Tuckerman’s Ravine is hallowed ground for the snowboarders and skiers of the northeast.  Sitting on the back side of Mount Washington, it offers some of the steepest and most challenging natural terrain in the northern neck of New England.  It’s the place our great great grandfather’s held straight shot 3 mile races on wooden skis! The snow is wind blown off the peak of Mount Washington, dumping an average of 50 feet of beautiful white stuff annually into the bowl, and it’s steep enough that one lost edge and you’ll slide, or cartwheel, nearly 1,000 feet down until it levels out.   It’s a perfect mix of challenge, adventure, fun and danger, and that’s exactly what beckons riders to hike the 4,430 feet to ride a natural bowl, hours and miles from any lift or parking lot.

One of the large dangers of Tuckerman’s in April are the bottomless crevasses that form under the snow, born from rocky cracks and chasms, and hidden by the hot and cold weather changes that cover them in a fragile layer of ice and snow.  Some of the crevasses at Tuckerman’s have been known to be hundreds of feet deep, often carved by years of melting snow and water running down from Washington.  I can’t think of a worse consequence than falling down one of those, but then again, why do people hike Everest when you could freeze to death?  Those outdoorsy people just DO things that not everyone understands; not always the smartest things, but they love telling stories of survival at the bar. Or something like that.  Don’t be decieved by the lure; almost once a year for the past ten years someone has died while hiking or riding at Tuckerman’s.  In April of this year a man fell into the waterfall crevasse while skiing and efforts to find him were abandoned after Rangers determined the rescue too dangerous, due to the amount of frigid water and falling ice in the hole. Rescuers were lowered 50 feet by rope into the hole with no sign or sound from the missing skier.  He was presumed dead, and his body will be recovered in the spring.

It was a freakishly warm 65 degree day, and after driving 3 hours north from Boston, Mark, his brother Andrew and I, headed up the trail around 10am. When we reached the base of the bowl, others were already shirtless and grilling and while watching as each brave soul that dropped in attempted to ski the face.  After hiking to above the Lip and and getting in two runs, Mark, a Tuckerman’s veteran, had mentioned he was going to charge the smaller cliff drop in the Center Bowl.  Conditions were standard sketchy for Tuck’s but we took a test run down to below the cliff to spot the take off and the landing. The plan was simple; avoid the two water holes, ride toward the powder covered cliff, go straight off and land 15 ft below, riding down to the sound of cheering from the audience of other riders and skiers, basking in the glory.

After hiking the wall for the fourth time that day, we scouted where Mark would drop, and I headed down the center while his brother waited up top.  Mark shouted out that he was going for it and as he cut a corner behind a rock he suddenly disappeared under a white wave of snow.  With the amazing conditions that day you could kick up a nice rooster tail with each carve but the baffling part was that Mark never flew off the target take-off.  Andrew shouted down and I shouted up.  Neither one of us understood what had just happened.  Mark was just gone!

When Mark was speed checking for the cliff he lost his edge, and instead of flying full speed off the cliff, he slid to the side on his chest down the 50 degree slope into one of the open waterfall holes!  Andrew and I carefully worked our way across the slope, knowing that any false step could send us sliding hundreds of feet into the bowl, or straight through to one of the watery crevasses under the snow cover.  Four minutes of absolute fear choked me as my stomach felt like it was in throat.  Mark’s only brother and I were yelling into a hole being pummeled with more frigid water than a fire hydrant and we were getting no response. NOTHING. SILENCE.  What was I to assume? After four minutes of silence you assume bad things! But suddenly, we heard him!  Mark was yelling that he was OK!  Due to the icy water landing on him and his helmet, he couldn’t hear us or even look up.   By chance he had slid into the hole board-first and landed 30 feet down, bridging a rock gap with his board that kept him from falling any farther.

Yelling for help from the top lip of the bowl is like screaming down a ridiculously steep and slippery football field, trying to explain what happened. People below looked like ants!  It had taken us half an hour just to get up there in the first place, and now the sun was setting, leaving us in the cold shadows of Mount Washington while Mark is trapped INSIDE an ice cold waterfall! Luckily, an ice climbing instructor had finished his lessonsand was passing his afternoon watching skiers attack the lip.  After a half hour of others hiking up with climbing rope, we were able to lay a shovel across the lip of the hole and send down a bowline loop for Mark to put under his arms. Careful to stay away from the water’s edge, so as not to collapse any snow into the hole, six of us heaved slowly. An hour after going in, a soaked and shivering Mark tumbled out.  After quickly changing him into a dry shirt, jacket, hat and gloves, we lowered him down the slope as far as the climbing rope would allow; getting him back into the sun light and warmth, where medics had just arrived.

