Famous Internet Skiers

TR: Rogers Pass Base Camp Skiing

Ben — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:11:28 +0000

September First is an important date for skiers. It marks the transition from “summer months” to “fall months,” which have much better potential for skiing. Year round skiers have been known to use September 1 as the start of a “new ski year.” Today I’m honoring the day by posting the long-delayed Part 2 of my Roger’s Pass Trip last March.

Click on the image to read more!

Roadtrip!

Ben — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:01:09 +0000

Kate and I finished our summer jobs last week, so it’s time for a road trip! We packed up Kate’s car with rock climbing gear, mountain bikes, camping gear, and, of course, rock skis and left Hanover Saturday evening heading West.

Kate standing in front of the Subaru Funmobile

By the time we got to the Buffalo, NY area, it was after midnight and we were getting a little tired, so we decided to head up to the Niagara Falls area and find a spot to camp for the night. Kate was scouting around our campsite without a headlamp and walked onto what she thought was an open green area. Turns out it was a swampy pit.

Sad-faced Kate

She dried out by morning though, and we cooked delicious bacon-egg-cheese-potato breakfast burritos in the middle of the Niagara Falls State Park in true dirtbag style.

It's hard to tell who was more interested in our breakfast, the seagulls or the tourists

It was a beautiful day though, and the falls don’t disappoint (although it’d be cooler if there weren’t casinos in the skyline!)

Niagra Falls is pretty!

The mandatory cheesy shot

Huck it!

The beautiful skyline

After our leisurely morning, we hit the road again, hoping to make it to Madison, WI in time for dinner with my one of my best friends and climbing buddy who is starting his PhD in Physics there. Unfortunately, we hit rush hour traffic going through Chicago.

Traffic in chicago. I hate sitting in traffic while trying to drive cross country

Even cities can be kinda pretty...

Even with the traffic, we made it to Madison in time for a late dinner. It was a hot night, but sleeping on a mattress was nice!

Yesterday we drove across the flatlands of Iowa and Nebraska all day, finally getting into Boulder, CO around 11 pm MST. We found a campsite on some national forest land and fell asleep quickly in the cool mountain air. Stay tuned for some biking and climbing updates in the next few weeks!

TR: Golden Hour Rock Climbing in the PNW

Allen — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:00:34 +0000

We have had our fair share of failed rock climbing attempts since moving to the PNW. There have been problems finding the trailhead, issues getting going in time, and one day we basically got burned off the rock by scorching heat. It was a great releif to have a day that was by all accounts a success…

Click on the picture to read more!

TR: Crisp Air and Warm Water – Raquette Releases!

Ben — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:53:17 +0000

With natural water hard to find in this dry august, we drove to the Adirondacks to run the Raquette River during a recreational dam release. It doesn’t get much better than running great class V with warm water on a crisp fall-y day!

Click on the picture to read more!

SPA Trip #14: Vermont Gorge-yoneering

Greg — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:07:40 +0000

Keeping with Ben‘s theme of water sports that go down stream, here’s something you can do in Vermont when the river gauges aren’t checking in high enough for kayaking: canyoneering! Admittedly this isn’t the sport people think of when their minds turn to Vermont. Nonetheless there are many sharp gorges carved into this state’s mountainsides that offer a surprising contrast to the rolling hills that otherwise dominate it’s landscape. Some of these canyons have deep enough pools that one can jump into the waters from high above and then swim downstream and find places to get out safely. Others have improbable rock outcroppings hanging precariously above deep emerald green pools, and invite you to surge some adrenaline through your veins for a fleeting moment. Finally, there are some sharp gorges in Vermont that do not provide a place to jump or swim, but which offer a gushing brook just enough vertical drop over a short distance to make a dry-rope-rappel the only safe way down. Furthermore, as with any canyoneering exploit, these gullies which are fit-for-rappel also have a certain level of commitment; meaning once you’ve entered, due to the sharpness of the walls, the only way out is down. The view from the top of this gorge’s exciting 125 foot descent–which takes place over several cascades–indicates how sharply the walls abut the river. Christian prepares the rope for the first rappel.

Needless to say, this sport + cameras = broken cameras. As such we have a few shots from the beginning, and then had to put the device aside in a dry bag to avoid a costly snafu. Here’s Christian rappelling down the first cascade.

We made our way down slinging rock horns and robust trees for anchors. I pulled out the camera about halfway down to snap Christian coming down one of the cascades.

And after that Christian snapped this one of me descending the subsequent cascade.

Admittedly, in retrospect, a rope was only necessary about half the time. For the other half of the descent, a rope was merely a welcome convenience. All in all though it turned out to be a fun outing making our way through this river gorge. It’s a place that many visit, but few ever get to experience this watercourse from such an intimate perspective. Here’s a parting clue for those who really know the area, or for those who don’t mind doing some research.

Thanks for checking out SPA Trips on FIS! Want a sticker? They’re just $1 each!

TR: Afterwork Vermont Whitewater Adventure

Ben — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:31:37 +0000

Long summer days mean plenty of time for afterwork adventuring. With more thunderstorms sweeping through the area, we got in a few daylight-stretching missions. Nick and I explored two new rivers, Joe’s Brook and the Roaring Branch, and got more runs down the perennial favorite, the New Haven Ledges.

Click on the picture to read more!

Get Sticker

Greg — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:44:43 +0000

The wait is over, the stickers have finally arrived, and they are GLORIOUS. Die cut, American made, and sexy, you need to get one of these suckers.

If you love to schuss, swim, hike, climb, kayak, ski, board, or skate, and you are stoked on FamousInternetSkiers.com, pick one up today. They’re $1 each, plus $1 shipping/paypal fee per order. So buy a few and let the good times roll! K_C will be really happy if you buy one… see:

I shipped out all pre-orders today. If any of you guys get them, and stick them some place cool, post a picture below! I can host the photo for you, just send it to us in an email via famous.internet.skiers@gmail.com

TR: VT Summer Whitewater: West Branch Deerfield

Ben — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:22:21 +0000

Over the past few weeks some extremely strong localized thunderstorms have made the rivers rise, giving Vermont whitewater kayakers some “immature snow” to schuss!

Click on the picture to read more about Ben and his friends descending Vermont’s West Branch Deerfield river!

Weather for the Weekend: August 13 – 15

Lionel Hutz — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:29:24 +0000

I can only do a short write up today and I’m sorry. Been crazy around these parts!
For the weekend the primary player will be a large area of high pressure centered towards the east – like around Maine. As the weekend begins today, (and it should between June 1 and September 1…honestly who does anything on a friday in the summer?) the high will push an easterly flow towards the south resulting in broken cloud cover. However it will also keep temps mild. Towards the north, a short wave working through the upper atmosphere will create a chance for showers across much of the region. Aside from that today looks benign weather wise. Mostly cloud cover with a ceiling around 3000ft should prevail.

Moving towards saturday the High will drift a little west and push most of the clouds out of the region. Best guidance right now shows 25-35% cloud cover. Should be almost no chance for rain and temps should hover in the 70s to the north and just poke into the low 80s. Not bad!

Sunday will begin where Saturday left off. However, as we move into the night a front working in from the west will bring a substantial chance for T-storms. From around 4pm on the chance for a T-storm starts to grow with the best dynamics at this point coming once the sun goes down.

Mt. Baker 5500′ of August Corn

Allen — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:01:36 +0000

View on Vimeo.

Life is hard when you live in Washington in the summer. Sometimes you have to get up early in August so that you can climb Mt. Baker, catch the corn cycle just right, and be home in time for dinner and a few beers.