Wolfgang Lert’s “Mugelhupf”
Wolfgang Lert died in his San Francisco home on Feb 13, 2009 at the age of 91. He was one of the founders of SMS as well as a builder of the San Antonio Ski Hut. In 1936-37 he made a ski movie, “The Original Mugelhupf Movie” filmed on Mt.Baldy. This 23-minute video opens and closes with scenes of Wolfgang Lert skiing in 1997 (age 80) and 2001 (age 85). He introduces several old films, which are accompanied by music and narration. His first ski memories are from 1930 in Arosa , Switzerland , where he and his younger brother traveled for ski lessons. The film demonstrates equipment and techniques of the day. This is followed by scenes from Mt Rainier in 1933.
Darroch Crookes leads a group schussing above Paradise and demonstrates turns and tricks. Next comes Yosemite in 1935 with scenes of powder skiing, Count Felix Schaffgotsch touring, and Hannes Schroll demonstrating state-of-the-art parallel turns at Badger Pass. Lert was Schroll’s first ski pupil in the U.S. The final part of this video is a ski chase filmed on Mt San Antonio (Mt. Baldy) above Los Angeles during the winter of 1936-37.
During the preparation for the Ski Hut’s 70th Anniversary, Bahram Manahedgi contacted Wolfgang and received permission to sell DVD copies of his movie to raise money for a new roof which was completed in 2008.
To buy a copy of the “Mugelhupf” DVD send a check for $20.00 to:
Sierra Club-San Antonio Ski Hut
PO BOX 641145
Los Angeles, CA 90064
via Bahram Manahedgi
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The Inbounds Powder Experience
About a foot of new snow on the ground here in Flagstaff meant it was a mad-dash morning for a powder day at the Arizona Snowbowl.
Those of you who sometimes wonder if you’re crazy for climbing hours up mountains only to ski a few minutes back down, the answer is yes—but maybe only a little crazy (more…)
Posted in Skiing | 3 Comments
SIA Denver
The SnowSports Industries America’s SnowShow is the largest and “most concentrated” trade show in the snow sports industry.
This year, The Ski Channel decided to hold their inagural film festival concurently with SIA at the Denver Convention Center, which is what got me to attend, as the festival included my short ski documentary, The Couloir to Nowhere.
So what was the SIA Snowshow like? Big. Very, very big. Wandering the exhibition floor of the Snowshow is a dizzying experience in which your fondest gear fantasies are dangled before your eyes. As you might imagine, I spent quite a bit of time trying to introduce myself to various manufacturers’ marketing departments, explaining how sending their expensive equipment to the SierraDescents gear closet can improve their own bottom lines—or, at least, I tried to make that case. 
The SnowShow is closed to the general public; industry professionals, only, please—sorry. From my own experience, it seemed as though the buyers had the most fun (and the most beer); the manufacturers and PR people worked continuously and very hard; and freelancers like myself enjoyed a wide variety of receptions, from welcoming (Black Diamond, Scarpa, G3, Lange/Dynastar, Marmot, Arcteryx, Scott USA) to skeptical (Garmont USA) to very, very frosty (you know who you are).
My advice for those of you who will attend in the future: it seems to go smoother if you initiate contact before the show, rather than walking up and trying to schedule a meeting through booth receptionists.
The slam-dunk success for me was just being at the On-Snow Demo Day Monday, during which I got to test seven or eight pairs of skis. That one day proved equivalent to months of work to accomplish the same here at home. Reviews forthcoming. As for the rest of the show, I guess how productive it ultimately will be remains to be seen. I did meet a lot of people, but whether they follow up with me, and those relationships persist, I can’t yet say.
In any case, it was great to get out of town, put on my professional hat, and spend a solid five days talking shop and introducing myself as a California Ski Mountaineer. Of course, I’m back home, going from business cards and catalogs back to diapers and wipes. Still, it’s good to be home. And, of course, there will be a bit of skiing to attend to here locally as well. More coverage to come…
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Finding Backcountry Partners in SoCal
One of the more common questions I get is from people who have just moved to Southern California, and, having discovered there is actually backcountry skiing in the area, are wondering how to find partners to ski with (as well as where to go). There are a few possibilities I can recommend. And if you know of anything I haven’t thought of, please feel free to share it in comments below.
Andrew McLean wrote an article suggesting the best way to find a good backcountry partner is to be a good partner yourself. In that regard, I definitely prefer skiing with people who are self-contained: they’ve got all the gear they need, they know how to use it, and they know where they’re going. My ideal potential partner is perfectly capable of going out solo, but chooses to ski with partners because it’s safer and more fun (more…)
Posted in Skiing | 4 Comments
Baldy Bowl Avalanche & Level I SoCal Class
One of the interesting things about Baldy Bowl (via the Ski Hut Trail) is that it’s a high use area that isn’t particularly safe.
