Huckster

After a particularly interesting day of riding, Ryan and I stumbled upon this gem. We couldnt locate the driver, however. We have it on good authority that he was in a holding pattern high over the Tryo terrain park.

Lookin' tough!

-Austin

Its been a while

Stone Hut: The Adventures of Wolf Foot

No parking ban here

Its been a while since I last posted. In fact, after a few Scotch's, and failed Google searches, I had almost given up on even finding this Blog again. Alas, I found it, and now it is time to write. Stone Hut. Well, Stone Hut was fucking awesome. Our third year as the highest residents in the Greens proved to be the best so far. Just about every morning we awoke to several inches of snow- ranging from 4-14".

Ready for the week

I hiked up after work on the first night, Saturday, and was treated to the biggest dump of the week, 14 or so inches on Sunday morning.

Shock Therapy at 3550'

Having only my Freebird with me, I had adequate time to get to know my new splitboard, as I was too jazzed on puff snow to take the time to head to the truck and switch to a different board.

running on coffee

Back to the topic at Hand: the Stone Hut being rad. Due to poor planning, poor budgeting, and poor life decisions, I only had three of the seven days off. I skipped one night, and skinned up the other three. One night, I was halfway up Nosedive and was offered a ride by one of the Groomers. The issue was that I had only burned off half of my 4Loco. The other half was spent annoying the rest of the Stone Hut Gang while I cranked beers and made noise. Bed time comes early at Stone Hut, which I found out the hard way after my hikes.

Preseason Product Testing

This is not to say that we did not share in group revelry- it is simply to say that I was often too late to experience the finer parts of living on top of a mountain with no power, no running water, flowing alcohol, and good pals.

Matt practicing for the Dream Olympics

The week wasn't all 4Loco chuggin' and hot sauce snoozin'. We did a shit load of riding too, which brings me back to the snow. Last year, when the Stone Hut Gang officially re-formed, we did so amidst bitter cold temperatures and cruel winds. We saw no real accumulation last season during our 13 nights. With a reduced stay of only 7 nights, our hopes of slayin' blower and wavin' shakas was too reduced. For naught, though. Mornings at the Mansfield Spa treated us to heavy facials on all but two of the mornings. Bros and bras alike were stoked to the max.

No action shots, but lifestyles for days

After several months of riding chair, this new blanket provided our addled minds with respite from repetitive Standard runs and laps through the park. We spent a decent amount of time poking around the Notch, checking out some old favorites, and seeking out new ones.

My reward after a particularly interesting skin
Fresh of the Set of Harry and the Henderson's II: The Most Harry Henderson, Hoffman finds time to take a knee and open wide

While I didn't get to experience the Stone Hut with he same intimacy as I did last year, I had an even better time. Why? Because I am better at it. All of us were better at it. We brought less and expected more. We took advantage of warmer nights and better conditions. We hiked more. We drank less?

On top of it all

Ending the week with a tour to the Booger Fields

-Austin

Hammer Time

If you dont think this is funny, I don't like you.

-Austin

JP's Dream Home

Hoods in the Woods

Without poles, Morgan was the perfect person to carry the pizza

It’s a common feeling that JP should live in the woods, far away from people. Last fall, JP ditched his Burlington palace and went month-to-month on a log cabin near Bolton Notch. If I have the history correct, years back, a ski trail clearing laborer ran out of work. He asked a friend with some property in the Notch if he could build a cabin and live there for a few years. Once he moved out, the cabin was free to be rented out by the landowner to various hippies, skiers, and red squirrels. There is no running water, no power, and no heat other than the wood stove. JP spent some time in the fall clearing out some woods shots, a project which we, his friends, waited until there was sufficient snow to take any interest in. One crisp night, Morgan, JP, and myself decided to spend an evening riding, drinking, and digging out Tron, JP's snowmobile.

The .22 JP used to run out his last roommates

20 minutes of hiking found us at the steps of JP’s lady lair, where we were eager to eat some dinner, have a beer, and head out for some turns. The only thing that stood in our way was Tron.

Texas Tron and the Boys

After 20 minutes of tag-teaming Tron’s pull chord, the three of us got him to cough back to life. Satisfied that our struggles were over, we readied ourselves for an easy night of riding fresh snow. The idea was to take turns piloting Tron on a series of laps; switching after each drop-off. Tron had other ideas. A Texan at heart, Tron was disinterested in all things snow. Instead, with each push of the throttle, he would to drill straight down into the ground. Even frozen Vermont Tundra was no match for Tron’s desire to dig. At his best, Tron was able to carry one person up the hill. At his worst, he was able to enlist the three of us in digging, pushing, and cursing.

Despite our issues with Tron, the three of us non-Texans had a few solid runs. JP’s efforts were clear. The swath cut through the woods was open, had decent pitch, and had a nice base. My first run was not without its challenge- I had no real light. While the others took off, I blindly made my way down through the trees- boobie hands out.

Morgan waits for Tron

When we wrapped up riding, we headed back to the love shack for some drinks and laughs. With the thermometer hovering around 200 degrees, I fell asleep on the floor, sandwiched between Morgan and Dakota. All in all, it was a fun night.

Getting ready for the ride out

-Austin