Tuckerman's Ravine, Wildcat & the Infamous Moose

This past trip to Mt. Washington will be my third and so far, I'm three for three; the sun was shining, it was warm and we had snow all the way to the bottom of the Sherburn trail. Now in order to fully comprehend just how lucky I am, you have to know a little bit about the mountain. It is quite rare to have that much snow at this time of year. Also, Mt. Washington gets the most extreme weather conditions in the eastern United States; it is not uncommon to have howling winds with snow or sleet pounding down on you. When the amount of snow we had is paired with the perfect weather, it's the ultimate combination. This year was especially great because my whole family was there to share it with me. We had a whole crew of some 13 odd people soaking in the sun and good times. For a last clip into skis, we headed to Wildcat. The Mountain faces Tuckerman's ravine and I had always only seen it in the distance from atop Mt. Washington. It was good to finally see the view from the other side.

Getting ready to climb! Mum, helping Catherine and Jordan.

A priceless view from the top of the bowl. Wildcat in the background.

Eric and Pete. Whacking their poles... checking the line out.

The Okemo clan: Eric, Myself, Dan, Pete and David.

Our crew at Wildcat.

In what I believe is a first, we managed to get seven people on my beloved Gorham Moose. A tradition 8 years running.

The Moose!

The Terrible Trio reunited.

The crew atop Wildcat.

The Broseph and I, magnificent Tuck's in the background.

The Big Win

This season I had the privilege of joining Totem Pole's race team in the 2011 edition of the Inkeepers series. It was a great opportunity to gain some race experience (of which I had none), to have fun and to make new friends. To top it all off: WE WIN!!! Awesome way to wrap up my season at Okemo. Please sing Queen - We Are the Champions as you view this photo. By the way, we won, just incase you didn't get that bit.

Maggie, James, Torin, Ken, Ian & shorty.

Spring Fever & Still in Love

The season is over. Yup, done.

Boo.

I have to say, I was pretty over teaching, but not over fabulous spring skiing. I feel as though we were a bit robbed of slush, sun and fun. I can only think of a couple full spring days, unlike last season. None the less, as the lesson numbers dwindled, as did our resolve to teach great lessons, slacking took over.

It's my favorite time of year to hang out with all the instructors I didn't get a chance to. We find ourselves with time to have breakfast AND lunch with friends (ooh, ah!), play cards, take a few runs and then chat some more. Life is good. My life is good.

Spring is fantastic for so many reasons: skiing without the loss of feeling in extremities, the grand appearance of epic goggle tans, soft snow all around (allowing for attempts at tricks of the more stupid variety) and more free ride time. As I said; FAB-U-LOUS.

Tucker & Pete, working hard. Obviously.

Gar doing a photo shoot. As directed by our 10 & 12 year-old students.

Charlotte & Kshanti @ the longtrail brewery.

Pete & Shannon toasting the season.
Gar & I, celebrating good friends... and his 30th!

Fun times @ the Loft

Pete, making our supply of granola.

Still in love.