I LOVE snow! Don’t get me wrong. But there is a point where all this glorious “White Gold” becomes as much work as it is fun. And then it becomes a hazard. I am a mountain girl born in December. Read…I got my driver’s license at 16 and immediately learned how to drive in SNOW! I love nothing more than blasting around in the fresh powder of an unplowed road in my SUV while most others are smartly staying home. I love the feel of a total snowy scene surrounding me as I head somewhere to go play in the snow!

But as I see a poor soul struggling up to their waist on a non-existent sidewalk that the plows have had to succumb to using as extra snow storage in order to keep the streets clear, I think to myself…maybe this is too much snow! And as I pull up to the snowy intersection and crane my body upward to see over the snowbank that only someone in a F350 or school bus can still get a good view of the oncoming traffic over, I think to myself…huh? Maybe this much snow is becoming unsafe.

My visit to the long-term parking lot at the airport leaves me chuckling at the scene after recently visiting the unreasonably snowless Colorado. The parking spaces look more like 5-foot tall white concrete parking “stalls” than they ever were a free-form parking lot of space. I usually deal with shoveling my own driveway, but I have had to call the plow three times in the past 2 weeks to help me out; and then he drove off the side of my driveway in all the extra soft snow piled on the side. I gave up for the first time in 5 years at keeping all the walkways clear so that I could maintain the accessibility all winter. The shoveling has become anything but fun and novel; and it is early January! The shoveling is backbreaking and I am running out of places to put the stuff! For the first time ever, I put on my ski pants and got out the sled to haul my firewood from 50 ft uphill of my house to my backdoor because my usual wood-hauling path was GONE! My dog has resorted to just sitting near her doghouse where I have been able to keep the snow clear instead of her usual forays around the yard because the snow is now over her head. My neighborhood streets have gone from 2 lanes to 1.5 lanes to only 1 lane this past week.

As I leave the 4-way stop sign I drive speedily up the steep hill that is now only 1 lane wide, hoping that yet again, there is no one else coming blindly up the other side. I don’t know where either of us would go. There is only room for one of us to be queen of this hill!

The dump trucks and front-end loaders run all night in the city trying to remove all the excess snow so that they can prepare for the next storm. The big trucks drive in convoys to the snow dump to rid our city of a material the California ski areas would pay the price of gold for right now! Yep, we have so much snow now we are putting the precious material in DUMPS! We don’t know what else to do with it but throw it away!

So, if you are in need of it, come get it! It is just sitting there in the dump for free! You could even take it out of people’s yards and off their driveways. They would probably thank you and make you cookies.

If you want some snow for yourself, come north and bring your shovel. Cordova, Anchorage, and any other coastal Alaska town would be happy to share with you! Alaska is whimpering “uncle” to the Nordic Snow God. Don’t get us wrong, we are so very thankful to have snow after the dry winter we had last year. Very, very thankful! The skiing has been epic! But we have our share and it is getting to be a lot of work to do something with all of it. Shoveling, breaking trail in the backcountry, getting out of the intersection safely…maybe we could let someone else have a turn? Just maybe we are ready to share some of our wealth. ULLR!! We don’t want you to abandon us, but maybe you could just go on vacation somewhere south for a little while?

All of the gals found plenty of good terrain to practice telemark skiing for the first time or learn new techniques to improve their current level of Free Heel’n. Both Tanya, who had only snowboarded previously, and Katie who had never skied at all, were making genuine telemark turns by the end of the day as they followed Anita down slopes that were unimaginable to them earlier! Others like Ann, Emily, and Kris worked with another of the Babe’s star instructors, Cindy Gagnon, learning how to let their skis do most of the work. They practiced properly flattening and edging their skis into the perfect tele turn. Although mostly just blue runs were open at A Basin that day, Emily H. used the opportunity to work with Liz and Ashley, both of whom have been telemark skiing for years, to “get back to the basics”. “Practicing quality technique on easier slopes is the way to solidify your skiing style so that you can carry it into more difficult terrain, and really improve your skiing.” Liz and Ashley learned some new telemark techniques from Emily. They practiced making every telemark turn a smooth, balanced, and flowing turn–somewhat like waltzing down the mountain. Now they will be able to take this technique and apply it to a the steeper stuff so that they can better ski the black runs, bumps, and trees in the future.

