PontiMax
04-22-2003, 03:59 PM
Well I made it back late Sunday evening a little wiser and now a confirmed tucks junkie! What a weekend. I feel the best part about it were the people and the people we met. Everyone was first rate. I want to thank all who replied to my previous posts before I had departed.... extremely helpful input! We are already planning a weekend in May, but this time we are staying at Hermit Lake. Man, where do I begin........?
My buddy Rob and I arrived at the JDL late Thursday evening almost 9 hours later after leaving the Philadelphia area, it was around 3 in the morn. We were very impressed with the JDL first off. Super clean and friendly. Upon arriving we immediately went to bed with thoughts of what would lay ahead. We awoke around 7:30 on Friday and cleaned ourselves up and went to breakfast. Eggs to order was great and as we ate we started talking to the people around us picking up little tidbits of info about the weather, conditions and such along with a few laughs. It was funny what happened next. We went back to our room and began to pack. Rob had borrowed my multitool and a moment later he rushed out the door. I located him in the bathroom with a gusher of blood pouring out of his left palm, he had cut himself with the blade? Unbelievably in the bathroom at the same time was Jason, a volunteer EMT that just so happened to have his bag of goodies with him. He stated that Rob should get stitches but did not know were the nearest hospital was. After Jason had taped his hand up we decided to wait 20 mins to see if it would clot. At this point we were pretty bummed about the prospect of going to some hospital and have the day be wasted. After some discussion he decided to go at it as is and to buy a first aid kit at the store. And that was that. We taped the **** outta it and were on our way with cloudy skies and mild temps on Friday morn.
The first leg of the hike I would say is no joke. My legs surprised me all weekend, but were thankful when we arrived at HoJo’s for a much-needed break and lunch. The hike is a steady climb and the conditions were good. No crampons were needed but my poles we no doubt helpful. We made it to HoJo’s in about 2 hours. This is where one catches the first glimpse of the bowl. Awesome! It is menacing. The hike up is great though. Quiet and peaceful and full of nature’s glory. Along the hike we talked to many souls as we were all experiencing the same feelings of anticipation at arriving in the ravine. The second leg to the ravine is a bit easier I felt. It is steeper but is boulder stairs most of the way and took us about 40 mins. You make one last turn and almost like a shot in the face is the bowl in all of its intimidating majesty. We scurried up to Lunch Rocks and relaxed for a while and watched numerous skiers and snowboarders making their runs. When we felt we were ready we decided on right gully. We climbed up just above the crevasse that was present and made our way to safe location. The climb is steep and as one gets higher it gets steeper by the step. It was a little hairy, but we just took our time and eventually made it to where we wanted to be. As soon as I strapped on my board I began to feel at ease. I climbed up with my board on my pack and my shortened poles, which I felt was helpful for me. The snow was corn and little on the harder side but in good shape. I then took a few deep breaths and dropped in. Almost immediately one is at speed. Made turns all the way down to the trail head, and felt as if I just gave birth. To exhilarating for me to describe. I have been to some hairy terrain, but none that required me to hike to earn my turns! I feel that is why I savored it so, and man did it taste good. That run for us was the only one we were able to do because we were so tired. We said our goodbyes to the folks up there and began our descent. Once at HoJo’s we tempted the Sherburne trail. It was only usable for the upper ¼ I guess, but we felt we made a good hike down.
That night we treated ourselves to a great dinner at HorseFeathers. After dinner we purchased some beers and went back to the JDL to hang in the lounge. There is where we met Rick (father) his son Elie and his friend Brian. It turned out that Rick was a trustee of Mad River Glen and had cut some of the more famous trails back in the seventies. Had some great stories to tell. He even talked about some of the previous shelters up there at Hermit Lake that would hold many people and many good times for all who stayed up there back in the day. We all had a good buzz, good time and we all then went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads…..
