Skiing the Planet

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Bruxelles Ski de Plastique

Brussels has run out. They do not have enough for themselves, let alone for Greece. The Eurocrisis is getting worse. We're out of snow.

Well, there's really no snow in Brusseles, but fortunately they have come up with ways to deal with this difficult situation. Some years ago I found indoor ski slopes from Peer and Comines villages.

I am proud of my ability to find potential ski places. But I was blissfully unaware of a great slope not too far from the centre of Brussels. My friend and avid skier Catharina (CC) moved to Brussels some time ago, and found Yeti Ski. Interestingly, none of the locals that I asked about this had ever heard of the place. Yeti Ski resides in Anderlecht, near other sports venues and ten kilometres from the centre.

A networking conference took me to Brussels for a couple of days in April. This allowed us to go explore this plastic hill on one of the evenings, after the conference.

The hill is kept wet by sprinklers placed every few meters across the whole slope. Skiing wet plastic is surprisingly challenging. Both of us were recovering, I was trying to heal my broken ribs and CC was dealing with a flu. We skied only a couple of runs, but it was clear that practicing on this hill would improve anyone's skiing skills.

One difference to real snow is that it is much more difficult for your skis to get a grip on the plastic. Braking and turning needs to be done much more aggressively.

I can recommend a visit here, if you are in Brussels! You should take some protective clothing with you, i.e., long pants, long sleeves, and gloves. Falling on the plastic can hurt you otherwise.

Snowing in May @ The Beast

The morning was warm and sunny both in Canada and US, as it should be in mid-May. Ted was planning to have a sunshine-filled ski day. But by the time we reached Killington, it was snowing. Winter conditions!

Fortunately, I had a extra jacket in my luggage, problem solved. But, it didn't help much with the skiing. I hadn't skied properly in two months, and Ted hadn't had much skiing this year either. At this time of the year, Killington's Superstar is the only open lift and ski run, but it is a demanding, steep moguls run. On the previous weekend, the easier Skye Hawk run still had snow, and would offer a welcome break from skiing the bumps all day.

The snow on Skye Hawk had mostly disappeared during the week. But today's snowing was covering the grass with a dusting of snow, so I decided to take my chance and try skiing it. I was able to ski it almost to the end, though at few points I had to step with my skis to avoid damaging them on rocks.

It is a rare opportunity to ski in these conditions in May. And Killington is one of the only two open ski areas in eastern North America. They are open for an amazingly long time, given that it has been a bad snow year. The trick is of course snowmaking. Superstar still had as much as ten meters of snow in the middle of the run.

And it was a rare opportunity to ski with Ted as well. We've known each other for 10+ years, worked in the same team, saw each other in conferences, and always talked about going skiing together. But somehow it never turned into reality until now. Very happy that we got to do that now! I am on a long business trip in the US, wanted to keep weekends free instead of working through them, and the few ski areas still open made it possible for both of us to drive to the same one.

I also got to stay at Ted's and Andreas wonderful, hi-tech and energy-efficient, passive home in Brattleboro. Thank you!

On the way back to Boston for my meetings, I also stopped in the New Hampshire ski area, Granite Gorge. It had no snow left, but seemed like a friendly local ski hill, including the Volkswagen Kleinbus sporting Bernie stickers and the "Live free. Shred hard." slogan.

Volkswagen Kleinbus at Granite Gorge:

A traditional American hotel room, perhaps, in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Ted and me on the lift at Killington:

Top of Killington:

The closed run, Skye Hawk:

Snowing at the parking lot:

Snow covered areas that had been previously all clear:

Google Maps knew that on May 16, Granite Gorge would not be open :-) :

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Mayday

Wappu, or first of May is a huge celebration in Finland, traditionally celebrated by hiking to a hill and drinking alcohol. This is very different from other festivities in Finland, where the part about the hill is omitted.

The hill that people traditionally climb is one of the park hills in Helsinki, but this year Janne and I decided to go searching for caves and holes in Espoo. We found the Saunalahti hole, a crystal opening where the crystals have long since departed, just the surrounding granite remains.

We also searched for caves from a large boulder in Suomenoja, and found some small holes under this 5x5x5 cube-formed rock. But what was more interesting was the bouldering routes along the sides. Janne didn't have climbing shoes to try them properly, but it seemed that a few moves could also be made with slippery rubber boots.

Finally, I skied the traditional May run in the Grani ski hill in Kauniainen, my home town. I almost didn't make it, having to leave for a business trip and being late with packing, but in the end I found the half an hour to visit and make a fun ski run in the blazing sunshine, wearing a t-shirt and wondering why the ski area has closed when there's so much snow left.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Serious Sports

Taking sports seriously. Or Siriously. Sirious Sports is an adventure place in Pyhtää, Finland. They have skydiving and surfing simulators.

