Gulf of Slides - 4/26/08

[David Metsky]

Just another crappy day in the mountains.

Alas, we missed the skiing all the way to Pinkham by one week, most of GOS trail was mud and flowing water. We actually bare booted all the way to the base of Gully #1, no need for skins, snowshoes, or traction of any type. We met Winston (friend of Goliath and Brutus) along the way, what a big ol' love sponge. There's a big new slide at the entrance to GOS from the bottom of Gully #3, amazing what a bit of snow can accomplish when it puts its mind to the task.

Warm, almost hot conditions. We hiked up in t-shirts, I wish I had worn shorts. First run was to the top of Gully #1, great corn snow, unlimited views, 1/50th of the people that were in Tuckerman. Lots of smiling faces as we finally got a chance to make some turns.

Then we booted up again, turned left and went over to the snowfields. It's slightly less steep over there (only 35-40 degrees) with just a few people and completely open terrain. Again, some great skiing, beautiful corn snow, and lots of smiles.

One last climb up, another half run down the snowfields before we cut over to Gully #1 and finished our run there. We could only ski down about 1/8th the length of the trail before switching over to hiking. Lots more running water in the afternoon. Started up around 9:00, almost 5000' of vertical, back out to the cars by 6:00.

And, I bought a pair of powder skis on the way home.

More pictures are HERE

-dave-

 

[The Lisa]

Glad to see you guys had an awesome day Those smiles say it all.

The approach up the GoS trail was heinous enough when I was there 2 weeks ago - we skied Gully #1 (that slide left quite a trail of destruction!) once then booted back up and headed over to Hillman's Highway as our descent route.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Best route to Isolation?

Given the deep rotten snow on Glen Boulder Trail and the likely deep wet slush on the Rocky Branch Trail, do you think GoS might the better route to Mount Isolation at the moment (notwithstanding recent rain)?

 

[David Metsky]

GoS trail isn't a hiking trail, and the foot bed reflects that. It's an inclined swamp and really isn't a good path to anything except the GoS.

 

[sardog1]

Gee, I wonder why it's called Gulf of Slides?

And now for the bonus round: What breed is the black and white dog, and how did this particular color variety get its name? (Rooney, you stay out of this one.) Oops, better throw in the obligatory paean to the photographer, before he dons his mod hat and elides my off-topic canine trivia:

"Nice pics, Dave!"

 

[David Metsky]

The pooch in question is named Winston, and apparently he's a close associate of Goliath, who is friends with Brutus.

 

[forestgnome]

Outstanding!

 

[David Metsky]

Some video for your enjoyment.

-dave-

 

[sardog1]

Some video for your enjoyment.

-dave-

As Newman might have said, "#@&! you, Metsky, you useless -------." The stills weren't enough, you just had to rub it in, didn't you?

BTW, I would be curious to know who was lugging the HammerHeads and how he likes them. Anybody we know here?

 

[Rob S]

WOW! Real nice video!

And great job with the editing and music. The Who rocks!

 

[David Metsky]

BTW, I would be curious to know who was lugging the HammerHeads and how he likes them. Anybody we know here?

That's Rob with the HHs, and he loves them. He's got them on all of his skis. People who like HHs really love them. Renny (silver helmet) also has HHs and he's getting used to them now.

Time for some Otto Road trips to the snowfields!

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Fine video, Dave. Many thanks!

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Very nice video Dave. Really enjoyed watching it.

Keith

 

[Mattl]

Boy Tuckerman.org wasn't kidding when they said they say some record avalanches this year. The one you guys walked through early on in the pictures was huge, took out a large swath of trees. -Mattl

 

[kltilton]

Nice video Dave. That place looks awesome. How does GoS compare in difficulty to Tucks? I know it's one of those things that you can make it as hard as you want, but I'm just curious.

 

[una_dogger]

*LOVE* the video!

OK, that is the direction I want to take my skiing!

What a cool day!

 

[David Metsky]

Nice video Dave. That place looks awesome. How does GoS compare in difficulty to Tucks? I know it's one of those things that you can make it as hard as you want, but I'm just curious.

GoS is not quite as steep as Tucks, for the most part. The steepest sections of the Gullys approach 45 degrees, compared to up to 55 at some of the entrances in Tucks, like Left Gully. The majority of the terrain is between 35 and 45 degrees, and the section south of main gullies are much more open then Tuckerman.

GoS is also more remote then Tuckerman, you won't necessarily see others up there. The trail out is much more difficult then Sherburne, being narrow and turny. It's also more fun.

 

[Seeker]

Nice viddy. Love the tune!

 

[cbcbd]

*LOVE* the video!

OK, that is the direction I want to take my skiing!

Geez, aren't you the motivated one! I wish my skiing progressed as fast
I got one acronym for you: AT ...or tele. Whichever one you choose to allow you to go up and down on skis.

You and MichaelJ should check it out, skinning for your turns is a blast.

It's also more fun.

Agreed! Like the video and awesome song choice!

Nice viddy. Love the tune!

Lol, not surprised.

 

[MichaelJ]

Well, I was doing parallel turns last weekend on 3-pin cable bindings attached to Karhu Pyxis skis (long, skinny, fish-scaled), so I don't think real downhill tele gear will be a problem, once I try some / buy some. It might be some time before I can do tele turns on them, but that's okay. And I can always go back to my alpine skis when I need them.

But I'm not giving up lift-served when in-season!