Surf Station Spring 18
The seasons are changing and so have our writing topics. Over on goEast, we’ve switched gears from snow and ice to rock climbing, peak bagging, and mountain biking. Some of our recent pieces covered how to take your climbing from gym to crag, three New Hampshire 4,000 footers that everyone avoids (but really should be doing), and tips for keeping your ride clean during mud season. We also did an Alpha Guide on hiking Mt. Mansfield, one of my favorite peaks in the northeast. And while it’s hardly springy, the Alpha Guide that we did on the Lion Head Winter Route—an outing that ended up being one of the most memorable days of my winter—published in mid-March.
While I’m already in full rock climbing mode, Tim’s in denial about the changing seasons. So much so that in his spare time he’s been trying to keep the winter psych alive by writing a couple pieces for the Powder 7 Ski Blog. In one of the articles, he spilled the beans about one of our favorite places to ski in Massachusetts (Mt. Watatic), contrasting the backcountry experience there with the lift-serviced experience at nearby Mt. Wachusett. It is one of my favorite pieces that he’s written, so definitely check it out (unless you’re a skier living in Massachusetts, in which case you should read his article about Cannon).
We’ve been pretty busy on this site, too, averaging a post per week for the last two months. We’ve covered everything from the best moderate trad climbs in Greater Boston to White Mountain traverses we’re looking forward to revisiting this summer. And in case that you didn’t believe me that Tim’s in denial about the changing seasons, he even managed to sneak in a recap of an unexpectedly great ski day we recently had on Mt. Tecumseh.
We’ve also added a new “writer.” I always thought that Ashley Reven would be our next contributor, but old friend Mickey Spades, now of Bic Sports Factory Racing, somehow beat her to the punch. His first tips piece could have been titled “All the Things Doug Needs to Pay Attention to on His First Ride of the Season.” He’ll hopefully be posting monthly about all things mountain biking. In the interim, maybe we’ll convince Ashley to pull something together as well.
Finally, I really enjoyed Backcountry Magazine‘s detailed, multi-piece profile on the Redline Traverse in the Deep Winter issue. Adapted from the Alpinist‘s Mountain Profile concept, this is a great read on long distance ski touring in the Sierras. Unfortunately, I can only find a small segment of it online, but if you come across a back issue of the mag, check it out.