The skydiving simulator was something that I had experienced once before, a huge fan blowing air through a funnel where you can float in the air flying past you. The remarkable thing about this is that skydiving always looks so easy. But it turns out to be pretty difficult, for me at least. Controlling your movements so that your hands and legs are in balance is tough. Fortunately, the simulators come with instructors that will catch you and help you balance. That was definitely needed even on my second visit to a simulator. Olli and Janne had their first visit in a simulator.

Now we all are wondering how it would feel if we practiced it a bit more. Pyhtää is an hour and half from Helsinki, so it is not that far, but still a drive. There's also the issue of cost. Surfing is relatively cheap at Sirius Sports, 25€ for an hour per person in a group lesson. As a part of a group, you'll get to surf enough, and fall enough, so that this is more than enough. Flying is more expensive though, just two minutes costs 60€ for a beginner. That being said, I was sore after one minute of flying and an hour of surfing...

In any case, the costs do come down for the non-beginners and for groups. We should return some day. This is also a great destination for company team events, kid's parties and the like.

But a surfing simulator was a totally new experience for me. I couldn't even figure out how it would work. I imagined a giant wave generator in a pool, but it turned out to be something far simpler and easier: water being sprayed at high speed along a surface formed like a wave. If you fall, the water will carry you to the top of the "wave", water disappears in the drain, and you walk to the side.

And surfing on this nice, soft surface was a lot of fun. And surprisingly easy, though wobbly at first. Much recommended!

Monday, April 25, 2016

Smuggler's Cave, Salo

Salo, southern Finland. More than an hour away by car, and we've been in the forest for an hour now. The cave is nowhere to be found. I have coordinates, but in the wrong coordinate system and Google isn't co-operating to interpret them in the right way.

Finally, however, Janne sees the cave as we walk in circles in the hills in the forest.

Rosvoluola [1,2], or the smuggler's cave, turns out to be interesting. Once again we find ourselves in a cave that is large by Finnish standards. The actual cave is said to be 25 meters, all side channels included, but there is a long route under boulders leading to it, perhaps another 20 meters, and there are crack systems running horizontal and vertical and on many levels.

The cave can be easily reached by driving a forest road here, and the coordinates of the cave itself can be found here.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Paraguay on miniskis

Have skis, can carry snow, will ski anything. First descent of Paraguay's highest mountain, Cerro Tres Kandú.

After ten days of meetings in Buenos Aires, I was so exhausted that I spent the day after pretty much unable to move from my hotel room sofa. But, after only a day of rest I was itching for an adventure, and I still had another day before my flights to the next meeting.

I have skied many places in South America, but I had never been in Paraguay. Is there something I could ski? The rational answer would be "no", given that the country lies mostly in the tropical plains. However, the are a few hills in the eastern side of the country, Cerro Tres Kandú being the highest point at 840 meters.

Maybe there's a way? After some phone calls and Internet searches, I had flight tickets, a hotel, and a driver for the 10-hour roundtrip to the mountain from Asunción. Definitely a crazy adventure with no certain results, and two far too early wake-ups for flights. But, hey, we only live once.

It was very unclear if I'd be able to find ice, or what the conditions on the mountain would be. My hotel's concierge thought there was a small walk of about a kilometer to the top. Which, of course turned out to be a 600-meter vertical climb through the jungle. That took three hours...

On the positive side, I had acquired plenty of ice from a gas station along the way. And I was very glad that I had a good driver. Even with our four-wheel drive van, the road was barely passable. I would not have had a chance with a regular rental car.

Once we reached the end of the road, I packed maybe 15 kilos of the ice onto my backpack, and headed up. The path was walkable, though with some difficult sections with climbing over rocks, holding on to lianas and cables, and some no-fall places above cliffs. On the return it was more difficult, with the darkness and slippery mud making things more complex.

At the top there is an abandoned communications link and army station. The view that opens to the other side of the mountain from the station is incredible, however. The mountain rises from the surrounding plains, and I was standing on top of a vertical cliff, overlooking a sunset.

I emptied my ice bags at the top, skied a few meters, and headed down in a hurry before the darkness fell. Fortunately, I had a headlamp as the it became very dark as soon as entered back to the forest.

Was this the first descent of Cerro Tres Kandú on skis? Probably. The only time there's been ice on ground on it? Probably. Or any descent in Paraguay? Possibly. Unfortunately, the form of the mountain did not allow me to make a longer ski run, like I had done on Gunung Agung and other places. But you get what you get.

I'm very happy about making this visit, the view into the sunset from the top in particular was spectacular. I'm also happy that the broken ribs seem to be healing well enough that I can do this kind of climbs. On to the next adventures!

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Broken Ribs

I had an accident on a horse, skiing an ancient volcano in Africa. As people do. Broken ribs and a horseshoe-shaped bruise on my side. But I did manage to ski the remaining ski areas in Morocco. And ski down with the broken ribs.

