The Stove

Another Verstovia pano.

Since I have been doing a ton of snow boarding lately, I thought why not do a post on it. The last couple of days has been spent in class, and in the backcountry (which is always teaching me new things, so its kind of like class as well).
At the beginning of the season (November 2011), my good friend Dana showed me the wonders that lie on top of Mt. Verstovia. In fact, Dana, Steph, and I have all taken the liberty of leaving our boards strapped to a tree at the treeline of Mt. Verstovia (let's just call it 'the Stove', okay?). It was a wise decision indeed since we have gone snowboarding literally every weekend for the past 3 months (barring a couple weekends)!!


The man, the myth, the LEGEND!! Steve R. on a patented Stove run.

Just this past few days I have had the good fortune to get out two times in three days! This last trip being an exceptional one. The stage: A beautiful blue bird Sunday morning with slight hints of Winter's mischief clinging to eaves and gutters in the town. Upon arriving at the first stop, Picnic Rock (elev. 2,550), I stood and gazed down at the immaculate bowl of the Stove. It looked like I had the absolute privilege of sharing it with only two other boarders, Steve Rifenstuhl (a local legend) and his equally awesome and outdoorsy wife Adriana. They were kind enough to have gotten up hours before me in order to break a very nice trail up this behemoth of a mountain.


Deep powder in the bowl.

The weariness from the 1.5 hour trek up to picnic rock left my body instantaneously as I gazed over the perfection the Stove had to offer and I strapped my board on and had a pretty decent run down into the belly of the Stove. From there I followed suit and started the 'Mt. Doom' walk up to a good drop in point.




I had only been in this 'heaven among earth' once so I decided to get as high as I could. I just kept walking and walking until the pre-broken trail stopped a few hundred feet short of the summit. On my way up I had spied an incredible and untouched run that included a killer cliff drop off a snow bank. I positioned myself directly above this feature and strapped in. Epinephrine filled my veins. My heart started to beat even faster than it had in order to get me to where I was; staring straight down the mouth of a terrifyingly good time. I dropped in, feeling as if I had too much speed I pulled up just short of the cliff's lip. I gulped as I stared down into what I was about to hurl myself off of. I unstrapped and hiked back up to the drop in spot. This time I wasn't going to stop, I promised. I hit the bottom of the drop well but I took a quick seat in the clouds of powder and continued on down for what would be one of the longest and most enjoyable runs I have done in the backcountry. The bowl of the Stove is WHERE IT IS AT!!! On a totally blue bird day the bowl has the absolutely best runs anywhere; or at least the best runs you can access without a helicopter.




I spent the rest of the day killing my legs hiking up and down the Stove and bombing off gaps, down hills, and just enjoyed having a Winter playground all to myself. The special thing about this place is the lack of any signs of civilization. For a good part of the day, I was completely alone. Surrounded by the mountains and left to my own devices. There is something very profound and utterly unique about a place like this that can cause concentrated moments of self reflection.



Snowboarding has given me a chance to broaden what it is I enjoy so much about rock climbing; and that is an experience distilled through a lens of athleticism and nature you get when interacting with your environment.


Mt. Edgecumb, as seen from the Picnic Rock outlook.

As the day turned from blue bird and calm to overcast and windy, I retreated to the shelter of Picnic Rock. This is a huge hill/mountain that abuts the greater Mt. Verstovia. It has more than a few runs to choose from, but for the most part they are all very short. But, what they lack in length they more than make up for in terrain. You can't go more than a hundred feet without bumping into a sweet kicker, drop, or cliff. The features are everywhere and there is usually more powder on this side of the hill since it stays in the shade and when the wind kicks up it gets all of the powder off of the ridge.



A little kicker at the top of a sweet run on Picnic Rock.

I played around on the front of PR for a while before my legs systematically shut down. There was just so much powder everywhere, but I just couldn't manage another (albeit) short hike back up. I grabbed my pack and bid a fond farewell to the mountains and of course the Stove, before dropping in one last time.