For those of you who didn't read the daily this morning, the season has claimed its first avalanche death. A skier in Colorado triggered a slide near Berthoud Pass. Please be careful. Even though avalanche danger is listed as low for the tetons right now, keep an eye out for terrain traps and unstable conditions (especially with today's warmer temperatures.) Wear a beacon and go with friends. Friends who also wear beacons and know how to use them. Friends with shovels. Be safe, and have an awesome season!
Now that's more like it! Mood: happy Topic: shred report
new snow: 10"
I'm just going with the avy report today. It looks like there was another inch or so since they measured it, but they also have a couple inches in there that I already counted yesterday. Either way, it's a decent amount of snow. Maybe soon there will be enough coverage to go hike something. Or at least build a little jump somewhere. I'm off this Wednesday so maybe I'll just have to plan a little adventure. (insert 5 minute interlude for daydream fantasy sequence here.) Ahhhh. It's nice to finally have snow.
getting there Mood: chillin' Topic: shred report
new snow (past 24 hours) 4" new snow (past 48 hours) 9" as of 7am on 11/05/05
Avalanche reports have started coming into my inbox. Since they report based on the 5am numbers, they called it 5 inches yesterday. we got 2 inches during the afternoon, which they reported today. we also got 2 inches so far since 5am - it's now 7:30. Just in case you're double checking my numbers. Of course, it's still coming down, so I'll probably be checking the webplots throughout the day. I get so antsy waiting for the resorts to open. Or maybe that's just the caffeine talking. Wait, I haven't had any caffeine yet today. That's what's missing!
7 inches and counting Mood: happy Topic: shred report
new snow: 7"
As of 2pm, 7 inches at RAYMER. I cleared about 2 inches off my car this morning - enough that it was too heavy for the windshield wipers to handle and I was forced to use a tool. I would have used a brush, but it was wedged underneath my spare tire and I couldn't get it out of the trunk. So I used my mini-shovel instead. lucky that was in the car.
It's been snowing on and off today, so hopefully we'll get some more accumulation soon. I know everyone (not least of all ME) is itching to hike some backcountry and get some early turns in. The weather report is calling for more snow, so maybe it will happen sooner than we think. wouldn't that be nice.
hit the floor Mood: don't ask Topic: couch potato commentary
woke up this morning to find that snow had finally hit the valley floor. JOY! almost didn't have to get up off the couch to take this:
figured it would be a great day. boy was I wrong. kicked it on the couch for a while playing video games and watching tv. finally decided to enter the ravnica release tourney on mtgo. lost miserably but had fun and got some cool cards. returned a video - pay attention because this is where it all went downhill. didn't need my wallet so I detached my house key from my keychain. i bet you can see where I'm going with this.
fast forward to 6pm. left the house for groceries. took my wallet and the attached keychain. left the house key - you guessed it - inside the house. what a nightmare. long story short - in jackson, if you stop a random stranger on the street and ask him to climb up to your balcony and break into your house, he's probably roommates with one of your friends. And if he finds someone else to do the climbing, chances are THAT person has a picture of your friend on his myspace profile. and if your friend is REALLY cool, he'll bring over a new doorknob and spend an hour installing it despite his raging migraine. Oh yeah, did I not mention that BEFORE enlisting the aid of random strangers I attempted to kick in the door and managed to complete the destruction I started the LAST time I locked myself out and tried to kick my way in. So the only way in was to completely remove the doorknob. Hmmm. I didn't really make that short, did I? anyway, thanks to everyone who helped me. you guys ROCK.
About freaking time Mood: celebratory Topic: skateboarding
Finally felt the progression last night at the Colosseum - more speed, finally nailed my fakie to rock on the bigger slant, went down the other side of it, and pumped about a third of the way around the bowl. woo hoo! had a weird twinge in my knee all evening and hoped it meant snow was on its way.
nothing new Mood: lazy Topic: couch potato commentary
ah. the joy of a day off. after working 2 jobs all summer, it's nice to have two entire days with nowhere to be and nothing to do. of course, that means i have nothing to report. well, except....
THEY'RE MAKING SNOW!
