Team Mammut: Vermont

Showing posts with label Vermont. Show all posts

Friday, December 18, 2015

Falling Off the Send Train, Blowing the Red Point and Other Metaphors for Life...

Backyard Project finally sent 5.12d GnR, Upper West Bolton, Vermont

This past year for me has been a rollercoaster of emotions, physical accomplishments, and mental stress. I have experienced some of my life’s highest highs and close to my lowest lows. Like a red point in climbing I know what I am supposed to do, I’ve rehearsed the movements, I’ve dreamt and visualized my success and honestly I can taste it, but like what often happens when pushing yourself at the limit, I have taken my fair share of whippers this year. I’ve experienced some of my proudest accomplishments and practiced rolling with failure. With these failures I adjust, learn and try to grow so next send I’ll be that much more ready.

Working for the Weekend, Season 2

One of my favorite experiences each winter since I have moved back to Vermont is skiing with Ben Leoni for the Working for the Weekend series that Ski The East has been producing for the past few years. I get to wander around the woods of New England and explore places that are truly breathtaking. For this episode, the first installment of season 2, Ben and I skied in my own backyard so to speak. While the snow was not ideal, we found a pretty sick little line and made the best of some true Vermont weather. The shots in the video capture the pain and agony of breaking trail on this particular day, due to the gloppy consistency of the snow. Looking back, all that work was worth it because I got to hang out with some great people on a beautiful day in the Vermont backcountry.

I hope you enjoy! I know I did!

Until next time,

Louise Lintilhac
a.k.a. Steezy Weezie

Monday, January 5, 2015

SheJumps Women's Gear Clinic

Learning how to get ready and be efficient for a backcountry day can be daunting for many aspiring backcountry enthusiasts. I am still working on my systems and I have been backcountry skiing for over 10 years. It takes many hours frigging with gear and getting your skins stuck in your hair while they flap about in the wind to get it right. There is a lot of technique involved in outdoor expeditions on skis, but a lot of guess work can be eliminated by bringing good gear that has a reputation for holding up in stressful situations. For this reason, SheJumps, the nonprofit that is dedicated to getting women active in the outdoors, decided to host an event focused on helping people (and specifically women) prepare for backcountry skiing. I agreed to Emcee the event and show the women of Burlington what I have over time decided are the most important things to bring into the backcountry with me.

Pretty Faces Revolution

Welcome to the Pretty Faces revolution. There have been all female ski movies in the past, and many of them have been great films. What happened when Pretty Faces, the new Unicorn Picnic Production film came out was more of a paradigm shift than a shred fest. Pretty Faces has been getting a lot of press over the past few weeks and continues to gain momentum as it travels around the country and internationally. If I were to put a finger on why this film has been so well received, I would have to say that it is because of the great skiing, but it is also because of the relatable story it tells. We have all struggled to make it at some point in life, and Pretty Faces is a testament to the fact that if you stick with it for long enough, good things will come. For many of the women in the movie, this meant being able to ski amazing lines in stunning landscapes around the world. For me it meant showing the world that the east coast is not a barren wasteland of skiing, it is a beautiful peaceful, rugged, powdery, good time that deserves far more respect than it often gets. It is my motivation for waking up in the morning because I am always excited to see what the beautiful Vermont landscape has to offer.

Summer Mountain Adventure Training Camp

I didn't travel out of the Northeast in April. It was a strange feeling after being on the move all winter. Although climbing was kept to the local crags, I did accomplish a lot-- I hired 10 new summer camp staff members and put some final details on the summer camp that I run, SumMAT Camp (which stands for SUMmer Mountain Adventure Training) through Petra Cliffs Climbing Center in Burlington, VT. For the record, I tried to drop the T and change the name last year to Summa Camp, but met resistance. A little Bahston flair, what do you think?

Evan climbing in Acadia National Park, Maine, during an 11-day expedition