Gee.. I wish I knew you(Jonathan/Wes) were going to Tucks last weekend.. I could have given you a place to spend the night.
I arrived at the Moutaineer Shop in N. Conway @ 8:55, five minutes to pick up a pair of hiking boots. Myself and 6 other members of the Black & Blue ski club(Killington VT) stayed at the Makasue Ski Club(Thanks Mark!). I was up and packed @ 6:30.. after eating breakfast I proceeded to watch cartoon's until the rest of the group was ready. We finally arrived at Pinkham Notch @ 9:00, only to wait another half hour while half of our party putzed around the shop(No offense to women in general .. but these two were a pain in the ass). We finally made tracks @ 9:42(I can remember because my pack weighed 42lb's). After 2 hours of fighting traffic, I arrived at HoJo's. A full hour before the rest of the group. This gave me time to throw down a lunch. We left HoJo's for the Ravine @ 1:00 :-( The trail to the Ravine was stop-N-go traffic the whole way. Couple the down hill traffic with the Canadian lasses taking pictures, and you have very slow travel. I made it to the Red Cross @ 2:00. We watched two very unfortunate people tumble out of the Chute. Both looked to be in much pain when they stopped. Both were sledded out. 15 minutes to boot up & I was on my way up the Lip(Right side). The Lip was skiable, except for the people hiking up. We decided to hike till the snow ran out. I hiked a up a little past top snow to an estimated elevation of 5700ft (500 below summit). As it was now 3:45, the group decided to split up. Two would go to the chute, Myself and 4 others headed for the Left Gully. My first run into the Left Gully stared on the right side(looking up). After ~30 turns, I stopped and hiked back up the left side for another run. All in all, the Gully was in great shape, steep on top, some bumps on the bottom. Before my second drop in, I noticed the stopped traffic on the trail to HoJo's. Wasn't moving an inch. I was happy to be on ski's on the top of the Mountain at this point. My last run was filled with non-stop, un-interrupted turns back to the Red Cross. After some wine, cheese & dry cloths, we started back to HoJo's. As luck would have it, there was not a soul on the trail :-). I left HoJo's @ 6:45 & arrived at Pinkham Notch @ 7:25! The New Boots were great! The day was topped off with B52's, Vodka & a big fat steak compliments of Horse Feathers.
I'm already making plans for a summer trip up the big hill!
If your still reading, Have a great summer.. See Ya on the Bike trails.
-Jay "Does the bike fit on the pack?" Jansen (jjansen@skibum.CV.COM)