Its getting to be late Spring, which means that crust skiing in the Sierras is just about perfect. Here are some photos and comments from Far West Nordic's Mark Nadell. Here are some photos from the latest Sierra Spring Skate Trip. Temperatures around here have been pretty warm in the evening, so we’ve not been able to do a lot of local trips, but this week it got a little cooler, and the conditions today...
A little over a week ago, a reader in Fairbanks alerted us to a story about a local skier, Alan Kendall, who had quite a story to tell regarding a recent ski. We emailed Alan to get his first-hand account. Here is his story. An account this story also appeared in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and the Anchorage Daily News This past Saturday (Apr. 8, 2006) I was skate-skiing again down at Nenana on the...
Tim Kelley is always looking for new places to explore on his cross country skis. To him, cross-country skiing is all about skiing across the country. And the country he enjoys the most is the Alaskan wilderness, along with its remote villages and people. http://crust.outlookalaska.com/SpringSkiing2006/Kusko/
Post Season: Crust Skiing in Utah The racing season just ended for Utah's XC enthusiasts but instead of taking a lazy break it is the crust that attracts them. Once addicted to it you cannot pass on a great crust ski day! The crust ski conditions this weekend up at Strawberry Reservoir (30 miles from Soldier Hollow next to Daniels Summit) were just amazing. Plenty of sun and fun by skiing super fast through the...
Rebecca Dussault and her Mom won the womens race in the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse last weekend, while John Brown and Brian Smith won for the men. This extreme backcountry Nordic race starts at the Crested Butte, Colorado Community School at midnight, climbs over and around Crested Butte Mountain Resort over Death Pass, to Friends Hut, and over Star Pass. From Star Pass, the race continues through the Taylor Basin and over Taylor pass, which...
For those who feel that the Birkie and other XC skiing events aren’t challenging enough we can highly recommend Reindeer racing! We asked on of our readers in Finland, former biathlon skier Ari Niittyvuopio (41) to tell us about his latest passion — Reindeer racing: – We are training the reindeer from beginning of December, and the race season usually starts at end of February and last until end of April. We are training the...
Lots of new snow, the big track setter had not showed up yet, but a large forest service “belt machine†had packed it nicely for classic uphill powder skiing. Here are some photos from a Tuesday morning workout in Mill Creek Canyon outside Salt Lake City, Utah. Tuesday January 31, 2006: – The temperature was around 30 Fahrenheit (-1 Celsius), 6-8 inches of new snow last night and a lot more expected the next three...
Nome, Alaska may not seem the most obvious place to spend New Years. However, it had one of the best community firework displays I’ve seen in a while, and at less than 150 miles from the dateline was one of the last places you have a chance to catch the New Year. It also had some of the most fun skate skiing I’ve had since crust skiing last spring. Although locals were complaining of the...
Ever thought you were too old to exercise or that it was too late for you to start getting in shape? Think again! Read all about how my 70-year-old father is in the best shape of his life and how his secrets can help YOU get there too! Here it is, right up front: your age is just a number. It's not who you are…it's not your limitation. It's just a number. How do I...
Eight junior skiers and two coaches from Utah and Wyoming just completed a six day backpacking trip in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Coach Gordon Lange sent us some great photos and a short report. On July 18th four skiers and one coach from the National Sports Foundation in Park City, Utah teamed up with four skiers and Coach Ali Deines from the Jackson Hole Ski Club of Wyoming for a unique training camp...
We at FasterSkier have enjoyed hearing from all of you who have stretched your ski season well into summer. Here's the latest installment, which we received a week ago from Chris Humbert in Utah I was up at Bald Mountain Pass (10,000') this past Saturday the 18th, since Laurie [Chris's wife ] rode up there on her bike. I figured I'd bring my skis, and lo and behold, there's still about six FEET of snow...
The calendar is closing in fast on July, but that hasn't stopped some of the diehards from holding on to winter. We received the following report from Mandy Bowden in Montana. The skiing on Beartooth Pass continues to hold up well. We were skiing at elevations over 8000 feet where there is still several feet of snow. Because Beartooth Pass is closed from Red Lodge due to mud slides, the drive from Bozeman is over...
Reader Chris Axelson sent us this report and photos: The BSF Senior Team headed to Beartooth Pass over the Memorial Day Weekend for a little skiing. Winter is late leaving the Bozeman area and it continues to snow daily in the mountains with the snowline currently located at about 7,000 feet. The team headed down to the Beartooth Pass for three days of great skiing, horseing around and sunshine. For those of you not familiar...
Reader Benji Uffenbeck reports that the crust is still nice and smooth up in Alaska! Benji wrote in: On June 7 I hiked up Ram Valley for about 2 hours to get to the remains of the snow. I was able to ski up and over Bombardment Pass and down the other side a little ways. While you can't ski for miles on end, there is still a decent amount of skiable terrain. The snow...
The real beauty of high-altitude “Adventure Skating,†I’ve found, is how fleeting the positive experiences can sometimes be, and that when things go “right,†it is truly an exceptional way of combining the feeling of gliding over snow while going to places that are remote and starkly beautiful. That being said, it is sometimes only with failure that we can really and truly appreciate those successful trips, and remember that the conditions don’t always align...
These photos were taken on a ski trip to Mts Lassen and Shasta May 21-23, 2005. Twenty to fifty feet of snow, champagne crust, blue skies…not to mention “one run” is worth 4000 ft of vertical descent. Jeanne Wadsworth and Bill Howell, Bend, Oregon
Reader John Mohs of Shiprock, NM sent in the following photos of May skiing: Just some inspiration as folks are headed into the off-season. Most of my friends are a month into biking or kayaking, but as of 14 May, still 120″ base with great crust and 3″ fresh powder atop Wolf Creek Pass (Pagosa Springs, CO).
One of our readers, Dave Knoop of Park City, Utah sent us this email on April 30, 2005. He had just done a solid backcountry workout in the high Mountains surrounding Park City. His day included a solid hour and a half climb from roughly 7000 feet elevation to approximately 8500-9000 feet, a couple hours “light rolling terrain” on the high trail across the mountain and then a decent down a alpine area that had...
We asked our readers to send in their pictures of skiing in May. We received the following pictures from Tim Kelley in Anchorage, Alaska. This time of year, Tim uses his boat to access remote ski locations in Prince William Sound. These pictures were all taken in May and at sea-level – literally. The Sound is an amazing collection of glaciers, fiords, and wildlife. To be able to ski there, well that make it just...
Meiko Hoemke just sent us these pictures of crust skiing in May near Strawberry Reservoir, Utah. Strawberry is about 30 miles from Soldier Hollow. Have you been skiing in May? Send us the pictures! Laurie Humbert and Meiko Hoemke