Amazingly, I can say that Mark still works down the hall from me, and every year we still head up to Tuckerman’s to ride.  It’s just one of those places where you know the risk , some of us first or second hand, and you still keep coming back for the fun.  It’s a GIVEN that putting yourself in harm’s way, like cliffs and waterfalls, isn’t a GOOD idea, but even with that understood, skiers, riders, climbers and hikers are still gonna go to places where nature has the upper hand.  It’s the Indiana Jones in us all, and although most of us won’t get the gold, it’s the adventure that we’re really after. The best thing we can do is just to prepare for all the things that could go wrong, while we’re out there chasing it.

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I’ve discovered the whole new world of Night Hiking. And it’s awesome.  Yeah, hitting the trail at 3am doesn’t sound quite right, but I’m telling you, it’s totally worth it! I’ll admit that that every time BEFORE these night hikes I am also questioning my logic, which in turns has me questioning my sanity, but AFTER each night hike there’s a feeling of unparalleled reward!  And then the unparalleled feeling of ‘I need a nap!’.

After backpacking through Malaysia, Indonesia, and Nepal this past winter, I experienced many early rising mornings  (2am early enough for you?) to both get a jump on the mid-day sun’s heat, and more importantly, to beat the incredibly harsh weather patterns that roll in around noon at higher elevations (above 15,000ft).  The grumpiness that plagues me as I’m half out of my sleeping bag at 2am is soon trumped with excitement and anticipation of what is to come on that summit.  Trust me!  It took a leap of faith to get into night hiking, but I love it!  Whether you’re by yourself, sifting through the thoughts in your head and relishing the silence of nature at night, or accompanied by good conversationalists who are just as crazy as you are, you can’t go wrong. There’s a pretty exultant feeling knowing you are one of a few, if not the ONLY, group hiking that mountain, at that time. You almost feel like it’s YOUR mountain.  And who’s gonna argue? Everyone else is asleep! Fair enough- tonight, it’s YOUR mountain. Even cooler is seeing other headlamps dancing on adjacent peaks as other crazy night hikers start to break the tree line in the early dawn’s dark blue light.

This particular time, the plan was to hike Mount Moosilauke during a full moon.  What better time to night hike than with the help of Nature’s flash light: the moon!  Well, Nature decided to crank up the adventure knob on us and it began snowing around midnight.  So much for hiking by the light of a full moon.  Thankfully we had our headlamps (modern headlamps must have been sent back from the future because they are AMAZING compared to a few years ago!). Definitely worth a $30 investment. And don’t forget extra batteries!  It’s FIFTEEN degrees out! Even amazing headlamps are still only powered by batteries, and unfortunately, batteries were not sent back from from the future.  After a 24-day hike on the Annapurna Circuit I’ve developed the habit of night hiking in my trusty old wool Pendleton button up, which has pockets on the chest where I keep my extra batteries closest to my body heat. If you’re camping, keep the batteries in an old wool sock in your sleeping bag.  Or any sock, really. But keep them close!   We also had crampons and hiking poles that helped on the steeper parts of the trail, which had become hard packed ice slides from previous hikers . And don’t forget to keep your foods and bars on your body, not in your pack, because they will freeze!  Nothing is worse than your ‘reward’ at the summit being too hard to even bite into. No, lollipops are not good rewards. Chocolate is.

Was the sunrise amazing, you ask? Heck no!  There was only more snow stormin’ on the top.  In fact, it was still dark and far too cold to sit around for that no-show sun to show up!  Time to snap a few shots and get back to below the tree line!  My fingers hated me for even taking one finger out of my wool mittens. We came upon a nice ledge view point on the way down, where we could watch the blue light rise over a sea of trees covered in white.  Absolute silence happens pretty rarely for me these days so it was something I relished in.  Definitely worth the early morning. Or, more appropriately, the late, late night.  Now the hike down feels great!  The snow has finally stopped, you can see the trail, you’re feeling recharged- and you should!  While the rest of the world was lazy and slept the night away, you were busy getting your hike on, exploring nature, and getting in shape. Not to mention the bragging rights you’ve earned for the next time someone asks you what you’ve been up to lately. Just dare them to ask. You ain’t afraid!  And now, for the necessary last step for anyone over 25… nap time! Falling asleep within seconds of your head hitting the pillow, beaming from ear to ear. Totally worth it.

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Remeber that trick you almost landed in the C-Bowl? Yep, well now it’s never gonna happen. Sorry!