Awoke early Saturday morning to low clouds and mild temps. People were everywhere because of the Son of Inferno……Pinkham was teaming with activity. Rob was hard to get out of bed so I went to breakfast alone. When I came back to our room he stated he didn’t want to do it again “it is not worth the hike for one run” is what he said. It killed my enthusiasm almost immediately. I had no problems with anything and was chomping at the bit to do it again, for god’s sake that is why we made this trip! I told him I will go it alone because in essence you are really not alone up there. He said he would just stay in the lodge and read or something. I then said ok Rob you win, we will leave early for Jay Peak then and I will have to wait until next year. He kept saying the weather is bad and we can get a good jump on Jay to meet some of his friends and hangout. Feeling sad and whinny about not making the hike to tucks on Saturday I became angry at him, but kept it to myself. I left him in the room to get some air and at that moment I ran into Rick, Elie and Brian. I talked to Rick for a while and he asked us if we were headed up. I said Rob has a problem with the hike and we are taking off for Jay and stated my feelings on the matter. At that moment Rick (the dad) said two words to me that changed my mind instantly. He knew that I was pissed at my friend and just said you know what “You’re here.” I said you know what your right! I ran back upstairs to our room and began to pack my gear. Rob is like what are you doing. I told him whom I ran into and that I was making another religious journey to the shrine. He was in disbelief. I packed my gear like a giddy school child. At this point he said he would go but he wasn’t bringing his skis. I said ok, I am just glad your coming along.
We began our hike and the trail was moving at a good pace with people at all points. The hike up this time was much quicker for me. Fueled by the crowds and chicks I was talking with we made it to HoJo’s in an hour and a half. Dripping with sweat, as the day was much warmer then Friday we entered the lot at HoJo’s. At this point the sun was poking through and making a stand at the clouds. Rob at this point leaned over to me and said he was glad he decided to come. I wanted to be like I told you so, but I left that to myself as we ate our lunch. Did I mention French Canadian chicks? Anyway, we headed up the second leg to the ravine in a convoy with many other people and laughed all the way. As we got closer we began to hear the throngs of people cheering and whooping it up in the bowl. It fueled me. Dogs everywhere (my dog would have loved it, next year she will be by my side appears not to be a problem to me), people partying and soaking it up like sponges. Boom.....the sky was blue! No clouds. We made our way to Lunch Rocks and relaxed and were beaming with the glow of satisfaction and contentment. Watching people drop in at all the various line and tubers coming down at ridiculous speeds only to wipe at the bottom. Rob had said that he was pissed he didn’t bring his skies. I am like tough ****, I will look down on you at the top of the chute. I began my climb up the chute. Way steeper then right gully but took my time and was in no rush as again it was a little hairy. I made it to the edge of the rock and some people were taking a break from the climb and I noticed a guy that appeared to be Dave taking snaps. I introduced myself as PontiMax and he knew who I was from the site and said glad you made it. He took a few snaps of me for my avatar and ask me if I wanted to be filmed coming down the chute. I forget what I said and began my climb again. At this point I Looked up and what do I see. A rare species of pecker coming straight at me. I hugged the wall as the Naked guy was barreling down on me as I hung on for dear life. I was too close for comfort, but none the less it was something that I will never forget. I was so close to him I could count the hairs on his arse as he went by me!
After making it to the top, by the skin on my teeth I felt at ease and relaxed for a while soaking in the view. I then buckled in and dropped in the chute. Made some quick turns up top down to the left side. Scraped down a little lower and made a few jump turns then lost it on my heel side edge and slid on my arse right by Dave just stopping were the chute opens up to the rest of the bowl. I got back up made a few more turns and wiped hard, only to get up and finish my run to Lunch Rocks. That run was the steepest run I have ever done with snow like that. Perfect corn. It wasn’t easy on a board though. But I did it.
We hung out for a little while longer and enjoyed what we were a part of. It was one of the best times I had ever had. That Saturday was a day people dream of up at Tucks and I was fortunate to have experienced something like that on my very first trip. Later that day we left for Jay and woke up on Sunday to another blue bird day for a day of t-shirt skiing at Jay before we departed for Philadelphia.
I cannot wait to be up there again snowboarding. It was a weekend that I experienced so many different emotions, but each emotion was amplified so much because of the energy in the air and the people surrounding me. The people is what makes tucks what it is I learned. There is not one bad thing to point out to anyone. Be aware of your abilities and fear limits and you should have no problem. This is not a place to have an ego because it will tear you a new one! Cheers to all and hope to see you up there because I am now addicted and there is only one cure……
Cheers to all,
Rusty G.
