Jay Peak, VT: 2/6/10

I’m in northern VT for the weekend on my way to several days in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Left my office in northern NJ at 6 pm last night. Stopped to send some e-mails at the best highway rest stop in all of North America: the one on northbound I-81 in Guilford VT, just before Brattleboro.

By 11 pm, while driving past White River Junction, I was falling asleep at the wheel, so I pulled off, drove into a church parking lot, cranked the seat back and fell asleep. Woke up at 3 am, and I’m pretty sure that it was near zero outside, and not much warmer inside the car. In my 20s, I used to do the sleep-in-the-car routine occasionally, but I’m getting too old for this crap. It’ll take me two spa treatments for my neck and back to recover.

Continue reading

Hopewell, NJ: 2/6/10

I was laying in bed this morning, thinking that the whole Harvey Road staff, except me, was out rockin’ the hills. Jamesdeluxe at Jay Peak, Jason at Belleayre and PDQ out in Utah, roaming the Wasatch. While it DUMPED here – 15 inches overnight – all my gear was in the Adirondacks at NYSB HQ.

Or was it? I’ve got an totally beat pair of XCDGTs, some incredibly long Leki poles, and a pair of ancient Merrill Doubles, I once used on a hut trip in Colorado. Conditions were powder, with a base of asphalt and frozen suburbia.

Continue reading

Belleayre Mountain, NY: 1/31/10

Jamesdeluxe, Mrs. Deluxe, Miyoko and I arrived at Belleayre after dealing with a variety of obligations… driving, daycare, ski rental, carpooling, and an involuntary contribution to the Town of Kingston Highway Fund.

Belleayre Lodge

Twas a cold, bluebird day in the Catskills when we arrived at 10:30. The ladies and I got on the lifts to see how the mountain had recovered from the devastating NCP event on Monday. James hurried off to interview Belleayre Advocate Extraordinaire Joe Kelly. More from James on that later this week.

Winnesook

Continue reading