We recently wrapped up nearly two weeks of travel and assignment work out in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. It snowed nearly 100″ while we were there, and we captured some great images. We also spent some great time connecting with folks that embody the skiing spirit that is so alive and well at places like Alta, Utah, including many Vermont and Mad River Glen skiers who were out west chasing the big Wasatch snow cycle. Many skiers have long thought that there is a very real and powerful connection between Alta, UT and Mad River Glen, VT – and it goes well beyond the fact that these two resorts are open to skiers only (there is no snowboarding allowed at either resort). There is something about the skiers at these places, something in the way the snow falls, something deeply spiritual, perhaps, that bonds these two ski areas. We’ve been trying to get to the bottom of it, so stay tuned for a few stories on the subject. For now, here are a few images to share from the Alta side of the equation…
Don’t miss the latest incarnation of our ever-evolving, multi-media slideshow featuring our skiing adventures throughout the northeast… Thanks to local supporters Mad River Glen, Clearwater Sports and Sugarbush, among many others, for helping to make this show possible.
Oregon-based WEND Magazine has recently published our story and photographs featuring our recent backcountry skiing adventure among the fjords, islands and towering peaks of East Greenland. You can view a sneak peek at our story HERE. (Stay tuned to this blog post for an updated link to a full PDF version of our story soon)
WEND is a great new magazine dedicated to providing readers with top-rate stories and photographs under the auspices of “Adventure/Inspiration/Travel/Activism”. Please consider subscribing to this excellent publication. We will also be contributing adventure skiing content to WEND’s blog soon. Here’s a bit more about WEND… “Our mission is to educate and inspire, as we see travel and experience as revelation that enriches our lives, and makes us better world citizens. We travel not to escape but to challenge ourselves and discover the humanity that every culture, big or small, poor or rich, shares. Sometimes grand adventure takes us to the other side of the planet, atop a towering peak, across an ocean, or even to our own cities, just around the corner. Our narrative style doesn’t focus so much on where we go, or what summit we made, but rather all the nuances of how we get there. We are people who write in our journals, take photographs, and build our understanding of the world one step at a time with humility and respect.”
As part of world class explorer and climber Mike Libecki’s evening celebration of mountain adventure, we will present a shortened version of our multi-media slideshow, “Off Piste in Iceland”, this coming Weds and Thurs, Jan 27 & 28, starting at 7pm each night, at Our Lady of our Snows in Alta, Utah. Our Iceland segment will highlight 10 years of backcountry skiing adventure in the Land of Fire and Ice. The event is a free event hosted by Alta Community Enrichment.
Last week, in Vermont’s Times Argus newspaper, a photo of ours opened a story, authored by correspondent Jake Brown, about ATV use on Vermont’s public lands. See our photo and the story HERE.
Since December 2008, we have been working with Vermont’s Natural Resources Council (VNRC) by providing them with images they can use for their ongoing website, fundraising, media and membership communications. We’ve also donated some of our fine-art photography to an auction the VRNC organizes in conjunction with the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, hosted by the VRNC in Burlington every fall.
The VNRC is Vermont’s leading statewide organization dedicated to protecting our natural resources and our environment through research, education and advocacy. We feel lucky to have organizations like the VNRC that are working hard to protect the great things we love about life in Vermont. Please check out their website, and if you support their work, consider supporting them with a donation of money, your time or membership.
Thanks to a long stretch of snowy weather, the upper elevations across the northern reaches of the northeast are in a truly beautiful state right now. The hardwood forest above 2500′ is especially attractive with its ever-deepening snowpack, and the birches and beeches decorated with some of the most impressive rime buildup we’ve ever seen. The conifers higher up are almost entirely cloaked in snow. Now is a great time to enjoy the higher mountains in their winter state.
Some friends have launched a really cool new blog, entitled Vermont99, that is dedicated to the practice of getting out on snow ninety nine times throughout the winter season…That’s right, 99 times!
Recently, sensing our dedication to the snowy, winter season, the blog authors shared some nice thoughts about our work. Check it out what they had to say HERE.
Still, with 120 days in the winter season, Vermont99 claims, this should be very doable for most of us – even with all those little things like work, chores, family, kids and dental visits competing for time. Be it a short ski tour out the back door, or an epic ski traverse across the Vermont’s Presidential Range, the blog authors at Vermont99 would love to hear about it.
Think snow.
-Brian
The skiing has been really beautiful under Vermont’s hardwood canopy lately, especially in areas that have remained protected from the strong winds that affected most of Vermont’s ski resorts over the weekend. We’ll add some more images to this post soon, so stay tuned. – Brian
Deepcember is living up to its name once again in Vermont this season. And as evidenced by the first two photos here – captured in 2007 (skier: Ian Forgays) and 2008 (skier: Dylan Crossman), respectively – Deepcember often plays host to some of the finest days of powder skiing all season…
It was about a week ago now when another great mass of cold air from the Great White North began sweeping across the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, drawing moisture from the lakes as it headed for Vermont. Snow squalls produced more than 12″ of snow for the luckiest spots, and a favorable wind left much deeper pockets of snow along the steepest, high-elevation, east-facing slopes of the Green Mountains…
There’s a big snowstorm bearing down on coastal New England right now. Seaside skiing, anyone? And although we might see only a few snowflakes from this storm up here in Vermont, it looks like there might be another system in its wake.
Think snow!
Brian and Emily
Our latest Wild People, Wild Places exhibit, entitled “WINTER”, opens this Saturday. Dec. 12 from 4-6pm with a reception hosted by the The Artisan’s Gallery in downtown Waitsfield, Vermont. The Gallery is located is historic Waitsfield Village, along Bridge St and just a stone’s throw from the village covered bridge.
The exhibit will feature nearly thirty color and black & white images representing our discoveries made in the winter season. The exhibit will remain open during normal Gallery hours through the holidays. When you are in or near Waitsfield, stop for something to eat at The Green Cup, The Village Grocery or the new Mint restaurant, and enjoy the exhibit and great variety of Vermont made art at the Gallery.
