May 2012
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'Ring of Fire' Volcano Tour Wrap Up
By: Chris Davenport
Written on May 22, 2012 Seattle, WA. Reflecting on the past two weeks, this has been a trip we will never forget. As I wrote in the last post from Mt. Baker, the end of our Volcano Tour has been bittersweet. We had so much fun with so many great partners on so many peaks that we are now in a strange post-expedition funk where the only remedy is continued activity – yoga,...
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Funny Anecdotes from the #VolcanoTour
By: Chris Davenport
During the ‘Ring of Fire’ Tour, we had many lighthearted moments out there on the volcanoes. Here are a few select quotes that always seem to make us laugh: Mt. Shasta- Super fan: “Is Chris Davenport in here? “ Dav “Yes.” Super Fan: “Can I get a photo? Oh, and is that Daron Rahlves? Can I get a photo with him too?” Dav: “Dude! It’s 3:30 in the morning and...
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Old School #MYSUMMIT Shout Out
We received the following letter (w/ above photo) in our spyder-info@spyder.com email account in response to the #MYSUMMIT Instagram Photo Contest we have going on right now. It’s too good not to share.
(Names / personal details removed to protect the innocent.)
Dear Spyder and Chris Davenport: Your coverage of the ‘Ring of Fire’ Volcano Tour - and the ensuing uproar in the...
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WatchOn the final summit of the #VolcanoTour, Dav reflects the experience of skiing 15 volcanoes in 14 days.
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Volcano Tour Day 14: Mt. Baker, WA – 10,778'...
The crew admires another “X” on the back of the Land Yacht. 15 Volcanoes in 14 days.
By: Chris Davenport
Written on May 20, 2012 The end of any great journey or vacation is always bittersweet. On one hand, you have a wonderful collection of memories and experiences, but on the other hand you are left wanting more. Now that we have wrapped up our Volcano Tour with yesterday’s ascent...
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Volcano Tour Day 13: Mt. Rainier, WA - 14,411'
By: Chris Davenport
Written on May 18, 2012.
I’m gonna keep this one short as we’re currently in position to climb Mt. Baker and have very poor internet service. Yesterday was an amazing day on Mt. Rainier. As the highest volcano in the Lower 48, and fifth highest summit in the Lower 48, it presented a fun challenge for the Volcano Tour team. Both Ted and I had climbed and skied it...
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'Ring of Fire' #MYSUMMIT Photo Contest Starts now!
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Volcano Tour: Mt. St. Helens Photo Journal
We were lucky to have photographer Richard Hallman along for the ride during the last few days of the #Volcano Tour. Below is a string of his photos from Day 11 on Mt. St. Helens.
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All images ©2012 Richard Hallman
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Volcano Tour Day 11: Mt. St. Helens, WA – 8,365'
By: Jess McMillan
Written on May 15, 2012
Our #VolcanoTour stats to-date.
Dav placed the first X on Mount Lassen 10 days ago. It was hard to imagine how the trip would evolve with one lonely X. There are now ten X’s on the back of the Land Yacht. I’m proud of every single one of ‘em, too. Each represents not only a volcano skied, but also a unique adventure – an adventure with new...
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Volcano Tour: Follow Along with Your Mobile Device...
For all of you mobile junkies out there who want to follow along with the ‘Ring of Fire’ Volcano Tour, direct your mobile browsers to qr.spyder.com.
We worked with Scaneroo on this site to constantly shuttle updated #VolcanoTour content to your mobile device.
You’ll find Google Maps integration, allowing you to click on each individual volcano and view photo / video content,...
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WatchIn this #DavDispatch from Day 10 of the #VolcanoTour, Dav shows clear signs of fatigue as he crests the summit of Mt. Adams after having climbed 8.5 mi. and 9,000 vertical feet in 7.5 hours. With 4 volcanoes yet to go, including 14,411’ Mt. Rainier, the Volcano Tour promises to push Dav and the other athletes to their limits.
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Volcano Tour Update: Colorado Ski Mountaineers &...
Team #VolcanoTour added Christy and Ted Mahon to their roster and conquered Mt. Adams on May 14th – their twelfth volcano in just nine days.
By: Christy Mahon (@aspenchristy)
Written on May 14, 2012
Wow, what a day! After climbing over 8,400 vertical feet to the 12,281’ summit of Mt. Adams, we were rewarded with yet another gorgeous day on the mountain and incredible spring corn conditions.
Jess...
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WatchIn this #DavDispatch from Day 9 of the ‘Ring of Fire’ Volcano tour, Chris Davenport checks in from the summit of Oregon’s 11,239’ Mt. Hood.
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Volcano Tour – Mt. Hood Photo Journal
The following string of photos tells the story of the amazing experience Team Volcano Tour (and a bunch of friends) had on Mt. Hood yesterday. From their 3:30am wake up call to their post-ski revelry, we hope you enjoy the chronology of images below.
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Volcano Tour Guest Blogger Asit Rathod Checks in...
Professional Skier Asit Rathod skis Mt. Hood’s northeast face in the buff on May 13, 2012 after having a ‘McConkey moment of clarity.’
