Friday, March 16, 2007
Anticipation
Well, I was hoping for one big storm before Spring, and it looks like I'm geting it. Right now a Nor'Easter is blowing across southern Vermont, dumping a ton of snow. Yeah, tomorrow should be good. It feels like Christmas Eve- just waiting for the next morning to arrive. They are calling for up to 2 feet of new snow- SWEET!!!! Especially since today felt like I was skiing on an inclined hockey rink. The drop in temps after a few days of rain hardened everything up real good. Good thing I sharpened my edges last night!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Good day on the hill
I had a real good day skiing today, for various reasons. First of all, it was bluebird. Gotta love sunshine. Second, there was good company. My friend Josh headed up for the day, and we spent most of the time trying to spray each other with snow from the tails of out twin-tipped skis.
But the real reason today was so good was because A: I finally sacked up and hit a few kickers in the park. Ever since my tib-fib fracture last year, I've been trying to keep the skis on the ground. But with some nice soft snow, I figured today was as good as any to try hucking my meat again. That first jump was the hardest, wondering if I would have the speed to clear the knuckle, wondering if I would crash, wondering if the park rats would laugh at my lack of steeze. But I pointed 'em, popped, and landed on the transistion. After that I was hooked, and tried to go bigger all day.
Reason B is the phone call I got after making my first halfpipe attempt of the season. It turns out that the mole I had removed from my back was NOT a melanoma. Given all of the bad news I have had recently in this regard, it was nice to finally get some good news on the medical front.
But the real reason today was so good was because A: I finally sacked up and hit a few kickers in the park. Ever since my tib-fib fracture last year, I've been trying to keep the skis on the ground. But with some nice soft snow, I figured today was as good as any to try hucking my meat again. That first jump was the hardest, wondering if I would have the speed to clear the knuckle, wondering if I would crash, wondering if the park rats would laugh at my lack of steeze. But I pointed 'em, popped, and landed on the transistion. After that I was hooked, and tried to go bigger all day.
Reason B is the phone call I got after making my first halfpipe attempt of the season. It turns out that the mole I had removed from my back was NOT a melanoma. Given all of the bad news I have had recently in this regard, it was nice to finally get some good news on the medical front.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Beginning of the end???
"This is the end, my beautiful friend, the end"
-Jim Morrison
Well, after a late start to the season, for the last few weeks we have actually been getting some snow here in So. Vermont. But that changed last night, as a spout of rain fell from the sky. This probably signals the beginning of the end of the ski season. Sure enough, ther brown spots had already begun to appear mid slope, a sure sign of the encroachment of spring.
Now, I am not dreading the end of the ski season per se, but rather that transition phase. I'm taliking about the next 6-8 weeks of cold, grey, piss falling from the sky. There's a reason the NCAA tournament is this time of year- the only thing good to do on the weekend is park yourself in front of a TV and watch a lot of basketball. Also, this is the perfect time of year to get the hell out of the Northeast. Some better planning on my part probably would have had me heading to Utah or Colorado in the next week or so, and actually if all of my friends in Utah hadn't been unavailable, I'm sure I would be drinking green 3.2 beer this St. Paddy's day.
So now I must endure a month and a half of misery, every ski day one day closer to closing day. I fear that the snowpack has peaked, and every day we will see the base depth decrease instead of increase. I hope for one more storm to blow through, and perhaps some of this rain will translate into snow up at Tuck's. But for now I can only break out the soft wax, and hope that the green spots don't grow too fast.
-Jim Morrison
Well, after a late start to the season, for the last few weeks we have actually been getting some snow here in So. Vermont. But that changed last night, as a spout of rain fell from the sky. This probably signals the beginning of the end of the ski season. Sure enough, ther brown spots had already begun to appear mid slope, a sure sign of the encroachment of spring.
Now, I am not dreading the end of the ski season per se, but rather that transition phase. I'm taliking about the next 6-8 weeks of cold, grey, piss falling from the sky. There's a reason the NCAA tournament is this time of year- the only thing good to do on the weekend is park yourself in front of a TV and watch a lot of basketball. Also, this is the perfect time of year to get the hell out of the Northeast. Some better planning on my part probably would have had me heading to Utah or Colorado in the next week or so, and actually if all of my friends in Utah hadn't been unavailable, I'm sure I would be drinking green 3.2 beer this St. Paddy's day.