I know, this is not exactly a current event. I'm about a week late with this revelation. but it's been a while since my last post and i've been building things all over the web lately (in between episodes of Rome, CSI, yugioh, and everything else on my digital video recorder.) I've got links on the left of the page if you're curious what i've been building / joining / uploading. prsgrrl.com got a new facelift, as did my site here at tripod.
Bored? Board! Mood: energetic Topic: skateboarding
Had that itchy-twitchy-need-to-do-something agitation when I got off work today. It's the restlessness of off-season. Or possibly too much caffeine in my system. Most likely a little bit of both.
Spent some time getting to know my DVD recorder - it's not very intuitive, and I keep referring back to the instructions (a bit out of character for me, but if it solves the problem I'm not going to complain.) There are a bunch of buttons that change their function, depending on what you're trying to do, but they're similar to the function keys on a computer or switchboard, so it's easy to figure out which one you need to push. Assuming you know what you're trying to do. Eventually decided I needed to put the active in activity so I headed out to the Colosseum.
Skating is fun. It's nice to have the park to yourself, but it's also tiring when you just keep going and you don't have to wait for other people to finish their runs. I worked my way up to rolling in off the larger slant in the center, and tried to remember how to do a... ummm... frontside turn? I always get confused. I ride regular, and I'm talking about rotating counter-clockwise on a halfpipe wall. I know the correct terminology always seems backwards to what seems logical based on my body position. Hmmm. kinda like my dvd player.
---begin shameless promo here--- Incidentally, there's a huge benefit for the skate park on Thursday night out at Walk Festival Hall - premiering a movie and the proceeds go to the Colosseum. I'll be celebrating Yom Kippur so I won't be able to make it, but I wanted to make sure if anyone reads this in the next day or so, they know about the fundraiser. ---end shameless promo section---
Back at home, I decided that my body may have had enough skating, but my brain needed more. Oh the joy of PS2. But my virtual shred grrl is much more talented on her board than I am on mine. I bet it's the tattoo. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I entered straightedge on the cheat screen. How appropriate that I use that one... and what a clever play on words, I might add. What can I say - I'm a Libra - I require perfect balance.
cross training Mood: chillin' Topic: skateboarding
The clouds finally cleared today so I could take a nice picture of the snow line on snow king mountain.
Ahhhh. almost winter. stopped by the ill23 shop and said hi to the local snowboard creators - awesome people, awesome company. (see link on the menu bar to the left for details.)
8pm - got a call from a friend who wishes to remain nameless. he convinced me (and it wasn't a difficult challenge) to put down the ps2 controller and quit playing THUG2 to do some REAL skating. 5 minutes later I was off to the colosseum. (check out the link on the left for info on the skate park.) (shameless promo #2) my body remembers how to skate, even if my brain doesn't believe it. managed to remember the few tricks I acutally ever negotiated successfully so I was pretty content. I have proof but it's in the form of a video so I'm not going to put it here. Instead, I'm going to use this space to give my anonymous friend an excuse to tell people to check out my blog.
pretty thoughtful of him to clear the word "colosseum" (thus facilitating more shameless promotion.) and from this angle, you can almost believe it's possible for him to land it. you'd never know he slid down the ramp and his shoe went flying across the floor, would you? oh, right. i guess you would NOW.
seriously, though, I'm just happy to be back on a board.
Snow in Jackson Mood: celebratory Topic: snowboarding
I woke up this morning to a blanket of snow on my car. I guess I should have expected it given the snowy drive home from Idaho Falls last night. I watched the temperature change degree by degree as I ascended the pass. I suppose I should have been watching the ROAD, but that wasn't really an option with the blinding snow that pummelled my windshield. Dimming the headlights helped, but it was still slow going. Luckily my car is much better equipped to handle the weather than I am. Luckily the snow wasn't even sticking to the road because it was just barely 31 degrees. Luckily there wasn't that much traffic at 11pm.
Rewind 10 hours. It's 1pm yesterday and I'm stopping to take gaper shots at the snow line. Half the trees are evergreen. The other half are a lovely orangey color. And the ground is white. Take a look:
Convenient that they put a pullout just across the street from a "snow slide area no stopping or parking" sign. And yes, the little white blotches are actual snow falling while I was taking the picture. Just in case you were curious.
