Chelsea hails from Arizona where she has just graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from ASU. While her education is a great accomplishment, we are more interested in her 2013/2014 collegiate rider of the year award as the top female wake boarder in the U.S. Chelsea, an ASU Wake Devil, will be an awesome addition to the staff and will surely keep things fun on and behind the boat. When not wake boarding, Chelsea can be found longboarding, hiking, skiing, and reading zombie books! (Red Cross Lifeguard/CPR, Commercial Boat Driver)
New counselor profile - Ryan Hinrichs
Ryan brings to a camp a lifetime of riding/skiing behind his family boat on Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire but also has a devilish side...as part of the Arizona State University Wake Devils, his school's two-time national championship winning wake boarding team. He is excited to share his skills and experience with our campers and get everyone boosting over the wake. When not hanging on to the line and throwing tricks behind the boat, Ryan enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, slack lining, and just enjoying the outdoors.
Epic spring ski season
What started off as a lackluster season in New England with only one major storm in December and January has turned in to one for the record books. Back to back to back dumpings in February and into March have given us some top notch conditions to keep enjoying even into April.
I am fortunate that when camp is not in session I am able to get out and have some fun in the outdoors almost any day. On the above day last week there were limitless blue skies and great snow at Loon Mountain. The deep blue of the horizon contrasted nicely with the still snowy peaks of the surrounding mountains; including Mt. Washington in the distance.
The snow was not fresh but it was fast and not too soft from all the sun. Wide open, empty trails made for a day where I was able to pack 30+ runs in with no time wasted on lift lines.
A few days later we were surprised by yet another spring storm. Due to all of the fun we had in the woods I only have one picture from the day.
It was heavy and wet but it set the mountains up for another few weeks of great conditions.
On April 1 I set out for Waterville Valley for their infamous $1 lift ticket April Fools Day.
Talk about ideal conditions. April 1st gave us a thick base of snow, a cloudless sky, and 60 degrees.
All that perfection mixed with practically free lift tickets made for some crowds...at least in the morning. By lunch time all the riff-raff had had their fill and the mountain cleared out.
The above picture is from the top of Waterville (Mt. Tecumseh) looking down at the lower mountain and the town of Waterville Valley below.
That is me in the blue coat, taking in the view before dropping in for another lap. No complaints from that guy!
Here is to a few more killer days on the slopes and then a quick spring thaw so we can toss the boat in the water!
Merrymeeting lake live shot
Just in case you wanted to see how much ice is still on the lake... Merrymeeting Lake Live Camera
All this snow and cold is keeping Merrymeeting pretty frosty!
NH adventure weekend part 2
Day 2 of the NH adventure weekend was to magnificent Mt. Washington. Mt. Washington is the highest mountain in New Hampshire and its snow-capped peak is visible from all over the state. I have hiked to the summit on numerous occasions but have never had the opportunity to snowboard its slopes and trails. We decided bright and early that it was a perfect day to hike up the mountain and scope out conditions on Tuckerman's Ravine, an infamous backcountry destination.
Setting out early in the morning from the Pinkham Notch center, the trail was easy work even while lugging up our gear.
With such a perfect day for hiking we came across a few other groups making their way up or down. Carrying my board horizontal seemed like a good idea when we set off but in practice it ended up annoying everyone we passed along the way. "Pardon me, board coming through."
We made it up to the caretaker's cabin below Tuckerman's Ravine and chilled for a while and chatted with other hikers.
The avalanche board did not explicitly tell us not to proceed but a park ranger and some other climbers did not think it would be a good idea to ski Tuck's that day. Lots of variable weather and snowfall had left sections unstable and we were not experienced enough to navigate the terrain safely.
So we took in the scenery, marveled at the grandeur of the mountain, and strapped on boards and skis for the return trip. The Sherburne Trail was our ticket home.
We dropped in to the trail and sped away. Conditions were OK, a bit crusty and skied-off but nothing too terrible. After hiking all morning with heavy packs we definitely earned our turns.
The trail was wide, open, sunny, and empty.
All in all a great way to spend a NH weekend.
Need advice on hiking/skiing/snowboarding in NH? Hit me up any time.
617-855-WAKE (9253)