Laps in the N'east: BIG weekend.

Yup. BIG weekend. This week took forever, so I needed to make the most of this weekend. One more week until we are on Vaca here in Vermont, and this weekend was an excellent opportunity to get ready for all the fun we will be having when school is out.

Friday afternoon was spontaneity day in the Lapierre household. This little known holiday, celebrated only in the Williston Lapierre household, consists of me buying a present for my wife and making her do something she hasn't done before. This is what I came up with.

Charlie's Vermont Angel

No, it is not a "real" gun. It is a Co2 powered bb gun. Nevertheless, Aliza has never shot any type of gun. She was so nervous she made me load it and shoot it first before she try it. We spent several clips shooting seltzer bottles and cans. We are pretty BA.

For Saturday, we started with some bike riding. The trails in VT are still luge tracks, thanks to the lack of snow, intermittent rain and the constant temps near 30 degrees. Marc and I studded our tires which helps with the ice, but leads to frequent flats.

Marc and Andy trying not to stab themselves.

We have become pretty fast at changing flats, which is good because it is pretty cold out there despite the lame winter we have been having. The trails are still fun, and it is really cool to ride on trails like this and have total control (except when Marc takes a corner to fast and slides into the woods)

After the bike riding, Marc and I decided to test out some new gear. Outdoor Research sent me a Bivy sac, and I really wanted to try it out. I am planning on using one this year in the CTR, and I thought that this weekend would be a good chance to try it out.

Marc, trying the bivy out in my kitchen. He wants one now.

Marc and I headed down to Stowe, where we hoped there would be lots and lots of snow. We were a bit disappointed when we found a solid 1/4 inch of fresh on top of firm, firm snow. We skinned for about 45 minutes to find the perfect campsite. We set up camp and gathered some firewood. Then we headed out to take a few runs.

Home, sweet home, for the night.

Marc, digging in.

After skiing for a bit, we headed back up to camp (in the future, I think camp should be low, so that you can end a ski run where you are going to cook and sleep) It started to snow for the last few minutes of the skin, and we hoped it would continue and make the morning skiing better than the afternoon runs. No such luck. I looked up into the sky after dinner and we could see lots of stars. It was very beautiful, but we would have preferred clouds and snow to cold and ambiance.

We were hungry after the skiing and set to work cooking and gathering more fire wood. I got a chance to try out my new esbit stove, which has little white blocks for fuel. It worked out pretty well and in about ten minutes I had my cous cous made. I threw in another block and boiled some potato pieces that Marc brought. It wasn't gourmet, but it was some of the best potato soup I have ever had. After dinner, our attention turned to burning stuff. For some reason, whenever Marc gets near a fire, it grows exponentially.

He also seems to enjoy fire quite a bit. We let the fire burn down, and then hit the sack around 8. I slept surprisingly well, and fell warm throughout the night. I do think that next time I will pack down the snow under my bivy a bit better, since I kept rolling into the tree next to me. In the morning we had planned to ski a bit, but Marc was rather cold and tired (he decided to try sleeping a 40 degree bag, which I don't think worked too well) I was easily persuaded, as I could meet Aliza and her dad for some warm, indoor climbing.

After climbing we had lunch, did some shopping and then headed home. I wasn't feeling tired anymore, and Timber the wonder dog was bouncing off the walls when we got home. So, I got dressed for a bike ride and decided to tire Timber right out. I wouldn't have thought this possible two years ago, but Timber is getting older and even he needs to rest after an hour and a half of running through the woods. It helps when the trails look like this and he has to run twice as far just to keep pace with me on the ice.