Life is made up of chapters, and if you’ve ever read a book, then you know chapters end.  Just the way it goes.  The famous Cambridge Pool, the infamous 12 ft deep C-Bowl, saw it’s end today on April 20, 2012.  After a lot of city political drama, the deep end of the 30 year old pool was filled in with concrete today.  No more evening shred sessions, just out of site of the cops, protected from the wind.  Skating here felt like a life achievement accomplished, a skate rite of passage.  Like entering into a black and white Glen E. Friedman photo. It’s been thrashed by legends like Cardiel, Doug Moore and Charlie Wilkins, since the 80′s up through yesterday.  It felt like hallowed ground to drop into, and of course, was gnarlier than any photo or video would lead you to believe. Sand paper rough cement, dodging the drains going Mach-10, the vert kink on the way up to the 12 ft pool coping…

Not easy; and that’s what made it legendary!   Another spot bites the dust.  R.I.P. C-Bowl!

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Ian MacKaye turned 50 years old this month!  Man, time flies, and I guess it’s truer each day; we can’t get out of getting older. I’ve grown up skating and listening to Minor Threat daily since I stumbled upon their Complete Discography in 1989.  A highschool summer wouldn’t be the same with out a Minor Threat cassette blasting on the radio while we skated the miniramp until we’d collapse.  Ian MacKaye’s words and lyrics have helped shape me into who I am today.  A little sappy, but I like to give credit where it’s due.   I won’t rant on how I looked up to him and his ideas, but he was a major influence in my adolescence, and so I’ve included him in my Polaroid portrait series Under The Influence, where I try to meet, talk, and photograph the idols of my teens that I never thought I would meet in person.

I was able to photograph Ian in 2008 when he was giving a Q&A at Brandeis University.  After his question session, I waited until the long line of people had finally dispersed and I went over to him, scared as shit, to meet one of my childhood idols.  He ended up being a genuine guy who was happy to talk to me and let me blind him with my camera’s flash.  After I took his portrait, he suggested we have someone else take our picture together and we’d pretend the paparazzi was trying to catch a surprise photo of us!  Just a regular guy, with time for a fan, who likes to have fun. Who would have guessed?  I couldn’t have been happier than after I got to finally meet him and see that he was even nicer that I could have hoped for.  Just a regular guy, still out of step with the world.

Happy Birthday, Ian!

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The best times in our lives always seems to end right when we’re settling into them.  Ian Sutton, the man behind ICARUS custom frames, moved into  his shop, which was right next to our photo studio a little over two years ago, and since then I’ve seen him almost daily.  But last month Ian bought himself a 1969 Plymouth Fury (with holes in the floor panels), and filled the trunk with his frame jigs, 2 motorcycles, and a dirty old suitcase, heading south to his new home of Ashville, North Carolina.  Dirt cheap rent, Blue Ridge Mountains, a youthful energy, plus good local folk food and a blooming music scene.  You can’t blame him for packing up and heading to Asheville; the new Austin, which was the new Portland, which was the new San Francisco.  Although our Somerville co-working space of FRINGE will never be the same without him, I was able to catch a few snapshots in his busy last couple of weeks before he moved.  ICARUS: Chapter 2, will be continued in June when I road trip down to North Carolina to shoot him in his new shop, and get some photos of him as he works on my early Christmas present to myself- an ICARUS custom.

Thanks for being a great muse, Ian!

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Our train from Singapore was everything you’d expect on a good backpacking trip; dirty, overcrowded, and over night.  We arrived in the train station at 5am and our next train didn’t leave until 11pm.  That’s one hell of a layover!  So what did we do?  Well, we thought back to the train stations of years past and hoped and prayed for those public lockers that only drug dealers, money counterfeiters, and local pipe bombers used.  Our prayers were answered- they still had them!  And these ones were even big enough for a body!  We were able to fit our three 65Liter hiking bags and a skateboard into one of these things.  So that was that, and we went for a day, and a night, on the town!