On any given weekend you’ll find a steady stream of hikers and/or climbers going up the bowl, regardless of current conditions. Perhaps that’s an indicator that climbing in general isn’t nearly as dangerous as some of us think it is.
Or maybe it’s evidence that we’re all a lot luckier (mostly) than we realize. In any case, here’s great evidence that Baldy Bowl is not in fact a child-safe playground. I took this photo around 11:38 Sunday morning, from just off Mount Harwood’s summit. Little did I know, that left slide had actually occurred only minutes earlier, nearly catching a pair of climbers heading up the bowl.
When I saw the slides, I thought, well, those look pretty big. And then I kind of forgot about it. In truth, I expect to see a lot of motion in Baldy Bowl whenever it gets sunny and warm. The San Gabriels are in SoCal, after all, and snow exists here in a perpetual and one-sided battle with the sun. You can’t see it in the photo, but the right slide includes some pretty impressive rocks. Rockfall is endemic to Baldy Bowl whenever the sun is shining. And, in addition to large wet slides, cold slab avalanches can and do occur in the bowl following storms, typically off the ridge line, a NE aspect that wind loads.
This would probably be a good time to mention that, coincidentally, I learned today that Jeff Pierce is teaching a Level I Avalanche Course in Southern California. I’d say that would be an excellent place to start if you want to learn more about the SoCal snowpack, as well as traveling safely in the San Gabriels.
Things aren’t freezing out there right now at night. Be Careful!
Posted in Current Conditions, Skiing | 6 Comments
C2N Goes to Denver
I’ve been holding off announcing this until I was sure it was official, and now it is: my documentary, The Couloir to Nowhere, will be screening as part of the Ski Channel Film Festival at SIA Denver on Saturday, January 29, at 5pm.
I’m planning on attending the showing, and Dave The Man Braun should be there as well.
If you will be in the Denver area that weekend, I enthusiastically encourage you to stop by and say hello. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet two people who are crazier than you are (potentially). If that’s not enough to tempt you, the Ski Channel has assembled a dazzling collection of ski films for the festival, including Greg Stump’s highly-anticipated Legend of Aahhhs, the Howell Brother’s Television, and Sweetgrass Productions’s unbearably extraordinary Signatures.
Tickets are available online via the Ski Channel website. Individual screenings are a modest ten bucks, and $35 gets you into every single film at the festival. Hope to see you there!
Posted in Skiing | 8 Comments
Speed Check
One of the niftier gifts I got this past Christmas was a Garmin Nuvi. But I wasn’t the least bit interested in sticking it in my car to get directions—no, I wanted instead to use its GPS-derived peak speed feature instead.
The Nuvis give you a continuous (and pretty impressively accurate) speedometer that you can use to measure yourself doing just about anything. Such as, settling once and for all a long-running discussion between my brother and me, both of us former Alpine racers, which is, just how fast do we ski, exactly? (more…)
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Cornell (Almost)
Cornell Peak and San J
Back to San Jacinto I went for the last skiing day of 2010, this time with the man formerly known as the man formerly known as Bullet (ie, once again Bullet. Or Bill–Just don’t make him angry…)
Our plan was to climb up Cornell Peak and ski whatever might be skiable. As usual, however, thanks to my infallible sense of direction in desert ranges, we ended up climbing the wrong peak (more…)
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San Jacinto: Fortress of Solitude
Here’s a slide show of my trip up San Jacinto Peak on Thursday. Speedster Brent and I went up the tram and then up the east face. Snowfall totals and icing were eye-popping higher up the mountain. Around Mountain Station and the ranger house, there was still probably a solid 2-3 feet of snow. The day was incredibly warm and windless. Snow turned gloppy as soon as the sun hit it, so skiing was on the challenging side. Amazing summit views, though, thanks to the clear air.
Standing on top of San J and looking down the north face reminded me that Snow Creek is simply one of the most magnificent big mountain routes in North America. Just don’t get caught trying to climb or ski it! We went with the much easier (and legal) East Face descent. Note that rime on the summit boulders made it possible to ski directly off the true apex of San Jacinto—a rarity. Enjoy!
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The South Fork Slide, Revisited
Sometime during the ’09-10 winter, a large avalanche took place along the NE aspect of San Bernardino Peak, wiping out a portion of the South Fork Trail somewhere slightly southeast of Poopout Hill. When my partner and I saw the remains of the slide that April, toward the end of the season, it was obvious it had happened months earlier.
But that doesn’t mean we weren’t spooked by what we saw (more…)
Williamson - Bairs Creek Cirque
Shasta - Avalanche Gulch
Bloody Mtn - Bloody Couloir
Langley - Northeast Couloir
Volkl Gotama