By: Asit Rathod (@presidentofpow)
Written on May 13, 2012
Hey hey All!! Guest blogger Asit Rathod checking in from the ‘Ring of Fire’ Volcano Tour and Mount Hood; and what a day it was my friends!
Quote of the day award goes to...
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WatchAerial pan of Mt. Jefferson filmed by Glen Poulsen during the #VolcanoTour.
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Volcano Tour Day 8: Mt. Jefferson, OR – 10,497’
Aerial photo of Mt. Jefferson showing our ski line, the beautiful Southwest Face. Photo by Jim Morrison
By: Chris Davenport
Written on May 12, 2012
As I sit here in the Spyder Land Yacht driving north towards tomorrow’s objective, Mt. Hood, I can’t help but reflect on the last eight days and the ten peaks we’ve skied. Both Jess and I have mentioned in our blog posts how cool it is each day to...
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Volcano Tour Days 6 & 7: Three Sisters and Mt....
(The east side of North Sister under a half-moon.)
By Chris Davenport
Written on May 11, 2012
Yesterday was our biggest day of the trip so far in terms of distance covered, vertical climbed & skied, and pure effort exerted. Luckily for us we had some great local knowledge. We hooked up with local skier and owner of Three Sisters Backcountry huts Jonas Tarlen through our friend David...
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Volcano Tour Update: Captain's Log
By: “Captain” Grant Burrow
Ping…Ping…Clank…Ping…Clank. This is what I hear every morning around 4:30am on the ‘Ring of Fire’ Volcano Tour. My eyes slowly open; I can smell the coffee brewing and sense the stoked atmosphere inside the Spyder Land Yacht from Team Volcano Tour as they prepare to climb and ski yet another volcano.
This is a volcano tour – an attempt to ski...
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Jess McMillan Signs with Garmont
We wanted to extend our congrats to Spyder Athlete Jess McMillan, who just signed on with Garmont. As many of you know, Jess has been an absolute rock star on the Volcano Tour, and her lightweight Garmont ski boots are no doubt helping her conquer all of that vert in the Pac NW.
Way to go, Jess!
News:
Backcountry Magazine Article
Skiing Business Article
Jess McMillan on Mt. Thielson in...
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Volcano Tour Day 4: Mt. Bachelor, OR – 9,065'
By: Chris Davenport
Written on May 8, 2012.
I’m going to keep this post a bit short, mainly because Mt. Bachelor is perhaps the least interesting of all the volcanoes we hope to ski on this journey. So how did we come to ski two volcanoes in one day? Well, the story goes like this… After an awesome morning on Mt. Thielson we drove two hours north to Bend and pulled into the totally...
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WatchVIDEO: #DavDispatch for Day 4 of the #VolcanoTour. After ripping a wide open swath of corn on Mt. Thielson in the morning, Dav, Jess, and Daron had a crazy idea and decided to ALSO ski Mt. Bachelor. Two volcanoes, one day. You can’t make this stuff up.
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Volcano Tour Day 4: Mt. Thielson, OR – 9,182'
By: Chris Davenport
Written on May 8, 2012
I wish my words could clearly convey just how much fun we are having on this road trip. From the amazing Spyder Land Yacht and all of its comforts, to the amazing people and their positive energy we have met along the way, to the truly fantastic skiing on our first four volcanoes, it’s been an epic trip by any measure.
Jess, Daron and I continued to...
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WatchOn Day 3 of the #VolcanoTour, the team runs into some challenges early on when they’re forced to navigate their way through dense forest to access the mountain from basecamp. But Daron Rahlves came to the rescue with his GPS skills, and led the group to the best line and best snow they’ve skied yet!
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Volcano Tour Day 3: Mt. McLoughlin, OR – 9,495'
By: Jess McMillan
Written on May 7, 2012
Add it to your list – Mt. McLoughlin is a must-ski! It’s my favorite volcano we have skied so far on the Volcano Tour. I began with low expectations for multiple reasons: the lack of beta about the peak, the road closure, and the exhaustion I felt from skiing Mount Shasta the day before were definitely on the list. But I had – we had – an amazing day. The...
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Volcano Tour Day 2: Mt. Shasta, CA – 14,162'
by: Daron Rahlves
Written on May 6, 2012
On May 5th, after Day 1 of the Volcano Tour on Mt. Lassen, we traveled north on Interstate 5 in the Spyder ‘Land Yacht’ with Captain Grant at the wheel, staring at the dramatic, legendary, and towering Mt. Shasta, gleaming in the distance.
(Mt. Shasta is the largest volcano in California and last erupted in 1786.)
We rolled into the town of...
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#VolcanoTour Weather Update
Courtesy of Joel Gratz from OpenSnow.com…
Just a quick update on weather for the next 7-10 days… A weak storm will blow through the northwest Wednesday through midday Thursday. The main effect will be temperatures about 10 degrees cooler and winds about 10mph strong, though you should get through this with no precipitation (the main storm energy is further north of Oregon into BC)....
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WatchA somewhat humbling day 2 of the #VolcanoTour reminds us just how demanding this tour is going to be for Chris Davenport and friends.