P.S. dave if you read this can you email me the photos you took of me on the chute?
My buddy Rob and I arrived at the JDL late Thursday evening almost 9 hours later after leaving the Philadelphia area, it was around 3 in the morn. We were very impressed with the JDL first off. Super clean and friendly. Upon arriving we immediately went to bed with thoughts of what would lay ahead. We awoke around 7:30 on Friday and cleaned ourselves up and went to breakfast. Eggs to order was great and as we ate we started talking to the people around us picking up little tidbits of info about the weather, conditions and such along with a few laughs. It was funny what happened next. We went back to our room and began to pack. Rob had borrowed my multitool and a moment later he rushed out the door. I located him in the bathroom with a gusher of blood pouring out of his left palm, he had cut himself with the blade? Unbelievably in the bathroom at the same time was Jason, a volunteer EMT that just so happened to have his bag of goodies with him. He stated that Rob should get stitches but did not know were the nearest hospital was. After Jason had taped his hand up we decided to wait 20 mins to see if it would clot. At this point we were pretty bummed about the prospect of going to some hospital and have the day be wasted. After some discussion he decided to go at it as is and to buy a first aid kit at the store. And that was that. We taped the **** outta it and were on our way with cloudy skies and mild temps on Friday morn.
The first leg of the hike I would say is no joke. My legs surprised me all weekend, but were thankful when we arrived at HoJo’s for a much-needed break and lunch. The hike is a steady climb and the conditions were good. No crampons were needed but my poles we no doubt helpful. We made it to HoJo’s in about 2 hours. This is where one catches the first glimpse of the bowl. Awesome! It is menacing. The hike up is great though. Quiet and peaceful and full of nature’s glory. Along the hike we talked to many souls as we were all experiencing the same feelings of anticipation at arriving in the ravine. The second leg to the ravine is a bit easier I felt. It is steeper but is boulder stairs most of the way and took us about 40 mins. You make one last turn and almost like a shot in the face is the bowl in all of its intimidating majesty. We scurried up to Lunch Rocks and relaxed for a while and watched numerous skiers and snowboarders making their runs. When we felt we were ready we decided on right gully. We climbed up just above the crevasse that was present and made our way to safe location. The climb is steep and as one gets higher it gets steeper by the step. It was a little hairy, but we just took our time and eventually made it to where we wanted to be. As soon as I strapped on my board I began to feel at ease. I climbed up with my board on my pack and my shortened poles, which I felt was helpful for me. The snow was corn and little on the harder side but in good shape. I then took a few deep breaths and dropped in. Almost immediately one is at speed. Made turns all the way down to the trail head, and felt as if I just gave birth. To exhilarating for me to describe. I have been to some hairy terrain, but none that required me to hike to earn my turns! I feel that is why I savored it so, and man did it taste good. That run for us was the only one we were able to do because we were so tired. We said our goodbyes to the folks up there and began our descent. Once at HoJo’s we tempted the Sherburne trail. It was only usable for the upper ¼ I guess, but we felt we made a good hike down.
That night we treated ourselves to a great dinner at HorseFeathers. After dinner we purchased some beers and went back to the JDL to hang in the lounge. There is where we met Rick (father) his son Elie and his friend Brian. It turned out that Rick was a trustee of Mad River Glen and had cut some of the more famous trails back in the seventies. Had some great stories to tell. He even talked about some of the previous shelters up there at Hermit Lake that would hold many people and many good times for all who stayed up there back in the day. We all had a good buzz, good time and we all then went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads…..
