January in Review - Splitboard / Hiking / Running

- January started off with a bang, I had the most productive outdoor winter month I have ever had. In past winters, I would hike quite a bit and use a stationary bike in the basement, but this winter is all about hitting the trails on foot and on my splitboard, leaving the stationary bike to collect dust except for on sub-zero days. 

- For those of you who might not know, a splitboard is a snowboard that separates into two skis. Under each ski, a fabric called skins are attached to the base of the skis, making it possible to travel uphill on the skis. Once I reach my stopping point, I remove the skins, attach the two skis, which creates a snowboard, rearrange my bindings, strap in, and snowboard back down. 

- Adding a little more motivation to getting out, I joined my first Strava challenge that a friend set up. The challenge is to see how much elevation gain you can accumulate in 2026. Hiking, biking, and backcountry ski/splitboarding are the main categories for how participants will "stack vert." There are around 125 people who entered the challenge, and it has been interesting to see who has been doing what daily. 

- I fell into a great routine for the Strava challenge, splitboarding in the morning and running/hiking during lunch. To start the day off, I would head to a ski area that allows uphill travel for free during non-operating hours (Attitash or Wildcat) and skin uphill on my splitboard, before enjoying a fun and quick ride back to the base of the ski area.

- As long as temps were above zero and not too windy, I could easily keep myself warm, as skinning uphill is a challenging workout. Along the way, I caught some picturesque sunrises from the slopes.

View from Upper Sacco Trail at Attitash. Mount Washington to the left, Pinkham Notch in the middle, with the Wildcat Range, Carter Notch, and Carter Dome to the right

Snowcat grooming Middle Polecat Trail on Wildcat Mountain. Mount Washington and its east-facing ravines in full view (Tuckerman, Raymond Cataract, Huntington)

Wildcat Ski Patrol's first aid cache at the top of the mountain. 

Alpenglow over Mount Washington, Mount Adams, and Mount Madison

- I would usually finish splitboarding around 8AM, and be at my desk for work by 8:30. I'd work until noon, where I would get Sarge out during my lunch break for a quick run on nearby trails up to Mount Surprise, Imp Ledge, Chapel Rock, Lookout Ledge, or Middle & Peaked Mountain.

Chapel Rock

Sarge takes his new booties for a spin in Randolph, heading to Lookout Ledge

Mount Surprise ledges

Sarge on Peaked Mountain

Imp Face with the Presidential Range

- We even got lucky and had a beach weather day in the mountains, so I took the day off and headed up Mount Washington. Sunshine, mild temps, and no wind made for a rare, easy day on the Rockpile!

Sarge modeling his booties above Jacob's Ladder on the Cog Railway Path

Behind a snow-covered Tip Top House

Summit of Mount Washington

All the summit buildings were encased in snow and rime ice

Descending Jewell Trail with Mount Monroe in view

- As the month went along, I patiently waited for the Sherbie, (Sherburne Ski Trail) to get a little more snow so I could head up to HoJo's and snowboard down. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, conditions were incredible, but within a few days, all the powder had been skied off, and the lack of snow meant it was best for me to stick to Attitash and Wildcat, as I enjoy the Sherbie when it rides easy. Luckily for me, above 2K got a few inches here and there as January progressed, and I was able to get in a few rides in the morning. Eventually, we got a big dump, 20" of soft powder, and I had incredible conditions riding before work and during lunch break three days in a row.

Lunchtime ride, pre-storm

Incredible powder conditions the morning after the storm

Hard to see, but the headwall of Tuckerman Ravine as seen from Hermit Lake

Post storm at HoJo's

- Other odd and ends; Sarge and I joined the North of the Notch Run Club, where we have joined in on a few nighttime mountain runs. On the weekends, Sarge has hiked Wildcat A Peak, Waumbek, Liberty, Flume, Pierce, Tecumseh, and Tom

North of the Notch Run Club. Sarge takes a break with one of the club members, Nate

No views for this Dood, Wildcat A Peak

Mount Waumbek AKA WaumBark

Cold day on Mount Liberty!

- Finally, below is the leaderboard after the first month of the Strava challenge. There are some very impressive totals so far. Amber, who created the challenge, is going for the world record of vert in a year, the current record is 2,500,000' elevation gained by Noah Dines, not to be confused with Colts quarterback, Danny Dimes. I managed to sneak into the top 10, not too shabby! My usual annual elevation gain is around 750-800K. As long as I stay healthy, my goal is to hit 1 million.