Strange Sights

[BostonHoward]

Last Saturday, while doing laps in the fresh powder of the East Bowl at Burke, I felt a sudden "fluttering" as a bird exploded from underneath my skis. :eek: I looked back to see a pile of feathers and a partridge flying off, a little startled but apparently not seriously injured.

My buddy mentioned that he knew someone who actually hit a deer while skiing (at Burke).

What are some of the strangest things you've seen/hit/skied over?

[mtd2007]

skiing at SR a brown squirrel darted across the trail and my wife skiied over his tail !!! he is tailless now -

[Earningturns]

Hiked to Mitti from Cannon. Dropped in after by partner in crime and a fox darts out in front of me, panics :eek: and runs down hill only to see my friend in front of him. Panics again :eek: and turns toward me, panics,:eek: turnsaround.....you see where this is going..He mustah turned around a half-a-dozen times before he ran into the woods. funniest/craziest thing i've ever seen.

[T0DD]

I wasn't skiing but Mountain Biking. I was riding a trail in solitude, heard a bunch of crashing. Next think I know a Buck with a huge antler rack barrels across the trail about 10 feet in front of me.

My heart thumped out of my chest wondering what would have happened if I was a bit faster on my bike?

[jesseth]

If you know anything about the trail names on Mt Abram, this one is a bit too good to be true, but I have witnesses.

On Saturday I was skiing the glades off Rocky's Run with my 10 yr old son in 8 inches of fresh snow, and about half way down two snowboarders a bit ahead of us start yelling at us to freeze.

About 50 feet below us was a very confused and unhappy bull moose on the side of the steepest trail on the mountain. After some yelling and waving of arms it eventually ended up heading sideways away from us, but it was a touch and go moment getting ready to bolt downhill if it had come up at us. "Son, get ready to go as fast as you can that way..."

Turns out the snowboarders had startled the same moose that morning, and they got to watch it somersaulting down the hill just like in the cartoon, and it must have been resting up in that spot as attested by the blood and hair all over the snow.

First time for everything.

[icelanticskier]

ok, i'll play.

may 25th 1996. was skiing laps in gos snowfields (big snow year) from the ridge. on my second lap, while having a snack up top, a mama moose and baby moose came walking right up from the top of slide peak to see what i was doing. pretty cool.

next, march 14th 2011, day of warren miller shoot. watched a bunch of silly frenchies try to slowshoe up a hockey rink right gully. and wouldn't ya know?, one of em got busted up pretty good. had to get evac'd i think.

rog

[JR's Eyeblack]

cool idea for a thread. I saw an ermine at Jay Peak a bunch of years ago. It was a knee deep pow day and the thing was running along inside someone's ski tracks. Hard to spot because they are white on white...except for the black tip on the tail.

[RR]

Rope soloing on the Pinnacle, Raven soared close and gave me a look with each of its eyes. It just floated there, 10-15 feet out at eye level.

I apologized for being a nuisance. Raven soared a little closer and then sailed away on rising air. Guess I wan't such a nuisance.

Less sublime but more spectacular:

My buddy Donald and I were rock cobblering on East Osceola back in '95. The A-10 Warthogs were on training runs through Mad River Gap, flying well below our level up on the cliff. On the third pass the second jet was attacked from above by a very pissed off Peregrine Falcon. The pilot must have caught sight of the attack at the last second because the jet wobbled in a very dangerous way, nearly hitting the trees.

The jets did not make another pass.

[georgio]

At Telluride last January.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/17050_649348104228_19700119_37672195_7677611_n.jpg

After I took this the little guy practically climbed up my leg. I was pretty unsure how to brush a porcupine off without harming yourself or harming it.

[winters2short]

Skiing at Jay a decade or so ago, after a big dump, I had a Grouse fly up right between my legs. Must of been buried overnight by the deep snow and startled when I rumbled over top on my way down Staircase.
Scared the ****ters out of me.

Another time, while spending the night at Lakes of the Clouds I had a Black bear walk right up to the deck in front of us. Thought it was a large black labrador at first. Then was "holy crap, that's a bear!". Step quietly back away from the bear. apparently the bear had been raiding the compost pile there for several days.

Cool stuff out there if you are quiet and pay attention.
Great interesting thread.:happyhiker:

[ChrisG]

Similar post. Was mountain biking with my kids last July deep in Ahearn State Park up in Laconia. Biked up to what must be the top of the peak/hill and came upon a black bear around a blind knoll. :eek: I knew it was supposed to run away but not sure it knew that. It eventually bolted after a few seconds which felt like an hour. Talk about a scary ass rush...

[JAS71]

White weasel / ferret (or ermine?) on the TRT in Feb. of this year:

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr206/aaastone_photo/IMG_2253a.jpg

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr206/aaastone_photo/IMG_2253b.jpg


Lacks the emotional impact of a bear / moose / buck / A-10 warthog etc, but cool to see none the less. Pretty effective camouflage!

