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A local 16-year-old skier was ripping down a mountain-bike-only run at Whistler on his skis. He knew the spot was closed to skiers, but had become a fan of hitting a specific drop. When he approached the top of the feature, he made eye contact with a guy standing next to it, and assumed it was safe to go. He hit it at speed, and just over the drop he saw a crowd of five gathered around the landing. In his haste to avoid them, he smashed into a tree shattering his kneecap and breaking his leg.

In agony, he asks the people to call the Whistler Ski Patrol. This group of six had been hiking up the trail to gain access to Whistler without buying lift tickets, and they told the kid in the tree that none of them had cell phones. The kid found his phone, Googled ‘Whistler ski patrol,’ and called them once he got the number. The gang that had been hiking in left before ski patrol arrived.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Robertson. “When they left, I honestly couldn’t believe it.

“If I hadn’t had a cell phone or I hadn’t been able to find the number for ski patrol, I don’t know how long I would have been in there.”

Working on the dog sled at Camden Maritime Museum. (Photo by a want-a-be musher Kevin Callahan)

The dog sleds being built recently in Camden weren't because of the record snow this winter.

The project wasn't a panic move like, say, building an ark during heavy rain.

Rather, for the last four months, nine students who attend an UrbanPromise after-school program in South Camden along with four mentors were building the dog sleds to re-create history.

The two dog sleds are full-scale replicas of the sleds used by explorers Matthew Henson and Robert Peary to reach the North Pole.

"This is cool stuff. There are not many kids in Camden building dog sleds," said Pitman's Jim Cummings, director of UrbanTrekkers, an outdoor program of UrbanPromise.

The middle-school students met every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon in February with their mentors in the basement of the Camden Seaport and Maritime Museum in South Camden.

"It is fun and it gets me off the streets. I have something to do," said Terrell Moore, 11, who attends the Morgan Village Middle School. "And it is educational."

The students learned a bit of history, such as, that on April 6, 1909, Henson, Peary and four Inuits reached the North Pole.

Jamir Wilson, 11, of the Morgan Village Middle School, said he has asked teachers about the North Pole voyage of Henson and Perry.

"I want to know what they did for food," Wilson said.

The students also learned of determination. Peary and Henson labored and dreamed for 22 years and embarked on eight expeditions before reaching the North Pole.

"He was the first black American to the North Pole," stated Artice Skinner, 13, who attends the nearby Sacred Heart School.

Henson was born in 1866, just one year after slaves were declared free. He lost both parents by the time he was 12.

The students also learned to use power tools. Among them were saws, drills and jigs. They also learned to work with materials, such as wood glue, oak and steel.

"I get to learn new things, like wood steams at 212 degrees and freezes at 32," said Sandy Cubero, 11, who attends the Wiggins School.

This month, the students and mentors planned to join an experienced sled dog owner and musher, Chuck Weiss of Bucks County, Pa., to hitch a team of seven dogs to the sleds and run them across the snow.

"We can ride with the huskies," Artice said.

ON THE WEB

UrbanPromise -- www.urbanpromiseusa.org

Most measures of palaeoclimate provide data on only average annual temperatures, says William Patterson, an isotope chemist at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and lead author of the study1. But molluscs grow continually, and the levels of different oxygen isotopes in their shells vary with the temperature of the water in which they live. The colder the water, the higher the proportion of the heavy oxygen isotope, oxygen-18. <<<Read the rest>>>

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If you’re looking to kill a few minutes, jump over to the website/blog of the Wildworks Crew.  I’ve enjoyed following the videos posted of self-filmed hunting adventures on the website HuntingFootage.com for a long time now and these guys consistently put out some of the best quality videos.  They have been shifting towards a more professional slant the last couple years and their website captures a lot of what they are about.  Good guys filming great hunting the way it was meant to be done – DIY all by themselves.  Lots of great videos and if you are a traditional archery junkie, you’ll quickly be a fan.

Pro Kayak Fisherman (it’s a real job) Howard McKim hooked a marlin estimated at 300lb. He was armed only with 20lb test on a Muskie rod, but he stuck with the animal anyway. It dragged him miles into the Sea of Cortez over the courses of about 5 hours. Since it’s a fishing video, it is, of course, set to country music. I could really get into fishing if they stopped trying to package the two together.

Zambonis look heavy. I think they’re filled with water. I also have to wonder if that Thin Ice! sign was hung after the Zamboni took the plunge. No one was hurt in the accident, and the rink will reopen for skating tomorrow, but I wouldn’t recommend going unless the temps drop significantly overnight.