Schwacked-Out on New Year’s Eve

By:  Greg
January 1, 2011


Schwack [sh-hwak, -wak] (verb.) To travel through a densely forested area without a trail, preferably with tears streaming from your eyes. See below for usage.

With rain and warmth invading from the south, New Year’s eve 2010/11 was the last call for the east coast ministry of FIS to get our fix. I rallied friends of FIS, Pete Wadsworth…
Pete Wadsworth

…and his social secretary Jessie…
Jessie

…along with splitboarding curmudgeon Christian…
Christian

…and hand model KC…
KC

…for a hair-brained idea that might even involve some skiing. We headed east from Vermont at 7am aboard Pete/Jessie’s vehicle, using every seatbelt known to Subaru owners. Despite a forecast calling for a nice morning trending toward poor weather by sunset, an hour and a half later the mountain greeted us with low clouds and some rain drops. A crew of other “green plates” was already returning to their car as we pulled into the lot. They were complaining of no visibility, poor skiing, and glopped skins. At precisely the same moment, the bar 6 miles down the road opened its doors.

Nevertheless, despite all the warnings, with tears welling up in our eyes we suited up, geared up, and headed up. Into the clouds we climbed. As with most of my new year’s eve celebrations, things began to get hazy quickly…
Things began to get hazy for me quickly

…and only got worse until I feared the day was on the verge of becoming a wind-beaten, tear-soaked, never-ending sidehill on ice.
tear-soaked sidehill

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Read about the author:   Greg
Enjoy this TR? Read another: TR: Great Basin

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11 Comments

  1. powhounddd
    wrote on January 1st, 2011 at 9:31 pm  
    1

    wow folks, hats off to the hardcores! Really full of eastern mettle, this TR.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
    • Greg
      wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 9:42 am  
      2

      ha. thanks for checking in… i hear what you’re saying… but i wonder if i didn’t choose words that were a bit too harsh in describing the day. I don’t think we were really brandishing our mettle that much.

      it really was a ton of fun, and we really did get some great turns in. they were just separated by a 200 vertical foot bushwack…

      anyway, let me put it this way: If I could do this exact same trip again today, I’d take it in a heartbeat. Beats this weather any day.

  2. jj
    wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 10:13 am  
    3

    I love that one of Christian skiing on split boards…nice face!

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
    • Greg
      wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 10:14 am  
      4

      thanks jim. fun was had :D

    • christian
      wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 11:45 am  
      5

      i pizza’d when i probably should have french fry’d

  3. Harvey44
    wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 10:31 am  
    6

    I’m with powhounddd. Nice. Looking on a phone so I missed the words but still diggin it.
    Great “reading” for a dreary day in the flatlands.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  4. Mrs. Amy Ou-sick
    wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 11:47 am  
    7

    Please, stop making schuss to me right now! Please, come back when I’m whiter and phatter than I’ll be in the mood! ;)

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
    • Greg
      wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 1:04 pm  
      8

      too much fun to avoid in low tide… sorry Mrs.

    • Mrs. Amy Ou-sick
      wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 6:32 pm  
      9

      I see you like my spicey shallows.. You will really love me tomorrow.. ;)

  5. VTColdSmoke
    wrote on January 2nd, 2011 at 2:24 pm  
    10

    Bummer of a weekend, way to get after it anyway!

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  6. Skimohr
    wrote on January 3rd, 2011 at 5:13 pm  
    11

    Fun stuff. The Big Mtn is waking up… You just as easily could have ended up above the clouds and in the clear that day. We opted for a VT classic that afternoon… Super-fun crust cruising in effect now.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
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