[jeffskis]

Another ermine tale...while riding the lift on a windy day, I saw what I thought was a scarf blowing across the trail. As I got closer, realized it was an ermine running across the trail with something brown and furry in its mouth.

Mountain biking, coming to the crest of a hill, see 2 black bear cubs in a tree about 15' off the trail. I'm not usually too speedy on the downhill, but in this case...I was not sticking around to see Mom.

[BostonHoward]

Cool pix. I don't think I've ever seen one of those white weasel dudes running around. The porcupine looks to me like he just wants a hug.

As long as we're telling Mtn. Biking stories... I came across a moose on the Nana-"cantpronounceit" trail along side the Kancamagus one afternoon. We had a staring contest until the Moose got bored and went for a swim.

Also, I've seen owls, deer and a black porcupine all up close while night mountain biking in Leominster State Forest. Lots of stuff going on there at night.

Great stories.

[alfinator]

Can't remember all the creatures I've run into, but no moose yet while on skis (plenty of tracks though)

A loooong time ago (like around 1970, gulp!) skiing at Smuggs at least two years in a row there was a porcupine that used to sit in the same tree not far from the lift near where treasure run crosses over sterling liftline.

Around same vintage, at Jay when the jet triple was just the jet T-bar, saw my first ermine pop out of the snowbank on one side of the liftline right in front of me and dive back in on the other side.

Then there was that part of the early 70s where I don't remember much ;-)

Once was x-country skiing in Randolph, NH on some of the RMC trails across from Madison up randolph hill road with my wife and my Dad, quite winter day, sun/clouds/snow flurries, no wind, deep fluffy snow, big birches and balsam firs covered with snow, stopped to enjoy the silence....placed my pole tip gently in the unbroken snow and BAM! Grouse explodes out of the snow....talk about heart palpatations!

In March 2008 at Powder Mountain in Utah, fresh pow, sending my wife down an untracked pitch and 3rd or 4th turn she lets out a yelp and a big grouse blasts out of the snow near her left ski, wish I had a helmet cam for that one!

Last year at winter park, traverse out to vasquez cirque, about halfway out an ermine kept us company for a while, in and out of the snow, was amazed that it was curious, kept coming back to check us out then eventually disappeared down the slope.

And last tuesday on a pow day at Loveland, saw this guy......would have a better pic but just as I got the camera out some guy stopped nearby and sprayed him, so got him exiting.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_nOpY4TWp9og/TZt-8KYzsNI/AAAAAAAAHCs/4sUsKCNoni0/s720/IMG_0450.JPG

hmmmm, must be more....well, nothing to do with skiing, but woke up this morning looked out the window and noticed first bear of the season had hit the birdfeeder overnight......it's usually around tax day, only a little early this year ;-)

alf

[natron]

earning turns @ a closed resort in maine a few days ago.. came about 8-10ft away from hitting a small deer.. came flying around a corner on the lower part of a run and BAM there it was hopping across, slammed on the brakes just'n time..:eek:

[yuckster]

Seems like they've come out of hiding. A lot of deer on the road tonight. Now I know why Green Mountaineers drive slower... (oh wait, I learned that 2 years ago when I wrecked my ride and JT was nice enough to drive us to a rental place. A UHaul rental place. Don't ask.)

[clg898]

Fortunately while skinning up, not skiing down:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/3434542502_0eccc53ca9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/63305116@N00/3434542502/)

[kingdom-tele]

Fun thread

Skiing this year. (hiking and hunting season are more conducive to wildlife viewing)

grouse grenades - usually get em 1/month, luckiest was 3 at one time, I don't hoot when skiing but that got me good

only 2 rabbits - but one was nice enough to jump and pause for a minute to admire

there was the porcy who took residence on the lift line at Burke this year - always good for a chuckle

1 cow moose on a sunrise ski in Dec - thought it was the biggest shadow I'd ever seen coming down the Mt - she stayed for a bit before trudging off

lots of whitetail on our evening xc skis behind the house - they love the packed trails -they yard up in the cedar swamp 1 mile through the woods so we stopped counting - seeing 4 pairs of eyes illuminated by headlamp is always kind of cool for a minute

sometimes its hard to say if its the potential skiing or what you might see that makes just heading out into the woods worth it - glad I'll never have to choose

[cannonball]

Awesome stories!

Earlier this year, I was skiing some off map trees at Cannon. A Fisher Cat jumped out of a tree and landed about 5-ft in front of me. He hit the ground running. I screamed like a little girl and stopped. He stopped, gave me a good long look, then took off. The rest of the day I was not only picking lines but also looking around in the branches for the next incoming critter.

[footlong]

Was coming out of tux bowl yesterday around 4:30. Started hiking down and just above the open little headwall, saw what could only have been an otter run across the snow about 50 yards ahead and go into some bushes around the stream....what an otter was doing up that high, I don't have any idea....very cool though....