three volcanoes in three days

posted by powdork at 8:04 pm on March 26, 2013 in backcountry, doggies, hiking, skiing

after our last storm in tahoe the temps shot almost immediately up into the 60′s. combined with the high sun angle of late march it didn’t take long for most spots to start transitioning to corn. the same storm was still hitting southern and central oregon, and the forecast was for continued cold. try as i may, i couldn’t come up with a reason not to head north, and had plenty reason to get the hell outta dodge. i tried to rally some friends but really it would have made a lot of the trip more difficult. sometimes it’s nice to roll solo anyway so objectives don’t get in the way of adventures. it’s fun to park at a trailhead, put on the skins, walk a while, and then decide where you’re going. the result is that, other than saturday on broken top, most of the pictures are either scenic, or pictures of nacho.

we left thursday at 3:00 with a stop at the climbing gym in incline village, and after a long delay (forgot my sleeping bag requiring detour to reno) we were on 395 heading north at about 8:00. we pulled into annie creek sno park outside of crater lake national park around 2 am, which ruled out a dawn patrol the following day. no worries though as that just meant that i didn’t have to break trail or get lost.
it was apparent from the start we weren’t in tahoe any more, as there was an 8′-12′ base at the bottom of the hill on south facing slopes. nacho is looking a little rugged in his old pack. fortunately we were on our way to bend, the home of ruffwear performance dog gear.

skiing to the lake is forbidden. and it’s kind of hard to hide your tracks, and it takes a while to get back out, which means they’re waiting for you (and the dog you’re not supposed to have). still it was mighty tempting.

not today though. nacho stomped around cuz he wanted to go for it.
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kusala pow 186, from pmgear

posted by powdork at 12:28 pm on March 12, 2013 in gear reviews and tips

the kusala's stomp airs. seriously

the kusala pow is a fat waisted stiff powder ski with subtle reverse camber and slight rocker the kusala’s stomp airs. seriously


dimensions:
• Length: 186cm
• Dim: 133.2 / 124 / 129.4 mm
• Radius: approximately 30m
• Pintail profile: 0.4°
• Front rocker length: 460mm
• Front rocker height: 23.7mm (including the front reverse camber)
• Rear rocker length: 390mm
• Rear rocker height: 13.1mm (including the rear reverse camber)
• Front end height: 90mm
• Rear end height: 30mm

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