And the best part of all…they made it SNOW! The first snow in weeks. Since this isn’t the first time ULLR, the Nordic Snow God, dumped snow on some Babes while they were gathered together for a Backcountry Babes course this winter, we are convinced that ULLR really likes it when a bunch of women are inspired to get together and enjoy a Backcountry Babes event! Luckily, when it really got to dumping and Katie’s goggles started fogging up, there was also an extra pair of Smith I/OS goggles available so that she could see clearly again and make a few more runs practicing that tele turn she just learned.

So do your part for the snowpack this winter, sign-up and participate in a Backcountry Babes ski or backcountry/avalanche course! We have several more coming up in CO and CA in February, March, and April! See our clinic schedule at www.backcountrybabes.net.

We will supply the Elemental Herbs chapstick!

Want to join us at Silverton this year? Register!   Sign up before Feb 14th and you will also be entered to win a Free pair of Scarpa ski boots worth $700!! Thanks to our sponsor SCARPA!

Alaska's first Backcountry Babes!

Backcountry Babes puts on its first Women’s specific AIARE Avalanche Level 1 course in Alaska Dec 9-11, 2011. It was a huge success as the first Backcountry Babes course in Alaska! A full class of 15 participants and 4 instructors, it was a fun, enthusiastic, and tough group of backcountry gals from AK that came together for some avalanche safety fun!

Southcentral Alaska has been blessed with early snow this year and things were priming up for a great snowpack to practice with for the course. However, during late November and early December Old Man Winter threw some hardballs at Anchorage for a couple weeks. There was a rash of “Saturday night” windstorms that topped 100mph gusts each weekend in the mountains above Anchorage. And the first storm included a good dose of rain to ruin the snowpack in town. But not to be thwarted by the recent weather, the Babes know, all this storm action only makes an avalanche safety course even more educational!

Sarah Carter leads the AK AIARE course

The AK Avy Babes started the course inside learning basic avalanche hazard and route-finding concepts. Then they headed outside to practice companion rescue techniques using beacons, probes, and shovels provided by Backcountry Access (BCA). They learned how those fancy electronic transceiving devices work, and practiced techniques for how to locate and unbury an avalanche victim. The practice included a deep burial and strategic shoveling practice in a plowed pile of refrozen debris that gave the women an idea what a real maritime avalanche debris pile feels like!

Leighan Falley leads part of the class in the field.

Two more days of course work included field time to put the classroom knowledge into practice.

Sarah Carter leads the group tour at Turnagain Pass

The women learned how to look for signs of instability and do a diversity of snowpack tests so that they could make good decisions about their route-finding.

Examining different snowpacks and terrain each day of the weekend, the AK Babes were able to see what the recent 100+ mph winds can do to a snowpack across different terrain features! (Think intense scouring, loading, and snow turned to wind-buffed ice!)

On day 3 of the weekend, these gals of the north showed their true Backcountry Grit!

Where are we going to ski they all asked as they looked at the wind-scoured tundra with a wrinkled brow? Then Old Man Winter truly put them to the test when he dropped another un-forecasted windstorm on them while they were in the mountains on Sunday.

As a 60 mph gust of blowing snow hit me hard from the south, ”Retreat to cover!” was the word as I snugged down my Smith Optics goggles even tighter on my face and tightened up every last zip on my new Backcountry Babes Masala jacket from FlyLow! I sure was glad to have such great ski gear on this day! The storm may have caused the class to head for the trees, but do you think they even gave a whimper? No way! These true AK backcountry gals wouldn’t give up.

They finished off the day with a large-scale companion rescue scenario, searching for 5 different buried BCA tracker beacons. Not an easy challenge while trying to organize 15 rescuers in a treed area under fast heavy snowfall.

But they rocked it!! And the Snow Gods were IMPRESSED!

All the hard work and tenacity of the AK Avy Babes did not go unrewarded! Bernadette won the BCA companion shovel she was so needing in the Babes apres raffle drawing, Rae rightfully earned her Avalanche Level 1 certificate, and all the women learned a lot about snowpack, weather, mountain terrain, and avalanche hazard over the weekend. Fifteen new AK Babes are now more aware, knowledgeable, and confident in their decision-making in the backcountry. They wear their stylish Backcountry Babes scarf or hat provided by Pistil Designs, and rub on their Elemental Herbs tangerine lip balm as they step into their backcountry skis with just a bit more confidence and pride. They are now more “savvy” in avalanche terrain and are making informed decisions as they head into the backcountry.

…and ULLR, the Norse Snow God seems to really like these women, because he gave them another un-forecasted foot of snow overnight to tell them

….GOOD JOB, NOW GO ENJOY the SNOW!

