On the Slopes Skiing with Sven
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VOLUME 33, NUMBER 32 JANUARY 1, 2009 FREE THE WEEKLY NEWS & LIFESTYLE JOURNAL OF MT. WASHINGTON VALLEY MAILING LABEL Winter Warming Trends Memories of the Snow Trains In The Northeast: of North Conway: Sally Manikian explores Celebrate the Snow Trains of the past climate change in with Conway Scenic Railroad B 1 the North Country ... A 5 and Cranmore Mountain ... A SALMON PRESS PUBLICATION • (603) 447-6336 • PUBLISHED IN CONWAY, NH Give a gift of family Page Two togetherness & lifelong memories… Story Land 2009 Season Passes and Day A training run of ten dogs. Passes are now (Contributed photo) The first rule of mushing: Never let go! available! By Sally Manikian miles from home. Walking on the trail only working animals have, the four- Contributing Writer back to the kennel, he came across the wheeler took off. JEFFERSON — Being dragged face- dogs and cart intact and waiting. “Thank “Never let go,” Neil had once joked down through brush and snow, hanging goodness they looked back and said was the first rule of dog sledding. I onto the side of a cart with one arm for ‘Where’s the boss?’ and stopped,” he learned to walk toward the sled or cart, dear life, might not sound like every- said. expecting that I might have to grab on one’s idea of a fun time. Nor would rac- Once the sleds are brought out, the real quick if the team took off. “Never ing down a steep hill knowing your opportunity for my favorite mishap stand behind the sled,” he said, “or you brakes are shot and you have no way of exponentially increases: being dragged. won’t be able to catch it if the team takes slowing down. What about the bitter Nate Wells, musher and guide at Muddy off.” rush of adrenaline when the cart swerves Paw, eager for the first sled run, took a A four-wheeler, however, is not as suddenly towards that beaver pond? sled out before conditions were ideal easy to grab hold of as a sled or a cart. I Or maybe it does sound like fun. At (i.e. not a strong enough base layer of grabbed at the handle, and was dragged least, for a hardy band of dog lovers, snow). Heading down a hill, Mr. Wells through the brush at the side of the trail, these are part of the adventure of fall realized that the trail was a sheet of ice. until my shoulder gave out from the training runs for sled dog kennels. In a sled equipped with snow brakes pressure. Fall training is when mushers and and an anchor-shaped snow hook, inad- “Never let go,” I thought as I saw the dogs “shake the rust off,” as Neil equate for the hard glazed ice, Mr. Wells four-wheeler heading out of the range of Beaulieau of Jefferson’s Muddy Paw Sled had no other choice but to hold on tight, my headlamp, into darkness. I leapt up A Season Pass is Dog Kennel, puts it. It starts with night as the sled slid sideways and tipped over. and began sprinting after the team. runs in October, then day runs as the Mr. Wells was dragged behind the sled They had slowed not far ahead of me. just $66 per person, temperature drops throughout for a mile before he could halt the team The four-wheeler had gone off into the November, using a cart or a four wheel- and right the sled. ditch, snow had plowed underneath the ages 3 and above, er pulled by 8 to 14 dogs until the snow Recently I went out on a run of my wheels, effectively braking the team. is substantial enough for sleds. own. Hooking up the 10 dogs in the After cleaning the snow out of the way, I for unlimited In shaking the rust off, there are dark, I stared at the pile of harnesses held on tight and said, “Let’s go.” inevitably a few bumps in the road: tan- while I tried to remember what sizes fit The rest of the run was uneventful, at admission every gled teams, broken harness or ganglines, which dogs. Not far out of the dog yard, least in terms of training mishaps, but failing brakes, undisciplined puppies, Salem, my lead dog, had a crisis of con- was full of the other aspects that drew day of the 2009 and slick ice. fidence and stalled. The 8 dogs behind me to the sport. The night was cold and In the world of mushing, learning is her kept going. Unfortunately, this clear, dark skies with bright stars. The season. about experiencing, Mr. Beaulieau occurred right around a corner, so I did- clink of collars and the soft pad of dog explains. “When you’re out there alone, n’t notice until it was too late: the long feet ahead. My breath froze my face- Call 603-383-4186, you have to be self-sufficient,” he said. straight line of 10 dogs had become a mask, and I wriggled my toes to keep Knowing what to do, or, at least, being snarled mess, with my lead dogs