HURRICANE DAMAGE: Hurricane Irene dropped this nasty spruce tree onto Black Mountain’s lift line in Jackson, NH. The tree wound into the fiber optics ($15,000 each) that service Verizon’s cell tower making for a challenging removal! By climbing a nearby tree I was able to swing into the work area and slowly dismantly the spruce. I whittled away at the limbs with my handsaw and then cut the trunk back with a chainsaw, ever careful not to mangle the wires. Finally, with the help of Chris Lambert from Black Mt, I was able to winch the remaining trunk from the lift wire and put the ski area back in business.