The Thunderbolt...Ski It Until Your Boots Explode! Blair Mahar

January 29, 2009 @ 02:04 PM

My buddies, Cosmo and Tim, and I made plans to ski the Thunderbolt yesterday. The three of us are teachers and we did the same thing our students do on snow days…we went out and played in the snow. We headed up right around 2 PM just as the snow was beginning to switch over from light powder to sleet. The snow was like sugar, and felt like zillions of little ball bearings under foot as we hiked and skinned up. Tim stopped just below the Big Schuss and decided he was going to ski the lower slopes for the afternoon. I gave him my truck keys in case he got cold, and Cosmo and I continued on. We ran into Heather Linscott just above the Needle’s Eye and 4 other guys on the Big Bend. The summit was howling and cold, but the fire somebody had left for us in the Thunderbolt Ski Shelter was a nice treat after our 2 hour climb. It was getting dark, so we didn’t stay long, just enough to warm up slightly, drink back some fluids, and have a snack. The skiing was fast! The sugar-like snow that made the ascent a little slippery made the descent a wild ride! You had to really drive the skis and with a lot of energy to make nice turns. But as always with skiing in powder, the faster you go, the more you float, and the more control you have. It’s counterintuitive if you haven’t skied powder, but skiing fast on the narrow and steep Thunderbolt actually gives you more control. 

 
 
I snapped a pic of Tim as we left him, just in case we never saw him again…
 
 
At the Big Bend we saw Josh and Rich skinning up on their rondonee gear. These 2 guys are becoming permanent fixtures on the mountain. We chatted a while and then headed down. Cosmo was making nice turns on his fat randonee skis. I was making fast, wide arching telemark turns. It was great skiing! It was just a great time to be out on the mountain. When we got back to the truck we saw our buddy Tim waiting for us. He had the truck warmed up and ready to go. Cosmo and I were getting spoiled; a warm shelter on the way up, and a warm truck on the way down. Tim asked us about our run and we asked him about his…and it was then that Tim pulled his shattered ski boot from the back of the pick-up and told us about his crash. It seems he got going pretty fast and took a spill. Good thing for Tim his boot took the brunt of the crash and not his ankle.
 
 
Cosmo skinning up on his randonee gear.
 
 
Some might bemoan the Thunderbolt’s popularity today. Not me. I love to see people up there enjoying the trail. There is always a community of skiers, riders, and mountaineers to be found on the slopes…just like in the old days. In total we saw at least a dozen skiers and riders on the mountain…on a weekday. One guy was heading UP at 4:45 just as we were coming down. He was going to spend a night in the shelter and ski down in the morning. Now I’m glad I decided to throw a few extra logs on the fire when we were up there. Greylock belongs to nobody. And at the same time, it belongs to everybody. Come enjoy the mountain, the camaraderie, and the history….and ski the Thunderbolt until your boots explode!      

There’s skiing the Thunderbolt…and then there’s skiing the Thunderbolt Herrmann style!

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Feed-14x14 15 Responses to The Thunderbolt...Ski It Until Your Boots Explode!

