Of Hookers & Bondsmen

tMail, g-$$$ and MadDog tackled the Bondcliff on skis and snowshoes. Mutha, DogMan, Spanky & Trudy tackle Hooker Mountain (both summits) by bushwack.

tMail's Trip Report (pics here): The potential line up was…Wildman, Spungie, Mutha, DogMan, MadDog, G$$$, Tmail, PM, and Denali Dave. PM had an Uhaul conflict with a buddy, Widlman got a dog, Mutha, Spungie spoke early from the heart and Mutha had to handle last minute thing. Denali Dave exists via email has been seen once by Mutha, could have been in the parking lot I’m not sure we didn’t wait for him.

So then there was 3, G$$$, MadDog and Tmail. We stuck with the plan headed toward Bondcliff for the January Bondcliff Expedition 2010. Gear and more gear was the word of the day….G$$$ and I took our expedition boots with us and MadDog went with his new Alpina all day and all night.

The LWT and WT rocked and there is no other way to do it than to ski it. As a side note the Owls Head (Black Pond) is packed beyond packed if anyone wants to head out there. The ski in was awesome and our transition to snowshoes and mountaineering boots was fast. Note to those that want to do these types of adventures take your boots with you and leave your ski boots attached to the ski and just leave them leaned against a tree. In the course of the day warming may occur and you don’t want them to fall over if just stuck in the snow we didn’t have any issues.

The trip up Bondcliff was solid packed out but some sections had soft snow and there was a little sinkage. I should add the war whoops were heard and G$$$ is made of titanium and earned hiker and skier of the day award. The best part is everyone made it to the summit to Bondcliff and it was well worth the effort for everyone! It was absolutely awesome being on Bondcliff in January.

MadDog and G$$$ got there pictures taken on the summit and then we all departed. MadDog lost his fingers from Bondcliff all the way to the car. The 2nd transition was eventful. I started to plan what I could do with my gloves on and decided to do that first. The last thing I did was put the left ski on the left side and right ski on my right side. I was able to untie both Koflach boots with gloves on then took gloves off and immediately transferred feet to ski boots tied them and gloves back on.

MadDog was running up and down the trail screaming and trying to generate heat his hands ice blocks. G$$$ was reattaching his shoulder and arm to his body. I immediately pulled out 4 chem warmers for MadDog and we dropped them in his mittens. I also helped MadDog put on his pack he lost all finger strength and we discussed how people die in the wilderness and how he felt like he had no hands. We also had binding issues Triple NNN iced up. I had to get my ACL Brace scrapper out and use twigs to de-ice. I restored to smashing, banging and kicking it. MadDog was tempted to walk out but we finally got it to stick. It finally worked after about 15 minutes at which points MadDog lost his hands more and mine went as well. I quickly changed to my mittens and gained them back. G$$$ was blazing trail his headlamp failing so we put G$$$ in the back and he followed MadDog and I. It felt like the Iditarod as we mushed through the woods. We had major tree issues. MadDog got stuck under a tree I had to give him my pole start skiing and G$$$ pushed him up from behind. As we popped him up he smashed his head on the downed tree.

We had lots of man love and the adrenaline was running high when we finished we all changed in the bathroom. MadDog was so excited he drove with his ski boots on. DD should be blown up, McDonalds should be torched. We ended up off of 293 South at Red Stone Pizza with my new friend Whitney! The pizza placed closed at 10 we got there around 9.40pm. I asked Whitney if we could eat there she said she was leaving at 10pm. Whitney ended up cleaning all the tables then MadDog and I saw her walking to DD. Ask for Whitney next time there tell her Tmail sent you.

We need to get more of these adventures going, there is lots of gear usage and requirements and pack preparation. We had lots of fun!

G$$$ and MadDog great job!

g-$$$'s Trail Report: epic indeed.

x-c ski adventure - check
cold gear test - check
winter bondcliff summit - check
f'in bondcliff views - check
sporting MSR Lighning Ascents - check
g-$$$ war whoop - check x 5
shoulder health check - marginal
fitness reality check - fail

notes and lessons learned:
For the loved ones, leave plenty of pad on the return time. No need to get everyone worried or launch a rescue when we're just running late.
Classic Lisa's message to me, unless it's an emergency don't call because I'm gonna be watching a movie.
For tmail: don't tell your mom what you're doing so you won't get yelled at...the line is mom, I'm going to bible study for 10 hours in the whites
Lincoln SUCKS. DD closing at 8PM so 8:00:15 is way too late.
Lincoln SUCKS...mcd's coffee..they may use green coffee roasters beanage but they must use sewage runoff from loon mountain to brew because that coffee tasted like the worst shit I ever had in a cup....the only reason why i drank it was because we just busted hump for 10 hours in single digit temps.
It must be a VT Honda dealer thing that cars be old standard with a broken headlight and tap water in the wiper fluid reservoir
I should never have questioned maddogs idea of bringing a helmet after seeing him go ass over teakettle on the overhead blowdowns
Word to the lazy...replace the headlamp batteries before you head out in the cold.
Skis and bindings dipped in creeks or snow = icing + jammed bindings.
Maddog must love his x-c boots, after wearing them all day including all the way to the pizza joint in manchester.
Masshole Justice is seeing a tailgaiting bumper surfer get pulled over by the staties just a few miles up 93.
NH gov't badly needs money because the staties were out in force; 11 was my count all day.
Don't use the side of your separated shoulder to break your fall
I am incredibly out of shape.
Whitney rolls some awesome meatballs!

Once again thanks Maddog and Tmail for being patient and keeping me motivated when I was fighting my Bondcliff demons! As usual the conversation and the company was first class. We're gonna knock off a Winter 3 Bonds one of these days.

Until then Spungie Day here we come!!!!!

MadDog's Trip Report: great job g-$ and tmail. thanks for the adventure.

g-$$$ is THE man. he gets it done, no matter what - tough as nails.

tmail is the Finger man (no, not the middle).

leading into the BC switchbacks on the ascent, g-$ graciously tells me to pass and join tmail at the front. good god. with no one else around, i'm left to pace the holbrook stallion. what an animal.

as tmail mentioned from the summit point (i.e., for the next 4+ hours) my digits were gone and one point totally shot, to the point of no feeling, no movement. it was the first time i experienced having stumps at the end of my arms. i can clearly see now how the death spiral evolves from that stage. it's a demon i need to continue to chase.

glad all are safe.

ps. what is it with boston drivers, i had keep swerving out of my travel lane, and then jump back.

DogMan's Trip Report (pics here):
Solid snow shoe trek with Spanky and Trudy. Great little climb and ridge, good scouting around for the ultimate "backcountry glade", bushwhack against sunset, followed by a nice boot jog to avoid darkness, search posse.

Mutha's Trip Report:
DogMan's back yard: Wild, deep, steep, cliffy, woodsy, glade-y and hey, it's getting dark. Anybody bring headlamps? No? Ummmm....