Although the marble ledges and painted curbs all over town were like a secret level straight out of TonyHawk 2, I doubt they get much action since we got yelled at for even SITTING on them.  Security was a bit anal, but we were flexible.  We saw the Petronas Towers, the largest skyscrapers made out of concrete pylons, NOT STEEL.  This still blows my mind.  For a while they were the tallest buildings in the world. I love concrete and all, but I don’t trust 88 stories of people on top of it!  Jeeeeez.  We’re about 2 months into backpacking through East and South East Asia so we needed some good old fashioned American comfort: popcorn and a movie! The Three Musketeers. In English. Which was horrible.  BUT, it felt good to relax so it was worth it!  Like we were teleported back home for 2 hours. After that we needed some Asian comfort, and after enough ladies bombarding us with fliers, we accepted the challenge and had a visit to Doctor Fish.  There are tons of these spas all over town. We visited a very nice, clean, and quiet one.  You ditch your shoes, TRY to keep quiet, and lower your feet into long fish tanks under wooden benches.  If you’re a beginner you go to the little Doctor Fish.  If you’re brave, you head over to the large Doctor Fish.  It was NUTS.  Imagine 5o fish sucking on your feet.  It was SO ticklish.  Steph definitely couldn’t keep quiet, and I don’t blame her!  Ever had nightmares about tickling piranhas? It’s worse than THAT. But don’t get me wrong; it was awesome!  Say no to Doctor Fish if you  see him in Los Angeles, but if you are in Malaysia and the doctor calls, definitely pay him a visit.

A city is a city, no matter where you are.

This is a test of how dirty your mind is: Take a look at this picture.  Police officer or dial-a-stripper?

If that police officer didn’t get your rocks off, they offer a backup plan.

I’ve never even been to an A&W in the US!  Comfort food wins.

Skate heaven.  That couple got kicked out for sitting there. Seriously.

Half way around the world and this is where I see Red Sox being represented?  SHEESH.

This man was baffled by the Hello Kitty car.

Should I buy stuff in this Malaysian mall?

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Singapore was a quick stop.  We had a one full day to see whatever we could fit in, so we decided to go for a walk!  When there’s no other plan, it’s a pretty good plan. Cities can be a little overwhelming when you arrive and don’t have local tour guide to show you the ropes but Singapore has a gorgeous downtown, built up in only the last 15 years!  They had decided to move the cool part of town over near the water and it was an awesome move.  We saw the crazy hotel with a suspended pool on top, had a Singapore Sling (Long Island Iced Tea wins this round), and took public transportation.  We even had time to go to Little India! Isn’t that on everyone’s list while in Singapore?  Our stomachs said it was so we went. The subway trains blew my mind because they had no divided cars; just a straight open people capsule, 150 ft long. It’s a little bit nicer than Boston’s subway (first in the USA, built in 1897!).  Our friend Steph flew over from Chicago and was getting hit with jet lag pretty badly (try pretending noon is midnight tomorrow! Not easy.)

The sun went down and since some of the streets are six lanes across, we headed underground into the Singapore subway, to tunnel under the traffic.  Lo and behold we found the dual sanctuary for flatland BMXers riding and B-Boys dancing.  Once down the stairway entrance to the subway, it opens up into a huge expansive, smooth linoleum floored mecca.  Break dancers poised in a circle watching each other dance and spin in ways that escape me as to how the human body can actually make those moves work.  Beyond their break dancing was a crew of bikers spinning in circles while balancing on one wheel as a time. I approached one of the bikers, Jonathan Danker, asking why they were the first BMXers I’d seen all day, and he explained how the subway station was a hassle free, warm, and dry area where they could ride the night away.  So awesome!  He was nice enough to let me paparazzi him while riding (which I’m sure that every other subway tourist does!) and we talked a quick photo nerd convo since he is actually an impressive photographer himself!  Time wasn’t on our side as we had to run to catch our train to Kuala Lumpur, but it was such a lucky discovery we stumbled upon, letting us see a side of Singapore we had to idea existed! Thanks again, Jonathan!

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Got the chance to shoot with MATH The Band a few nights before they left on a two month tour with Andrew W.K. across the U.S. of A.!  Shoots with MATH are always fun since they are up for whatever my brain can concoct. I don’t think I’ve ever typed that word out before.  Feels weird, but I like it. Anyways, it was concocted and the final shots were everything I could have hoped for!  Fun, excitement, energy, positivity, over-the-topness? Even over-the-topness! Everything that comes with seeing these guys live.  It’s always been a good challenge to try to deliver in a photo what this band delivers while on stage, but I have high hopes that this set can do them justice.  Either way- go see them!  Such a fun show, and I’m sure they’ll be coming to a city near you in the next two months.  Check them out and watch their new AMAZING music video!

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Pretty amazing, don’t you think?  Nichola scaling 1,600m on an acclimation day trip, and Meredith in the snow at 17,000ft. Both shots are from the Annpurna Circuit in Nepal.  The first snow of the year showed up on January 1, dumping close to a foot of presh powder on the Thorong La, closing it to hikers for three days after we made it through.  Due to the snow and limited time we had to choose between Annapurna Base Camp or the Annapurna Circuit and we went with the Circuit.  Making it through the pass at 17,770 ft actually brought us to a higher altitude than Base Camp!