some- them from getting numb. ext. 0. able to figure it out, is a necessary qual- where in the middle. It was only a 10-mile run, but ification to bringing the dogs back safe- “Right, this won’t take long,” I between the harnessing, hooking up, ly. Untangling a mass of 10 caterwauling thought to myself. After making quick tangling, untangling, resetting the team, A Day Pass is just $25 per and wriggling dogs from the mess that work of the tangle, lifting Salem over returning, unhooking, unharnessing, person, ages 3 and above, for occurs when the team turned back into another dog at one point, I headed along and necessary thanking of the dogs, the admission one day in the 2009 itself can be daunting at first, for exam- the team back to the four- wheeler. whole training run took three hours. ple. The problem was, we were just out of Mushing is a slow sport, but I still have season. Purchase online and Mr. Beaulieau is not without his own the dog yard. The team of 10 dogs were some rust to shake off before the winter print at home ($1.25 fee per stories. An emergency brake once yelping and crying to run, and they season starts. ▲ ticket applies), or contact the popped out of position and the dogs weren’t going to wait for me to unset the Story Land office. took off, leaving him alone in the woods brake. Pulling with the strength that On the Cover Inside Index Nordic Skiing at its best Snow Trains of the Past Arts & Entertainment..............Page B1 College team skiers from Williams and Conway Scenic Railroad and Calendar...................................Page B6 Middlebury led by Jackson’s own Liz Cranmore Mountain team up for a Entertainment..........................Page B8 Kantack enjoy the new FIS homologated Snow Train Weekend. Page B1 trails at Jackson Ski Touring Foundation. (Conway Scenic Railroad Photo) On the Slopes...........................Page B2 (Jackson Ski Touring Foundation Photo) On the Rockpile.....................Page B10 On the Rockpile Nooks & Crannies.................Page B12 603-383-4186 The week brought record warmth and Rt. 16, Glen, NH 03838 wild winds. Page B10. Real Estate .............................Page A15 www.storylandnh.com (Mount Washington Observatory Photo) Sports....................................Pages B14 Page A2 - The Mountain Ear, Thursday, January 1, 2009 In the News Decrease in deer harvest results from many factors 2008 New Hampshire deer harvest still strong CONCORD — New Hampshire's pre- in adjacent counties. Estimated Deer Registrations at Close and posted on the Fish and Game web- liminary estimated 2008 hunter harvest The unofficial deer kill for New of 2008 Season, visit site at http://www.HuntNH.com. of 10,945 deer represents an excellent Hampshire's 2008 season by county, http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/ The successful 2008 deer hunting year for the state's deer hunters and is with comparisons to the previous eight News_2008/News_2008_Q4/Deer_Harves season is a reminder that hunting activi- reflective of a healthy deer population. years, is listed below. Please note that t_2008.html. ties contribute significantly to New This year's total was about 19 percent the numbers for 2008 are estimates Final official numbers from the 2008 Hampshire's economy - according to below the final deer kill for the 2007 sea- based on the number of deer reported as hunting seasons, including detailed the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, son, which was the second highest in being registered in each county (not analysis of the sex, age and distribution approximately 61,000 people hunted in New Hampshire's history, only exceed- necessarily killed in that county) and do on a Wildlife Management Unit basis, New Hampshire in 2006, generating ed in 1967 when 14,204 deer were taken. not represent complete, verified data. will be available in the 2008 New more than $75 million of hunting-relat- The 2008 deer hunting season closed in For a comparison chart of N.H. Deer Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, ed expenditures in the state. ▲ the state on Dec. 15, the final day of Kill by County, 2000-2007, and which will be published in March 2009 archery deer season. "The expected decrease in the 2008 harvest is the result of several factors," Time to get ready for ice fishing said Kent Gustafson, Deer Project Leader at the New Hampshire Fish and 2009 Fishing and Hunting licenses now available Game Department. "The long, severe winter of 2007-08 reduced deer num- CONCORD — New Hampshire fishing and hunting licens- access to pursue their sports, the $10 Wildlife Legacy dona- bers in much of the state, and in es for 2009 are here.