# Northeast Backcountry



## killclimbz

The Adirondacks in NY look amazing. Tuckerman's is definitely a popular place and also has real avalanche danger in the winter. Same thing with the 'Dacks though. Vermont and Main have spots, most of them are local stashes that are hard to figure out. I wouldn't say there is a ton of bc, but it's there. The 'Dacks probably being the largest best area when the snow is on. There is a guidebook the describes the descents in that range, and what you need to do them.


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## Guest

Tucks in the winter is a death sentence. Its only skiable/rideable in the spring.

There's some good BC up near Stowe VT and a ton up at Big Jay. there's also a few secret stashes up near Cannon mtn in NH


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## Guest

there's also ThunderBolt in MA


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## killclimbz

Actually I see winter trip reports from Tuck's all the time on TGR. These are from people who know how to assess snow stability, carry gear, and make their own calls on it. It is a serious undertaking and you and you had better respect it. On the flip side it is not a guaranteed death sentence either.


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## Guest

yeah.... ive heard tucks is a giant slate of snowy death in the winter.... when do we start considering it spring?

Thanks for the ideas guys.... now i hafta find some friends willing to hike for their runs.... keep the ideas coming if you know of any....


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## Guest

if you do decide to get into it (which is awesome) just make sure to do your homework first on locations, avi danger and survival. i know it sounds funny, but BC is no joke. proper equipment is essential. you dont go out and ride BC with just your "resort" gear. its a whole other ballgame when nobody is coming to look for you.

also, if you are considering tucks, thunderbolt or other "well known" BC destinations, you may want to consider a split board or at the very least snowshoes. if you go to a destination where there are other avid skiers/riders hiking, not only will your hike be 1000x easier with snowshoes, but regulars at these places see them as a REQUIREMENT for hiking. this is not for you, this is for the safety of others skinning and going down the runs. simply hiking in boots causes massive trenches in the snow that can affect snow pack, avi's and, the obvious, create huge holes that people can stumble in while hiking or riding and hurt themselves.


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## Guest

killclimbz said:


> Actually I see winter trip reports from Tuck's all the time on TGR. These are from people who know how to assess snow stability, carry gear, and make their own calls on it. It is a serious undertaking and you and you had better respect it. On the flip side it is not a guaranteed death sentence either.


yea, i didnt mean its unrideable in the winter, but for the average skibumjoe it's out of reach until springtime when the weather starts to turn.


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## Guest

Im certainly not a mountaineering expert but i have done a bit of homework and I'm slowly pulling together the equipment necissary for winter climbing and B/C riding. How effective is a splitboard for climbing?


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## killclimbz

A splitboard allows you to cover more terrain than snowshoes. It's also easier if you are hiking through trees, having a board on your back in thick tree cover sucks. In fact having a board on your back just sucks in general. You can skin at angles just over 30 degrees. After that they start to slip. In that case you switchback up steep slopes. Overall a split is the way to go if you are earning your turns.


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## Guest

*custom splits*

^^^ or you can just split your current setup 
i heard that this guy does sick work.

Welcome to www.customsplitboards.com


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## killclimbz

Monk does amazing work. You are still ripping a board in half, so you can expect a change in performance. Not sure if his price makes it worth while vs buying one that was built from the ground up. 

If you have a specific board you want split that is not available in production, this would probably be the way to go. The Banana Hammock splitty he did is just a work of art.


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## Guest

not to mention the waitlist. the bananna split was sick though.

just throwing it out there


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## Guest

killclimbz said:


> Monk does amazing work. You are still ripping a board in half, so you can expect a change in performance. Not sure if his price makes it worth while vs buying one that was built from the ground up.
> 
> If you have a specific board you want split that is not available in production, this would probably be the way to go. The Banana Hammock splitty he did is just a work of art.


thanks for the word killclimbz... funny enough, even though I'm taking a chainsaw & hammer to a solid board, I think you might be surprised at how little this affects the performance/flex. I know this from personal experience and I've received substantial feedback from people who have ridden their boards solid and then had me split them. The biggest difference people notice is weight gain (from hardware), which you seem to get with any splitboard.


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## killclimbz

That's good to hear. I have no personal experience with DIY models myself so I can't really argue against the performance angle much. The weight gain thing is universal for sure.


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## Guest

Tried a little backcountry today... spent the night at the summit of a local mountain.... it poured last night and made the snow shitty and slushy..... and the woods were way too thick to ride through w/ an overnight pack... once we got about half way down the mt we just rode down the trail we came up.... but ive got to say riding w/ a 50 lb pack in shitty, slushy, deep snow, down a very wooded mountain.... isnt so much fun.... eliminate any 1 of those factors though and it wouldve been a good time.... mostly just the really heavy backpack.....


