you.  Thanks again guys!

The Storm Is Here

Well, after a very dry few weeks the high pressure system that was sending storms north of California is gone.  Now big storms can barrel across the pacific and unload on us.

It's a feeling I've come to love.  Commuting across the Bay Bridge in a big nasty rain rainstorm means the mountains are getting a fresh blanket of snow.  A thick blanket of snow.

Tonight we are heading out to Yosemite for a long weekend at the Ostrander Hut.  It has become one of my favorite trips of the year.  It's always an adventure no matter how many times I've been there.  Spoke to Howard a few days ago and he won't be there this trip but we are hoping to meet up in April for some backcountry skiing.

Winters of My Life from Jonathan Burhop on Vimeo.

It's hard to focus on this post knowing what is to come.  Excited, anxious, nervous, alive, looking forward to the challenge.

Up in the air

Blogging from 34,000 feet on the way home from New York.  Nothing really to report but isn't this cool?  Should be getting bumpy pretty soon with the weather they are predicting.

Homeward bound at 500 MPH

Calm before the storm

Took a day trip up to Kirkwood with Josh, Kate, Paul, Nard and Sara. The place was basically empty and the snow was surprisingly good. Lapped the backside for most of the afternoon and closed the day with an icy run on the wall. Bnard and Kate practiced skiing on steep bulletproof ice for next years trip to Silverton.

Good times as always.

Woke up this morning at five for a flight out of town and it was raining!! The snow is back! 17 days of skiing so far.

It's alive!!

Welcome to the new site.  Cleaner, meaner, and a way better name.

One more run

Last run of the trip near June Lake just north of Mammoth. More variable terrain but we managed to find some nice powder in the north facing trees.

Can't wait to see the little charger

Heading home tomorrow to see my lady.

Chicken Wing

Just skied a local mammoth spot called chicken wing. Five mile tour up 2k feet. Some good, some crusty, and some altogether bad turns. Better than work, that is for sure.

Mammoth

Last night we slept in death valley. The temperature was a mind blowing 80 degrees. Hard to believe that only half a days drive away it's pushing far below zero in the Rockies.
We arrived in Cali this afternoon to find it hasn't snowed since I left. After a record breaking start of the season things have gone dry. The forecasts are saying winter should return next week so I'm crossing my fingers.
Even though conditions are less than perfect we jumped out of the car to ski a line before the sun set. I named it lemonade stand because in the end it was a lot of fun (lemons into lemonade, get it). Tomorrow we will try to squeeze a few more lemons...

West

How a monster recharges

Grand Canyonero

Just did a 14.5 mile hike through the grand canyon with Bernard. Back on the road. Off to the Republic of California.

Silverton

It's hard to sum this one up but I'll start by saying Silverton Mountain is the real deal.  Not many things in life can live up to the hype but this one does.  Skiing Silverton is a hard experience to describe, it sits somewhere between the resort and the backcountry touring but it's really something altogether different.  One double chair takes you to the top of a ridge where hundreds of lines are just a 5 to 45 minute hike away.  There were no gimmies today, every single turn was a challenge, but would you really want it any other way?  A humbling experience to say the least but one I can't wait to do again.

Here's how it works.  At 8am you sign your life away with frozen pens in a small yurt.  Then you and about 60 other people divide yourself up into two groups, fast and medium.  We went with medium and I'm glad we did.  It's an interesting moment of peacocking and posturing as people ask you where you're from, check out your ski boots or how dirty your jacket is.  From there you are broken up into groups of eight.  Bernard and I called our motley crew United Nations because we had representatives from Germany, Finland, Spain, and of course Los Estados.  One last briefing from your guide about all the ways you can die and you're off.

The top is just like the biggest, baddest resort you've ever been to.  Just no restaurants, ropes, or lift lines.  In ten minutes we are dropped into the gnarliest backcountry skiing I've ever been amongst.  Just wild.

Over the next eight hours we hike and ski some of the most challenging runs of my life.  Including a cornice drop entrance, tree skiing into a no-fall chute with a fixed rope so you can lower yourself down skis still attached, and big open powder turns until your quads turned to fire.  At the end of the run you would work your way back to a road where one of Silverton's makeshift buses take you back to the lift for more.

Silverton Bus from JonnyB on Vimeo.

Our group and guide were great.  We were all pretty burnt by noon but Bernard and I continued to put our heads down and hike and ski through the pain as others started calling it quits.  By the last run it was just our guides, Bernard, and myself getting after it.  Not bad for a couple of boys from the flatlands.

All in all, words and pictures just don't do it justice.  You've got to see this one for yourself.  Interested in joining next year?

Another cold one

Checked in late to the Prospector Motel lat night.  Met Andy the owner and found out he was born and raised in Chicago.  Today we headed down to Durango Mountain for the day.  The place was empty.

Probably because it's still freezing out here.

Tomorrow we hit Silverton Mountain to see what everyone is talking about.

Silverton safe and sound

Super cool little mountain town with a hairy pass to get here. Snow, ice, and no guard rail. Feels like we just drove into 1974.

Just like when we were ten

Crashed with Mike, Elena, and Buster last night. Thanks again guys!
With sub zero temps in the forecast Mike was the ultimate host taking Bernard and me out for sone turns. Beaver Creek was reporting eight inches of fresh so it was the call. Met up with two of Mike's friends on the hill and even picked up a stranger along the way.
Fun times as always chasing Mike down the down the mountain just like we used to do twenty years ago! Twenty years ago? Wow. He still rips. Mike, come to Tahoe!
Heading west on 70 now en route to Silverton...

It's frosty in the Rockies

Bernard demos proper layering techniques for skiing in -10 degree weather. Body parts go numb and noses turn a scary shade of white.  What do you wear for these harsh conditions?  Everything.