Tom Myers
January 29, 2009 @ 09:36 AM
was thinking of skiing it this Saturday (for the 1st time). Any thoughts on how conditions will be? Was it "crusty" yesterday?
Blair Mahar
January 29, 2009 @ 10:16 AM
Hi Tom, It wasn't crusty...it was sugar snow...like skiing on sand. Very fast! There is very good coverage. The Big Bend was completely wind blown, but no ice. It was like hard packed powder. I would think conditions should be good up there on Saturday. There is almost nothing to watch out for. I think I saw one rock poking through on the entire trail.
Tom Myers
January 29, 2009 @ 01:42 PM
thanks much, Blair. Maybe see you up there- we'll be 1 or 2 adults and 2 or 3 boys
Blair Mahar
January 29, 2009 @ 05:38 PM
Your welcome, Tom. One thing though, as we left the summit last night it was almost raining. The skiing was great. I can't confirm it, but there is a good chance that over night a crust did indeed develop as temperatures dropped. I live at 2,000 ft. in elevation, and there is a pretty wicked crust out there right now. Have a great run if you go. Be sure to tell us how it went!
Rich Adamczyk
January 30, 2009 @ 08:47 AM
Thats awesome. For years I've been pushing real hard in hopes that something would explode off of me. I always figured that if I skied hard enough for enough days I could finaly blow my boots off of myself. I must admit, I was begining to think it wasn't possible, but this post gives me real inspiration. Thanks guys, I'm going skiing.
bootsey packerson
January 30, 2009 @ 05:21 PM
ouch Tim, that hurts my sole just thinkin about it
Blair Mahar
February 03, 2009 @ 07:32 AM
Rich, that's funny because I have also been skiing real hard hoping, in strange way, that I would break a bone or something on the Thunderbolt. I wanted to experience my own litle "baptism of fire" on the Thunderbolt and join the legions of skiers like Greeny Guertin and Rudy Konieczny who broke legs up there. I ended up breaking a rib on the Needle's Eye last year. Not quite like breaking a leg, but I'll take it...
Richard Adamczyk
February 03, 2009 @ 08:30 AM
Hey don't go and jinx me now. I never said anything about breaking BONES. This is strictly a gear exploding dream. I think that Greeny even says its amazing how easy it is to break a leg. I'll just take his word for it.
Jack
November 08, 2009 @ 06:56 PM
What type of gear do you use? IS it Cross Country skiis? Can regular Alpine skis work? I have always liked the look of telemark skiers and Love the Berkshires . This type of skiing and sleeping out on Greylock sounds like an adventure! My SKI intrest has been revived.. Jack O
Blair Mahar
November 17, 2009 @ 07:12 AM
Jack, definitely not cross country. Alpine skis, telemark, AT gear, and/or snowboards are all used on the Thunderbolt. Skin, snowshoe, or hike up, and have a run down!
Sven Torgensen
February 22, 2010 @ 11:52 AM
Ya, that looks like what happened to me when I tried to schuss the Tunderbolt...stuff exploding off me everywhere. Tim you look Swedish, like me? Is Herrmann a Swedish last name?
Dave Peters
March 14, 2010 @ 01:07 PM
Been following your endeavours from "afar". Bravo! Did the T'bolt in high school, HVHS '75. One of the few. (Back then Tuckerman's was a more attractive challenge.) Among those few were the sons of some of the 1940's racers, Deyle, Bedard and Belch. My Dad didnt compete but had a backpack with the Adams Ski Club patch on it that always intrigued me. I think it was my first "rucksack". Still has his skis and poles (Army surplus - white with large baskets). Use to bring the poles out during St. Pats celebrations at Brodie where I instructed. Hope for continued success so I can do IT a again. FYI, Sven (the Swede) mispoke in his national zealousness over the Vikings. Saab is American(GMC since 2000).
Sven Torgensen
March 16, 2010 @ 02:03 PM
Så länge vi är spliting hår...or in English, as long as we're splitting hairs...Since Feb. of 2010 Saab is actually now owned by the Netherlands-based boutique supercar maker Spyker. Those darn Norwegians!
Dave Peters
March 17, 2010 @ 05:46 PM
Sven, But the Swede's still have 2 treasures, one of the best skiers in history, Stenmark, who I had the privilege to meet at a World Cup race in Vermont, circa 1973! And, the best woman's golfer, Sorenstam. My generation grew up watching NOKy Stein Erickson on Saturday mornings who brought skiing to the masses of middle-class Americans and USA's first 5-star ski resort, Deer Valley (with valet parking!). I work a lot in Norway (oil biz) and cant seem to understand their drinking 'habits'. Care to offer your opinion?
Sven Torgensen
March 20, 2010 @ 07:26 AM
I have no opinion of their drinking habits? Don't forget another great Swede...Carolus Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, who named the common rat Norwegus ratticus after the Nowegians. Way to go Carolus!

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