Luke Foley
Doug Martland
Genevieve Martland
Tim Peck
Mickey Spades
My feet are in the wrong spot, my body position sucks, and my balance gets even iffier every time I take a stroke with this too-short paddle. My time on this wave is limited—in a few moments I’ll be off the board, floating in the runout downstream. But for now I’m having a blast. It’s fun to be a noob again.
When I started rock climbing, my gear consisted of a pair purple 5.10 Spires. Eager to climb, but lacking any other equipment, I bouldered. My first “real” problem: a 50 foot traverse from a small but solid stance in a cave on what I later learned was Quincy Quarry’s “N Wall.”
We’ve had a busy week at The Whites Room. Mickey lead off with a dual sport gear list for winter riding in Southern New England.
What do you need to go out in the winter, paddling amongst the Cape Cod ice? Here’s my list.
There’s so much dual sport gear out there that sometimes it’s hard to know what’s best for you. Indeed, maybe you’ve bought gear on somebody’s recommendation, only to find that the conditions they’re using it in are quite different than yours. To help solve that problem, here’s a list of what I’ve found is working best for me in New England this winter. And if you’re looking to ride in conditions like these–essentially brisk days with the temps ranging from 39-55–this gear is worth checking out. Hopefully you’ll even find that it will work for you too.
Before the snow started dumping, Doug and Tim had a great time climbing Flume and Silver Cascades, doing some research for an upcoming goEast piece on moderate ice climbs in Crawford Notch. Their friend Nick joined them that day. Look for him in some of the pics in the article as well as on Tim’s Instagram (@Timjpeck).
When you’re flying through the backcountry on your dual sport, your helmet might be your most important safety tool. I’ve been wearing my Klim Krios ADV Helmet for months now and love it. So much so that I named it my 2018 Gear of the Year here on the TWR. Here’s why.
To say mountain biking has been stagnant for 10 years just isn’t true. Of all the sports I participate in, biking has progressed significantly, and all these changes are pushing the gear in the perfect direction. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years bring. But seriously, can we please drop the E-bikes!
The first 100 pages of One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey always make me so happy. It’s about a man (Dick Proenneke), building a cabin from mostly natural materials, living his dream in the wilds of Alaska. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Less than 15 minutes from Mickey’s house and we’re already lost. The directions made this intersection seem easy: exit Borderland State Park on the Rockland Street Trail, turn left onto “Rockland St. for 0.1 miles,” and then take a right onto “a woodland trail.” A Bay Circuit Trail marker, designating the turn from the road into the woods, was supposed to be right there. Unfortunately, it’s not.
I thought I knew a lot about the life of heli-skiing pioneer Hans Gmoser, having first read about him in Topher Donahue’s book Bugaboo Dreams. However, after reading Deep Powder & Steep Rock: The Life of Mountain Guide Hans Gmoser by Chick Scott, I now recognize that I only knew a small part of the picture, as Deep Powder & Steep Rock delivers a comprehensive look at Gmoser’s life. Documenting the entire journey from an Austrian-born boy who went on to become a legend in the Canadian mountains and the father of heli-skiing.
Borderland State Park, in Easton, Massachusetts, has awesome winter mountain biking. The best way to experience it is on a fat bike after a big snowfall. My favorite loop is about 9 miles and takes you through some of the best winter fat biking terrain Borderland has to offer. Here’s the beta (and a map so you don’t get lost).
Much like A Walk in the Woods part of the charm of French Revolutions is the fish-out-of-water aspect of Moore, a novice cyclist diving into the deep-end of bicycling by tackling its most iconic challenge. But it’s not just the cycling world that Moore doesn’t fit in into. Being a British person traveling in France Moore must also tackle the language and cultural challenges presented to him in addition to physical challenges on his journey. Challenges that frequently lead to uncomfortable situations for Moore and high comedy for the reader.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve skinned and skied Mount Tecumseh but if I had to guess I would say over 20 and under 50. Despite my numerous adventures on Mount Tecumseh, I still find myself being educated by the journey to the mountain’s summit and the trip down the ski resort’s slopes, and my most recent trip was no different.
The Pinner Tool Roll is the second piece of gear I’ve recently purchased from Mosko Moto. It’s the slimmer little brother to the very popular Fatty Tool Roll, with many of the Fatty’s awesome features, just in a more compact set up.
We’re psyched that Tim and Doug’s piece “1927” was featured in the Winter 2019 issue of Wild Northeast. Skiing the Carriage Road on New Hampshire’s Mt. Moosilauke is one of our favorite winter outings, and Tim and Doug’s piece weaves the history of skiing racing on the Carriage Road into a story of their ascent and descent of the mountain. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to grab a copy at your local gear shop. And if you’re not able to find a hard copy, you can get the piece by clicking on the link above or the whole magazine by signing up for a free digital subscription.
