TR: (Roadside) Katahdin Coolers?

[gpetrics]

Hi all. Haven't posted in here in a little while because alot of our recent TRs on FIS have been vague and lacking location details... which in my understanding isn't really what people come to AZ for. Well, this TR isn't really any different--location is still disguised--but I figured a few of you would be interested in it, and likely be able to make a guess. Mods: if this is against AZ policy please feel free to remove this thread immediately. Enjoy!

------------------------

As those of you who have been paying attention to FamousInternetSkiers.com recently (or who have been outside on the snow) are aware, northern New England has been enjoying an incredible "spring skiing preview." To enjoy the weather we planned to head out for that mighty (almost) mile-high mountain towering above the swamps of Maine: The Katahdin. Despite our carefully laid plans however, in the time-honored FamousInternetSkiers.com tradition of getting lost on our way to well known backcountry skiing destinations, we got way off course and skied some pretty amazing roadside coolers--I mean couloirs--instead. Click the picture below to read more.

 

[skiadikt]

obviously killington. nice trick photoshoping out the sharpshooters logo ...

 

[gpetrics]

you got me! lol

 

[TheBEast]

Thank gpetrics! I follow your reports on an RSS feed and really enjoy reading the adventures and the photography is outstanding. I especially like your Authors Note given that recent post you guys had up about the "No blogging" sign.....while I certainly would always want to know where the locations are, half the fun is finding them on your own or hookng up with some locals that can show you around. Being bound to the southern portion of NE I rarely make trips off-piste in northern NE, but certainly do enjoy reading about it and living vicariously through your group's stories....keepem' coming!

 

[snowmonster]

I like this: show but don't tell. Thanks for the stoke! Hope to see you up there one of these days.

By the way, that's not Killington in those shots. He was on his way to Katahdin so he was obviously referring to the Rivah. Chimney Pond is a couloir off Top Gun. =)

 

[gpetrics]

Thank gpetrics! I follow your reports on an RSS feed and really enjoy reading the adventures and the photography is outstanding. I especially like your Authors Note given that recent post you guys had up about the "No blogging" sign.....while I certainly would always want to know where the locations are, half the fun is finding them on your own or hookng up with some locals that can show you around. Being bound to the southern portion of NE I rarely make trips off-piste in northern NE, but certainly do enjoy reading about it and living vicariously through your group's stories....keepem' coming!

thanks for the note. it certainly is great to hear from people enjoying the TRs (and i'm glad you've discovered our RSS feed!). I also especially like to hear all the different ways our site gets used whether it's enjoyment, vicarious adventures, weather reports or clues to a puzzle... the idea of banning backcountry blogging is fairly laughable to me, and I feel like people who think you shouldn't blog (or "online publish") about backcountry skiing in new england are really missing a large part of the human element of our sport. It saddens me to think of no one sharing their experiences...

Nevertheless, it's a tough trying to balance being fun, informative, but also respectful of the spirit of the backcountry which is a place where you expect (and are expected to) make consequential decisions and be self reliant until you return to the front side. I've enjoyed the thrill of discovering places on my own and making friends who I can reciprocate stashes and zones with. I've also enjoyed using tidbits from confusing trip reports and photos to triangulate--if you will--something worth skiing. I suppose that's the part of skiing that's most fun to me: the puzzle... and that's a good bit of what I try to get across in my backcountry/sidecountry TRs. If I wrote GPS coordinates made a treasure map detailing how to get to every couloir and hand cut line, that would pretty much belittle the entire experience that I've had. Who knows if I'm doing a good job with my goals or not... but I've had some great skiing and met alot of great people along the way.

 

[faceplant]

awesome
what do you suppose the pitch on that coulior is?
looks real steep, like 1 slip could be your last ....but that could be the camera angle
can you compare it to a well known trail pitchwise & widthwise....so we can get a sense of it?


just took a look at your website....nice work

 

[gpetrics]

awesome
what do you suppose the pitch on that coulior is?
looks real steep, like 1 slip could be your last ....but that could be the camera angle
can you compare it to a well known trail pitchwise & widthwise....so we can get a sense of it?


just took a look at your website....nice work

i assume you mean the first cooler we skied? If so i just rang it up on google earth. arcsin(500/687) in degrees = 46.7024462 degrees average pitch for the meat of the gully from when it left the alpine zone to when it rejoined the forest.

seems a little high to me. i would have estimated high 30s, and said in terms of steepness... something like outer limits at killington... maybe a touch steeper.

thanks. glad you enjoyed it.

 

[awf170]

i assume you mean the first cooler we skied? If so i just rang it up on google earth. arcsin(500/687) in degrees = 46.7024462 degrees average pitch for the meat of the gully from when it left the alpine zone to when it rejoined the forest.

seems a little high to me. i would have estimated high 30s, and said in terms of steepness... something like outer limits at killington... maybe a touch steeper.

thanks. glad you enjoyed it.

Shouldn't it be arctan(500/687) since you know the horizontal distance not the hypotenuse? At least I assume 687 is the horizontal distance? That would give exactly 36 degrees which sounds about right for those gullies.

 

[gpetrics]

Shouldn't it be arctan(500/687) since you know the horizontal distance not the hypotenuse? At least I assume 687 is the horizontal distance? That would give exactly 36 degrees which sounds about right for those gullies.

hmmm... if the measurrement is horizontal distance, then yes you're right. google earth did a good job confusing me though since it glues the ruler to the earth when you take measurements (making me think it was the hypotenuese). i'd bet you've got it right though austin on second thought. plus if the measurement was a measure of the surface of the earth then it wouldn't actually be a straight line either.

edit: austin is definitely right