When we're not blogging...here's what we are doing

We finally got our first good snow of the year and the Thunderbolt is in great shape. By early morning there was already a bunch of tracks on it courtesy of the usual suspects. The riding is great and with the snowy forecast its only going to get better.

Smugglers Notch: FAT ICE

The Berkshire Backcountry crew met up this past weekend in Vermont. We spent Saturday and Sunday climbing ice in Smugglers Notch. The ice was certainly plentiful. Conditions on Saturday were a bit cold as there was 30 mph wind gusts, but we hung on for as long as we could. Sunday was excellent with low wind and as you can imagine, no crowds. Ice climbing is growing as a sport, but we all have our own little special frozen waterfalls that we frequent. Sharpens those axes and get ready for a fun filled ice climbing season. See you out there. We'll have some photos from the trip coming soon.

For the past five years it seems that we have gotten a snow storm on the first week of December and this year is no different. Some years we had enough to ride the Thunder Bolt but this year we have the right amount to cross country ski anywhere you want. The night time skiing is what makes the long winter nights go by alot less painfully. Those long nights really get to me. So for this winter when the skiing or snowshoeing isn't enough to wear me out, I have decided to biuld myself a wood strip canoe in all my down time. With those long nights upon us I have already been hard at work on skiing and the canoe. If you find yourself getting a little stir crazy at night go for a ski, a hike, or build a boat. It works for me. The first picture is of the "Wild Bunch" out for a night ski and the other is of the steam bent stem pieces of my canoe.