It was 2 pm on Saturday the 6th and my ski partner Caren and I were out for an early season skate ski when the text came in from Amy.  “Wolf Creek”.  We pondered the invitation and began to move in that direction.  5 pm we were on the road.  A real girls road trip…on the fly.  Wolf Creek Bound.  Wolf Creek is located down in Southern CO near Pagosa Springs and is known to be the wettest place in dry Colorado.  The report said they had received 12″ so far from this storm. We were stoked.

Each early season I have heard of skiers chasing the snow down to Southern Co. Due to work restrictions, I never made it out of Summit County to catch these copious dumps.  But  Saturday was my chance.  Carpe Diem.  And it was well worth the 3.5 hr drive.

Sunday morning we woke to parlty cloudy skies and bone chilling weather. Winter was ever-present.  Dressed in layers and pockets stuffed with tons of snacks, we bought our $56 lift tickets and waited in the lodge until the lifts opened at 9 am.  Because of daylight savings, we had plenty of time to spare.

With some local knowledge in our pockets, we headed out to the Alberta lift. Down through the waterfall, we were blessed with untracked blower powder.  After 2 hrs of  a couple hikes and a couple of laps, the mountain started to get crowed and fresh tracks were now harder to find.  Dipping in and out of the trees, we beamed as we continued to find little stashes of pure bliss.  The depth seemed more like 16″.  Watch the video.

After 4 hours we were cooked. The first day of the season with POWDER galore.  After alittle soak at Joyful Journeys Hot Springs on the way home to break up the drive, we were home by 7pm.  Wow what a whirlwind.

We are spoiled to have had such an amazing first day of the season. If you can get down there, I highly recommed it.

Tid Bits

Lodging: Allington Inn and Suites- clean, hot tub, continental breakfast. $89 for 2 queen beds

Food: Boogies in Del Norte- home cooking and great pies

Coffee: Feel’n Good Coffee House and Cafe- only coffee place in town. Good for what it was.

Hot Springs: Joyful Journey Hot Springs - Great water, Right off the hwy.  Located in the San Luis Valley in south central Colorado, 30 miles south of Salida on Hwy 17, 1 mile south of Hwy 285.

To prevent the dreaded post wood hunchback or lower back pain, I realized I needed to bring yoga into my wood  extravaganza. To bad I don’t have the photos, but hopefully you can get a visual on the process.  Below are a couple of  yoga asanas that you could interject into your chores.

First is the breath. Synchrozing movement with breath.  Inhale grab the wood, exhale throw it into the pile. Focusing on the breath helps to be in the present moment and  to enjoy the wood process rather than seeing it as a mundane chore.

Split wood. Then stand up tall. Take the two pieces of split wood in both hands and do a back bend/windshield wiper arms and then toss the split pieces into the next pile. This helps counter balance all the bending over.

Every once and a while jump up and down to release the lower back and relax  tension from bending over.  This also gives you a chance to look around and see all the other trees in the forest.

Uttanasana- forward fold to release the lower back. Engage the legs for a nice hamstring stretch.

Post wood, try a series of 3 sun salutations. Spend time in each asana and explore the pose, working out any kinks. Feel the flow. Bring some movement back into your body.

Down dog is great to stretch out the shoulders.

And last but not least, listening to my yoga tunes is very relaxing.

Hope this tips help your wood stacking too.

——-

Still on a high from the weekend, paradoxically my hands are glued to the steering wheel as I drive over Red Mountain Pass. The Astro Sista( the babes’ astro van) draws s’es on the rocky pavement as I drive the windy road 15-20 mph. No shoulder for errors. Like tree skiing, keep your eyes looking where you want to go and not where you don’t want to go. In this case it would be more detrimental than an interlude with a tree.  The drop off is hundreds of feet. Woo, My heart beats.  I use my yogic breath to calm the nerves.

Too bad it’s Sunday and not Friday as the snow seems to be accumulating.  I am on my way home from an amazing weekend in Silverton with Babes in the Backcountry.  Sisters in the Steeps- I think its our 9th Annual event.  We started bringing the Babes down to Silverton before Aaron and Jenny even had the lift in. 25 women joined the Babes for a weekend of steep skiing, ski coaching, socializing, wine tasting and yoga.  The weekend was chock full of laughs and challenging snow conditions.   Spring conditions were in full force.  We would ski the backside- the east side in the morning and then move over to the south and west sides in the afternoon. The skiing definitely got punchy in some areas, but there was still a little bit of cold snow to be found.