I am an Uphill Junkie

While I enjoy just about all the different forms of skiing, skinning up a mountain is one of the most gratifying experiences in the world, to me.  After breaking my ankle almost 3 months ago I was a little uncertain about what the first time out would feel like, so I took it step by step (pardon the pun). Saturday, I decided to do one uphill adventure at Windham and then meet Robin at Mohawk on Sunday for more fun.

Last Uphill Climb at Windham this season

Weekly warm-ups are coming all to frequently now and who knows if I will get another chance to climb with the dwindling conditions.  As it turns out, I didn't think I would be able to skin today because Elliot had a race but since the conditions were less than optimal the organizers pushed back his race time and I had a couple of hours to kill so I headed up.

Chillin and Uphillin

While this hasn't been the greatest winter for snow coverage on the surrounding country side, Windham Mountain has done an impeccable job keeping their slopes covered with man made snow and on this Saturday morning I headed out once again to conquer the east peak of Cave Mountain.  It was in the 20s when I left the Adaptive Sports Foundation and by the time I reached the Wheel House Lodge, I was sweating and opened all the vents.

The best way to the top is Wanderer.  It's the longest, flattest way up the mountain.  Today, however, it was really icy because during the previous week it warmed up and they got a lot of rain.  Still, Windham took advantage of the cold weather that returned on Thursday and Friday to put down as much man made snow as possible which made a huge difference.    

Half way up the climb, I started to feel blisters starting to form on the insides of my heels and realized that I must have the wrong socks on.  I stayed the course and although it hurt like hell it was totally worth the view and knowing that you just climbed 1,400 feet. 

As I was applying band aids to my blisters a few ski patrollers asked if I need anything but when I showed them my first aid kit they were impressed.  I don't mess around.

With my wounds covered, skins off, and gear reconfigured for the descent I went down Why Not, which is a steep Most Difficult run.  It was icy and really challenging but every turn was worth it.

Skinning the Western Summit at Windham

This time I picked the right way to skin up to the western summit at Windham Mountain but not the best day in terms of the weather.  The thermometer at Adaptive Sports Foundation read 9 degrees and the windchill made it feel like -10 degrees Fahrenheit.

After making sure that Elliot was properly bundled for his race training I headed out.  I had an extra sweater on, over mitts, and a balaclava which I had to pull down once I got a feel of that wind.  I had to take the over mitts off 20 minutes into the climb but kept everything else on.

  

Still, it was hot and I had to open the zipper to my fleece and my zip pits because of the exertion but kept the balaclava on for the wind, despite the sweat pouring off my head.

This was the second time climbing up Whiskey Jack however I had plenty of time to reach the summit.  The bottom section of Upper Wraparound is a little hairy because its so narrow.  I had no trouble climbing up but had to wait near the top to traverse to the other side while a long throng of snowboarders and skiers came by.  I hate to say this but snowboarders are the worst!  Some guy stopped to chat with me and snowboarder ran right between us.  He passed within a foot of me and he was going extremely fast.  One the Ski Safety Patrollers noticed this and went after him.  I hope he got his ticket pulled!

At the summit of the western peak the wind was so fierce I de-skinned behind the Ski Patrollers shack.  Threw on my shell and helmet and took a more direct route down the mountain.

I got back to ASF with plenty of time before Elliot returned.  For some reason my Strava app failed on the iPhone.  I think because I had to bury it number my jacket so it wouldn't freeze it lost signal and never recorded the route.  Fortunately, I always bring my old cycling GPS, my Garmin Edge 705 and got a good track.  It took me an hour 20 minutes to get to the top.

Elliot returning training but was totally warm.

Uphill Skiing Walk of Shame

This was my fourth day of uphill skiing at Windham Mountain and I planned to try the new trail called Wolf's Prey to get to the summit of the western peak after two previously failed attempts.  Of course if I had all day, the two previously failed attempts would have been successes but my activities are tied to the time my son is out race training.

The Trail Map that Windham offers is very misleading because I found that Wolf's Prey was essentially straight up.  I grabbed a water break on a corner section of the trail where there was a rock I could sit on and take a little rest.

Uphill Skiing to my first Summit

Now that I am know what I am doing when it comes to skinning uphill my third weekend at Windham Mountain I went for the summit on Cave Mountain.  I took White Way to Wanderer.  It's a green trail but going up is still challenging because there are still some steep sections to contend with. Also, you have watch out for blind ascents because you can get some yahoo who won't be able to see you, all of a sudden be on top of you!

Three quarters of the way up I had to hit the bottle.  It started out around 20 this morning but when the sun came out and all the climbing I was doing I got hot and thirsty.  Along the way, I met up with two women on snowshoes.  It's funny but I have yet to see another person skinning.  Plenty of snowshoers but no skiers.  

By the time I got to the top I was drenched!  I had some more water, ate half a cliff bar, changed and then took a really nice run back down the slope I just climbed up.  By the time I was down at the bottom, my quads were killing me.

In the afternoon I tried to summit the second peak but ended up on the wrong trail and didn't make it. Not sure how or why this happened but boot must have been too lose because I terrible blisters on both sides of my heel.  I will have to try a different sock next time.

2nd Skin

The following weekend it was really cold so I dressed accordingly.  This time around I wore a cycling t-shirt and thermal long sleeve that I also wear for the cycling.  Over that I was wearing my favorite fleece with zip pits.  However, by the time I got to top of Wilbur Park I was sweating profusely once again.

I headed up Wing'n it but then when I saw the last section to the top I knew I wasn't making that so I cut over on a trail called Wintuck, thinking I would probably be able to climb Why Not only to find the trail closed due to ski racing.

In the afternoon I headed over to the western side of the resort to try and climb the western mountain. Along the way I saw Elliot up in the chair.  I was probably 100 yards up the mountain and we was already taking his third run.

I never made it up the western mountain but I still had fun climbing.  Coming down was great, too.

Uphill Skiing is Fun!

I have yet to get back on the bike due to my bike crash late last year but for the past couple of weeks I have felt good enough to ski and one thing I wanted to try this year was uphill skiing.  This is my second year on Telemark skis and it's a such a blast!  Every turn is a learning experience.

  

I have my son enrolled in an adaptive racing program at Windham Mountain through the Adaptive Sports Foundation.  Last year we were going to Jiminy Peak every week for their racing program but Elliot grew out of that program which has brought us here.  The big difference with ASF is that I can't shadow Elliot like I did last year so while he is off shredding the trails with his guide I have some time to kill.

So, I bought an Uphill Seasons Pass at Windham, which means for $25 I can ski up and down the mountain, I just can't use the lifts.  When you have skins, why would you even want to use lifts?  It sounds like cheating!

Similar to the scales you get with waxless cross country skis, skins let you walk up a slope without sliding backwards.  In fact, they are far better than scales!

My first outing was on a particularly warm Saturday afternoon on Martin Luther King, Jr's Birthday weekend.  My first skin was up Lower and Upper Whirlwind and it was basically straight up and I got really hot, really quick!

 

I went out wearing a t-shirt, turtleneck and a wool sweater and half way up I was sweating profusely. In my ruck sack I am carrying water, a parka shell and my helmet because I knew going downhill was going to be really cold.

But the beauty of this type of skiing is getting access to closed slopes!  After this climb, my down hill selection resulted in finding a slope that the upper part had snow making on it which seemed to be deterring the other skiers from this particular slope.

Thus giving me the entire lower section of the slope open to make some really good turns!