More photos and details to come!

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Photo trekking through SE Asia for six months might sound like the simple life, but not so much for a professional photographer.  A few people have asked me about what I’ve packed and what I’ve learned, so here it all is!  Well, most of it.  Is my bag heavy? Heck yes it is! Which is not fun, but the weight is mostly in camera equipment, batteries, laptop, and hard drives. Take away all those extras and my pack would be pretty darn light and comfy!  After four months of living out of my turtle shell I have also filtered through what works best and what doesn’t, so this list, in my opinion, is the equipment used in real life and approved by me!  Here’s what is worth carrying, and a few notes on each…

1. North Face Lobo 75L.  NOT filled to 75 liters! Very comfy. Pockets on waist support are VERY convenient.

2. Eagle Creek Pack-It Sac. Two of these for clean and dirty clothes. Amazing for dividing up your pack.

3. Macbook Air (Lightest Mac I could bring, but never light enough for hiking! For backing up and blogging.)

4. Salomon Quest 4D GTX Hiking Boots & 3 pair of SmartWool socks. Lighter than leather, good support.

5. North Face SS Blue Ridge Paclite Jacket (Folded in hood). Actually waterproof! I still wish for armpit vents.

6. North Face SS Thunder Down Jacket (Stuffed into it’s own pocket).  Worth it for cold weather hiking.

7. LED KeyChain light and Sun Co. Biner Compass.  Like carrying a knife to cut off your arm. Just in case!

8. 3 Nikon lenses. 50mm f1.4, 16-35 f2.8, 80-200mm f2.8. NOT light weight! The downside to photography.

9. Canon S90 Point and Shoot. Good for undercover shots, and quick video.

10. V.I.O. Point Of View camera system.  Helmet cam shots, for those “you had to be there” moments.

11. iPod.  Romantic full moon summit slow dance playlist? Of course! Gotta be prepared.

12. Gorilla Tripod. I tried not to buy one for a long time, but I caved. Best feature: It weighs nothing.

13. Buffalo 500GB MiniStation Metro Hardrive. Two of these. Back up back up back up!

14. Nokia 1800 Phone (buy a new SIM card in each country and call yer mum!) Cheap.

15. Gepe Waterproof Memory Card case. Two of these. 96GB worth of cards I don’t want underwater.

16. D700 Camera body. D300 body backup. Fell in love the 700 last year. Still amazing. All about the lack of noise.

17. Casio’s classic digital watch. (Alarm clock and light). And stylish. It’s ORANGE.

18. Steripen Water Purifier ad Filter.  Smart for long treks. Not light weight but who wants to get sick from water?

19. Guyot Soft Rubber bowl and cup.

20. Copy of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe.

21. Ben’s 100% Deet bug spray. In SE Asia, gottta put up the hardcore defenses. Sorry!

22. RayBan prescription sunglasses. Because I can’t see without them.

23. Sea To Summit rain cover for my pack. Size XL, to fit over the skateboard too!

24. Sea To Summit Toiletry bag, and toilet paper!  No one uses toilet paper in SE Asia. But I do.

25. North Face Surgent Hoody. Ain’t no cotton covered son of a gun here!

Not pictured here…

26. Sea To Summit Tek Towel XL.  Packs super small, big enough for the beach too!

27. Nalgene Widemouth SOFT Canteen. Fits in the pack no matter if there’s room for it or not. Water is betta!

28. Skateboard. Bodega 8″ deck. For weight’s sake- bad idea, but for fun’s sake- Awesome idea!

29. Sea To Summit Lite Line Clothesline. A MUST have for after you get caught hiking in a downpour.

SO that’s about it!   I think I also have some cables and locks for security, hats and gloves, long underwear, etc. but the above list answers the questions I know I had before I left.  Hopefully it can answer some questions others might have about photo trekking and backpack office/living. In case you’re even more curious, most of the hiking equipment was bought at Eastern Mountain Sports and North Face, and most photo equipment was from B&H Photo Video (No sponsorships, just an honest happy customer!). Knowledgable staff at all of them, good prices, great return policy. The copy of Robinson Crusoe was from a used book store in Mui Ne, Viet Nam. (Great secluded beaches. Go there and read!)  Good luck! Hope my little list can help you on future late nights when you just can’t figure out whether carrying that box of Little Debbie cupcakes up Mount Katahdin is the right choice…

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