So now I must endure a month and a half of misery, every ski day one day closer to closing day. I fear that the snowpack has peaked, and every day we will see the base depth decrease instead of increase. I hope for one more storm to blow through, and perhaps some of this rain will translate into snow up at Tuck's. But for now I can only break out the soft wax, and hope that the green spots don't grow too fast.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Priorities
I woke up this morning to see at least 8 inches of new snow on my deck. I knew that it was new, because when I went to bed last night, there was none on that same deck. I decided that this morning I would have to skip a shower and complete breakfast. Getting to the hill before it got tracked out was of utmost importance. I grabbed my fat skis and headed out.
Unfortunately, there was 8 inches of snow to clear off of my car. I frantically wiped, brushed, and shoveled snow out of the way to enable me to leave the driveway. I even threw my skis in the backseat to avoid the extra 30 seconds it would have taken to clear the snow off of the Thule box. Should have put them in last night, I thought. Oh well, I can't dwell on past mistakes.
I parked my car, and changed into my boots, and boarded the Grand Summit Express as fast as I could. There were very few tracks on Exhibition, and I considered taking a lap down the main face, perhaps grabbing some first tracks on Ego Alley, before heading over to the steeps of the North Face. Nope. Instead I headed down Challenger, before veering off onto PDF and Plummet. Than it was two quick laps through the Epiphany glades, before skirting the ski area border for a few runs though the dense trees of The Trials.
The morning went by fast, my iPod blasting through the headphones of my new Giro. Skiing through Vermont cream cheese through the forest, whooshing between the branches, with a few trips down the usually icey mogul field of Ripcord. After three hours of nonstop laps down the North Face, I headed in for some fuel.
By the time I finished lunch, the snow began to turn into freezing rain. But there was still some good snow in the trees, and over at Sunbrook there was still some untracked to be found in the Darkside of the Moon. Denser trees and being away from the expert terrain on the north face left a few afternoon stashes for me.
By 2 PM my jacket was coated in ice, as the rain began to freeze on contact. My ass was numb, frozen after too many rides on ice coated chairlifts. The trees were chopped up, and a crust had formed on top of my cream, the whooshes replaced with crunches. A trip to the Carinthia side to check out Claim Jumper glades proved to be an exercise in futility. I called it a day, went home, put in a half-hour spin on the trainer, and finally took a shower.
Unfortunately, there was 8 inches of snow to clear off of my car. I frantically wiped, brushed, and shoveled snow out of the way to enable me to leave the driveway. I even threw my skis in the backseat to avoid the extra 30 seconds it would have taken to clear the snow off of the Thule box. Should have put them in last night, I thought. Oh well, I can't dwell on past mistakes.
I parked my car, and changed into my boots, and boarded the Grand Summit Express as fast as I could. There were very few tracks on Exhibition, and I considered taking a lap down the main face, perhaps grabbing some first tracks on Ego Alley, before heading over to the steeps of the North Face. Nope. Instead I headed down Challenger, before veering off onto PDF and Plummet. Than it was two quick laps through the Epiphany glades, before skirting the ski area border for a few runs though the dense trees of The Trials.
The morning went by fast, my iPod blasting through the headphones of my new Giro. Skiing through Vermont cream cheese through the forest, whooshing between the branches, with a few trips down the usually icey mogul field of Ripcord. After three hours of nonstop laps down the North Face, I headed in for some fuel.
By the time I finished lunch, the snow began to turn into freezing rain. But there was still some good snow in the trees, and over at Sunbrook there was still some untracked to be found in the Darkside of the Moon. Denser trees and being away from the expert terrain on the north face left a few afternoon stashes for me.
By 2 PM my jacket was coated in ice, as the rain began to freeze on contact. My ass was numb, frozen after too many rides on ice coated chairlifts. The trees were chopped up, and a crust had formed on top of my cream, the whooshes replaced with crunches. A trip to the Carinthia side to check out Claim Jumper glades proved to be an exercise in futility. I called it a day, went home, put in a half-hour spin on the trainer, and finally took a shower.
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