But back to the beginning. I was in Morocco for a meeting (incidentally, we managed to change how the Internet is administered). After six days of difficult meetings, I was about to leave for the next meeting but had a day or two free first. I wanted to ski the other places than Oukaïmeden that I had skied my previous visit to Morocco. There are a few other ski areas listed in Morocco, but only two appear to actually exist today: Michlifen and Jbel Habri, both near the town of Ifrane in northern Morocco. This area is often called the Switzerland of Morocco.

After a gruelling day-long taxi drive to the Middle Atlas mountain range, I settled in the Michlifen Ifrane Suites and Spa, a hotel that indeed does bring Swiss luxury to mind. The two ski areas are just outside the town.

The first ski area I visited was Michlifen. The entire area is covered by Moroccan tourists and kids who play in snow. The kids love it, I cannot imagine that they see snow too often! The highest mountain forms the actual ski area. There's one lift, and it is no longer operating this season, although I would have thought there was enough snow. I climb up and ski down in mostly untouched hard snow. At the bottom there are again tons of people photographing themselves in the snow, playing with sledges, etc. This is a nice, sunny area. I wonder what it feels like in the coldest part of the year. And if the lift really is ever running.

Next up was Jbel Habri, some 10 kilometres further. This volcanic cone sits on otherwise fairly flat land, and I cannot see any signs of a ski lift. My plan was to walk up the 100 or so meters, but as I start my way up, a guy appears in front of me with a horse, suggesting that he can take me up. Plenty of people ride the horse, so I figure it would be fun.

On the way up the horse stops a couple of times, with the owner trying to pull it forward with a rope. I didn't think much of it, but the next time it doesn't just stop, it objects wildly, rears, starts jumping and runs away. I tried to hold on, but couldn't. It might have been better to be just thrown out, but I ended up having one of my boots stuck, dragged along by the horse. Once I got free, I slid down the slope.

Everything happened too fast for me to remember the details. Fortunately I didn't hit my head. But I was clearly hurt in chest and back. And breathless for some time. Did I fall on top of my camera? Or did the horse kick me? Don't know, but my ribs are broken where there's a horseshoe-shaped big and painful bruise.

After collecting myself and picking up various pieces, like my camera buried in mud, I skied down. It didn't feel right, but was probably the easiest way to get down. And allowed me to collect the skiing of this hill!

My driver took me to the local hospital, where I got X-rays done which showed that I was generally OK but had some broken ribs. The next day I flew to London, as I was supposed to continue my trip with a workshop in California. London also offered a convenient place for me to show the damage to western doctors. Curiously, you have to wait much longer for admission in a London clinic than in Africa. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was asked to stay put and not fly in this condition, so I didn't get to go to my interesting workshop.

Now, couple of days later it felt like the right decision. Just recovering from the damage takes a lot of energy. Couple of days later I flew home, feeling better. But I won't be skiing for a while, maybe a month. Or riding...

Lessons from this? I'm very unhappy that I didn't get to go my super-interesting workshop. And I suppose it wasn't such a great idea to ride a horse without really knowing anything about it. And attempting to have an adventure every weekend... just based on the pure odds, I have to be more careful to not hurt myself.

But mostly, I should learn to keep my GoPro on, for once again I have an accident that didn't get on the video. Darn.

Here were by the way my accommodations in Medina, the old town of Marrakesh during my meetings. The old town looks scary, and the traversing the dark corridors at night is unnerving. But inside the Riads it can still be luxurious.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Taking the Nysse to the Slopes

Tampere. A great destination for the winter vacation. But can you take the city bus to the slopes? Yes you can.

There are two ski areas, but also skating on the Näsijärvi lake, and even some caves along the road back home to south. But back to the skiing. Nysse, local slang for the bus, takes you to Mustavuori (black mountain) ski areas on routes 17 or 29, and to Hervanta on routes 13, 23, or 30. "Nysse" stands for "Nys se tulee" and has become to mean the bus, instead of the act of coming ("now it is coming") that it literally stands for.

Both ski areas are local small hills, but clearly with good vibes with many kids playing around, big air jumps, and small cafeterias. And even a grill in both places, with sausages available for sale from the cafeteria! Very nice.

On Näsijärvi you can skate along a snow-plowed path and rent the skates from the Bikini Bar on the lake shore. Although bikinis are furthest away from your mind when visiting their snow covered hut. The route is very nice, along shore next to the Näsinneula observation tower, and then onwards to the small lighthouse in a rocky outcrop, Siilinkari, in the middle of the lake. I always wanted to visit Siilinkari, and now it was possible!

And then to the caving: I visited the Hirvi-Simuna cave in Lempäälä. This is a set of broken-up large boulders, with some space left under the stones. Hirvi-Simuna was a local hunter in the 1800s and lived in the cave. The main rooms in the cave are relatively big for being under a boulder. But the most interesting part was a crack between two rocks, a very tight squeeze to go see. You can turn around in the middle, and going all the way in didn't feel right, not head first at least. I also wanted to come back from the cave. Anyway, a good cave to visit, and will certainly will give a day's worth of claustrophobia!