Doug and Manasseh on the summit of Baker, one of the few smooth peaks of the trip.
Spring skiing the Cascade Volcanos and summer skiing Colorado 14ers
Ah the joy of a road trip: endless possibility, lofty targets, stoke as plentiful as the rubber you’ve got to burn. In this latest episode, Doug and I recall the highs and lows of our Pacific Northwest volcano corn skiing pilgrimage where we discovered that highest levels of stoke in the world can’t surpass closed roads, rain, avi danger, down trees, and the simple fact that Northwest volcanos, though relatively close to one another, are still hours of driving apart.
Back in the podcast bar/studio to recant the tales of ski mountaineering greatness, or not so greatness. As you can see we take this very seriously.
Being a guest on the show with Doug and Randy was the realization of a long time dream for me. We all met each other years back while schlepping Thai food to support our ski habits. (Well, I was skiing. Doug and Randy were working double time to open their backcountry ski shop, along with skiing as much as possible. Nobody slept much those days).
So, friends united behind the microphones as Doug and I recounted the good and the bad. Some funnier trip fails include Terminal Cancer Couloir (see my trip report) and a “rest day” mountain bike ride over 25 miles, with 6000 feet of climbing and enough deadfall to fill a forest. But there were also shining successes like meeting a lone, spandex clad skier on Mount Baker, and Doug dragging me up four volcanoes in five days. Lots of laughter ensued on set, but who doesn’t like a good trip recap?
“You can own a shop, you can have a podcast, you can go skiing a lot, you can go on a lot of road trips, and you can still mess everything up.” Doug eloquently sums up the trip.
We also shared midsummer stoke for Colorado skiing, which some would say is still going strong, and some would say is just still going. Depends on how hard you want to work.
Climbing to the summit of Grizzly in mid-June. Conditions are still white for summer skiing.
Skiing Grays and Torreys on June 27. Conditions were starting to brown, but who can resist the chance to ski in shorts?
And Doug gave the play by play of the Ski to Sea relay race in Washington where his team missed first place by a measly four seconds. Talk about a photo finish.
So if you want something to cool you down in the summer heat, have a listen and a laugh. Oh, and keep an eye out for other blogs born of stories on the episode, including some Mount Hood play by play over the coming week.
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Manasseh Franklin is a writer, editor and big fan of walking uphill. She has an MFA in creative nonfiction and environment and natural resources from the University of Wyoming and especially enjoys writing about glaciers. Find her other work in Alpinist, Adventure Journal, Rock and Ice, Aspen Sojourner, AFAR, Trail Runner and Western Confluence.
