The Pemi Winter Olympians Enroute to North Twin at Dusk
Today marked the birth of a brand new winter event, the Pemi Winter Olympiad
MMX, held atop the 4000' peaks of New Hampshire's Pemigewasset Wilderness.
The raw numbers?: 8 summits. 3 athletes. 5 quasi-olympic events. 30 miles. 15 hours. ...and 6 huge freakin' carrot cakes.
:::::BREAKING:::: Due to the frigid temperatures and high winds, all of the actual Olympians cancelled,
so we did the best we could to make sure the trial run of this event went as planned by recruiting some locals.
We wound up with these three. Two Frosted Freaks, and a Creep from The Bus Stop:
The first event was the "Freestyle Cairn Jump", held atop Mount Hale. The, uh, "athletes" were fresh and rested, and it really showed in this event.
First to jump was FF1, who performed a stylish "Planted-Pole" leap, with some impressive hang time.
The Creep, going with his "Masked Executioner" persona, followed with a snappy "Invisible Chair" jump, always a favorite with the judges.
For her part, FF2 shook things up with her "Egyptian Big Hair Princess Waves Hello" leap, making it look easy as the onlookers gasped. Both of them.
Next up was the "JaveLeki Balance", held on the remote peak of West Bond.
Here contestants battled fierce winds while attempting to best each other in this incredibly difficult and demanding event. Behold:
This was followed by the "JaveLeki Throw", held on Mount Bond, again in gusty winds.
FF1 was up first, whose throw was blown off course by a rogue gust of wind.
The Creep went next, who managed a decent throw.
FF2 then broke out a big can of whoop-ass with a powerful and effortless throw, leaving the competetion wondering what hit them.
But her glory would not last long. The next event was the grueling "RockPut" on Bondcliff, a test of raw strength combined with grace.
Here is The Creep warming up on Bondcliff's suprisingly comfortable summit:
First up was FF1, and she did not disappoint. With perfect form, she set the bar for those to follow.
Here, FF2 watches in awe as FF1 sends the RockPut skyward. Pure Olympic Gold:
Perhaps a bit cowed by FF1's prowess at the RockPut, FF2 bobbled a bit during her performance, losing precious points on form:
Other summits were visited, but the scheduled Quasi-Olympic events were not held due to screaming subzero winds and imminent nightfall.
Affected peaks were South Twin and North Twin, although we were able to hold the Two-person BoobSled event on Galehead, of which footage should be available shortly.
::::BREAKING:::: We have recovered an image from the Two Person Boobsled Event from a camera! ( the cameraman taken out by FF2 during qualifying wasn't so lucky):
The newly minted Olympians exited along the Gale River Trail, which is still a mess.
Feb 06 2010