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## Guest

I've done Tux twice, and yes you wanna wait till spring because it really is no joke. Keep in mind Mt. Washington has the most dangerous weather of any place in the world. The fastest winds ever recorded were on that summit. It's the only bc i've done, but i had a blast. Maybe not the best for the lazy man, but the hike is rewarding. Don't be a pussy, do it! March-April's the best time to do it because there's still enough snow up there, and the ski patrol leaves in mid-May. It's dangerous only if you don't know your limits, really. The ski trail back down is like a hard blue easy black diamond, and the ravine itself is only as extreme as you make it. It's a 2,000 ft bowl, so you can go as far up as you want, really.


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## snoeboarder

killclimbz said:


> The Adirondacks in NY look amazing. Tuckerman's is definitely a popular place and also has real avalanche danger in the winter. Same thing with the 'Dacks though. Vermont and Main have spots, most of them are local stashes that are hard to figure out. I wouldn't say there is a ton of bc, but it's there. The 'Dacks probably being the largest best area when the snow is on. There is a guidebook the describes the descents in that range, and what you need to do them.


i bought that book last week ...










i hiked a small summit on snowshoes ($16 rentals) and rode down, it was a couple weeks back, i wanted to get a feel for it, and i totally loved it, mt marcy is the most popular in ny, it has a nice 5 mile ride down, total trip is about 15miles, so ya, 10 miles in snowshoes, but its a hardpack trail so its not like trudging through deep stuff

the book has about 4 from ny, and a lot more for VT, even a jay peak & stowe guide

i want to get this next










but i will tell you this ... i definitely aint no day on the lift with crowds, or patrol, or anything that you didnt pack with you

o ya ... and check out this site for ADK stuff ... http://www.cloudsplitterguides.com/ski-tours/


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## killclimbz

The Drew Haas book is the one I was referring too. Looks like it is out of print. I tried Chessler Books and they don't have it in stock. Amazon is saying it's not available. This is a great book, if you find a copy, snatch it up. Drew knows what he is doing.


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## snoeboarder

it might be available in the 'park' ... im going up to my camp tonight, im gonna check out a few stores


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## Tarzanman

monk151 said:


> thanks for the word killclimbz... funny enough, even though I'm taking a chainsaw & hammer to a solid board, I think you might be surprised at how little this affects the performance/flex. I know this from personal experience and I've received substantial feedback from people who have ridden their boards solid and then had me split them. The biggest difference people notice is weight gain (from hardware), which you seem to get with any splitboard.



Saw this bad boy in the window when I was in Breckenridge 2 weeks ago



Now, if I only knew how to ski....(and didn't live in Georgia!)


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## Guest

there is plenty of good backcountry and slackcountry in new england. mount mansfield, the notch, slidebrook at sugarbush, mittersils at cannon, etc....


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## killclimbz

Tarzanman, you really don't need to know how the ski. I sure don't. Granted, I am better at it than when I started splitboarding 10 years ago. I would still probably die trying to ski the learning area at most resorts. You're traveling uphill in ski mode. It's much close to snow shoeing (except you don't post hole) than it is skiing.


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## Guest

new england? backcountry? does that even exist compared to out west?

go for places like okemo, loon, normal ski resorts thats about all your gonna get out here. or hit up maine.


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## Guest

I think splitboard is very effective in climbing. It is a snowboard that can be separated into two parts. The two parts can be used like skis with climbing skins to ascend slopes the same way alpine touring or telemark skis are used. The two halves can then be connected to form a regular snowboard for descent. It is used for backcountry snowboarding.


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## Btalon

Pheeldo said:


> new england? backcountry? does that even exist compared to out west?
> 
> go for places like okemo, loon, normal ski resorts thats about all your gonna get out here. or hit up maine.


Goodman makes a book with New Hampshire and Maine in it, I've done a few out of it and had a blast doing them. It's not like the rocky mountains, but can be as fascinating and rewarding.


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## Atules

Has anyone done Mt. Moosilauke recently? How are the conditions out there? I was thinking of heading out there on Monday to check it out


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## Guest

acegoodrich said:


> yeah.... ive heard tucks is a giant slate of snowy death in the winter.... when do we start considering it spring?
> 
> Thanks for the ideas guys.... now i hafta find some friends willing to hike for their runs.... keep the ideas coming if you know of any....


I'm in pa and am interested.


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