Awoke early Saturday morning to low clouds and mild temps. People were everywhere because of the Son of Inferno……Pinkham was teaming with activity. Rob was hard to get out of bed so I went to breakfast alone. When I came back to our room he stated he didn’t want to do it again “it is not worth the hike for one run” is what he said. It killed my enthusiasm almost immediately. I had no problems with anything and was chomping at the bit to do it again, for god’s sake that is why we made this trip! I told him I will go it alone because in essence you are really not alone up there. He said he would just stay in the lodge and read or something. I then said ok Rob you win, we will leave early for Jay Peak then and I will have to wait until next year. He kept saying the weather is bad and we can get a good jump on Jay to meet some of his friends and hangout. Feeling sad and whinny about not making the hike to tucks on Saturday I became angry at him, but kept it to myself. I left him in the room to get some air and at that moment I ran into Rick, Elie and Brian. I talked to Rick for a while and he asked us if we were headed up. I said Rob has a problem with the hike and we are taking off for Jay and stated my feelings on the matter. At that moment Rick (the dad) said two words to me that changed my mind instantly. He knew that I was pissed at my friend and just said you know what “You’re here.” I said you know what your right! I ran back upstairs to our room and began to pack my gear. Rob is like what are you doing. I told him whom I ran into and that I was making another religious journey to the shrine. He was in disbelief. I packed my gear like a giddy school child. At this point he said he would go but he wasn’t bringing his skis. I said ok, I am just glad your coming along.
We began our hike and the trail was moving at a good pace with people at all points. The hike up this time was much quicker for me. Fueled by the crowds and chicks I was talking with we made it to HoJo’s in an hour and a half. Dripping with sweat, as the day was much warmer then Friday we entered the lot at HoJo’s. At this point the sun was poking through and making a stand at the clouds. Rob at this point leaned over to me and said he was glad he decided to come. I wanted to be like I told you so, but I left that to myself as we ate our lunch. Did I mention French Canadian chicks? Anyway, we headed up the second leg to the ravine in a convoy with many other people and laughed all the way. As we got closer we began to hear the throngs of people cheering and whooping it up in the bowl. It fueled me. Dogs everywhere (my dog would have loved it, next year she will be by my side appears not to be a problem to me), people partying and soaking it up like sponges. Boom.....the sky was blue! No clouds. We made our way to Lunch Rocks and relaxed and were beaming with the glow of satisfaction and contentment. Watching people drop in at all the various line and tubers coming down at ridiculous speeds only to wipe at the bottom. Rob had said that he was pissed he didn’t bring his skies. I am like tough ****, I will look down on you at the top of the chute. I began my climb up the chute. Way steeper then right gully but took my time and was in no rush as again it was a little hairy. I made it to the edge of the rock and some people were taking a break from the climb and I noticed a guy that appeared to be Dave taking snaps. I introduced myself as PontiMax and he knew who I was from the site and said glad you made it. He took a few snaps of me for my avatar and ask me if I wanted to be filmed coming down the chute. I forget what I said and began my climb again. At this point I Looked up and what do I see. A rare species of pecker coming straight at me. I hugged the wall as the Naked guy was barreling down on me as I hung on for dear life. I was too close for comfort, but none the less it was something that I will never forget. I was so close to him I could count the hairs on his arse as he went by me!
After making it to the top, by the skin on my teeth I felt at ease and relaxed for a while soaking in the view. I then buckled in and dropped in the chute. Made some quick turns up top down to the left side. Scraped down a little lower and made a few jump turns then lost it on my heel side edge and slid on my arse right by Dave just stopping were the chute opens up to the rest of the bowl. I got back up made a few more turns and wiped hard, only to get up and finish my run to Lunch Rocks. That run was the steepest run I have ever done with snow like that. Perfect corn. It wasn’t easy on a board though. But I did it.
We hung out for a little while longer and enjoyed what we were a part of. It was one of the best times I had ever had. That Saturday was a day people dream of up at Tucks and I was fortunate to have experienced something like that on my very first trip. Later that day we left for Jay and woke up on Sunday to another blue bird day for a day of t-shirt skiing at Jay before we departed for Philadelphia.
I cannot wait to be up there again snowboarding. It was a weekend that I experienced so many different emotions, but each emotion was amplified so much because of the energy in the air and the people surrounding me. The people is what makes tucks what it is I learned. There is not one bad thing to point out to anyone. Be aware of your abilities and fear limits and you should have no problem. This is not a place to have an ego because it will tear you a new one! Cheers to all and hope to see you up there because I am now addicted and there is only one cure……
Cheers to all,
Rusty G.
P.S. dave if you read this can you email me the photos you took of me on the chute?