Fast forward 22 hours. present tense. not sure what the final accumulation was on the pass, but there's no sign of the sun anytime soon and the fact that snow made it to the valley bodes well. A couple more storms like this and the hardcore will be hiking the pass. Actually, the hardcore are probably up their destroying their equipment right now. I'm not reckless enough to go it solo, but if I find a cohort or two I'll be right there with them. Any volunteers?
In training Mood: energetic Topic: snowboarding
So I'm sure everyone has heard now that the tram is closing. Which is upsetting to a lot of people. Then there are the die hard locals who are laughing and smiling. More powder for the hikers. So I guess I better get on that right now.
Hiked up Snow King yesterday, just to ease the boredom. Beautiful clear day, and the leaves are starting to turn, so I took my camera.
I guess I'm not as inactive as I thought. I was tired, but it felt good, and there wasn't a point on my journey when I thought I might need to turn around and call it quits. Ah, the joy of reaching the summit just as the sun began to set.
hiked down and enjoyed a loveley evening of csi and alias. tram or no tram, i intend to be ready.
I smell snow Mood: on fire Topic: snowboarding
80 degrees and I'm walking down the street, not a cloud in the sky. I can feel it coming. winter. I can smell it in the air. anticipation. Then again, maybe sleep deprivation is causing hallucinations. Working double shifts all summer sure takes it out of you.
Got a lovely surprise in the mail today - PPLT prices for lift tickets this winter. That's the beauty of working in a hotel - they offer special package rates to your guests. Lift ticket prices went up - no big surprise there. Should be an interesting winter since they announced the closing of the tram. Not like I ever took it anyway, but it kept everyone else off the other lifts. As for me, I'm all about the hiking this year anyway. I think a lot of the locals are saying "great. more powder for the hardcore. less tourons stealing our freshies." or maybe those are just the voices in my head.
Either way, winter is on its way. not long now. here's hoping mother nature gifts me with snow before my birthday again this year.
The mountain was visible through a hazy curtain of snow this morning, with the full moon peering out through the clouds above like something out of a fairy tale. Yesterday's conditions were also legendary, with deep powder all over the mountain. When I got off the Gondola for my first run, I noticed that Headwall was open. I also noticed that there were no footprints on the bootpack leading up toward Casper Bowl. After and exhausting trailblazing effort, I found myself at the first entrance into the bowl, half buried in snow. Just the way I like it. Despite my early morning duties, I very rarely get first freshies, but floating through that untouched powder made me anxious to experience more. So a few lifts later I found myself hiking Pepi's Bench for a run down Headwall, which was also phenomenal. Of course, a few people had beaten me to the snow, but there were still plenty of lines available that hadn't already been poached. All in all, a fabulous day.
Gotta love spring break Mood: mischievious Topic: shred report
new snow: 10" conditions: powder
The weather channel didn't predict this. chance of snow showers, yes. ten inches of snow, no. (on top of nine inches that fell yesterday - sweet!) Of course, that's at the top. Mid got 5 and base got 1. So don't go all the way down. remember that.
Oh, did I forget to mention the 60 mph wind at the summit? sorry about that. 9:30 am the gondola had not yet opened. we hear the announcement: tram, down. sublette, down. thunder, down. Hmmm. guess I'm going to casper. thought about teewinot to a.v. instead of waiting for the gondola, but remembered where the accumulation fell and waited it out. didn't wait long.
Took the gondola to casper, because there really wasn't any other choice. Casper woods were fantastic. Not quite as fresh as they usually are, but certainly nothing to whine about. Had to stay light on my feet, though, because 3 weeks of no snow with 19 inches of powder is still sketchy if you don't watch what you're doing. Especially as you descend to lower elevations. Took a few crowded runs on casper, and heard the announcement that thunder was opening up. Thought about heading over there, but a light bulb appeared over my head. Hmmmm. what if i take another run here? wonder what the lift line will look like? hehehe. Lift line? what lift line? there were 3 people milling around at the bottom of the lift when I finished that run. righteous.
Eventually, I decided that enough time had passed to safely traverse over to thunder and not have too much of a crowd to contend with. Got into the singles line, and a strange thing happenned. I had already joined a party of 3 and was most of the way from the alternating ski lines gate to the lift, when one of the lifties shouted to the guy on the end of our group, and he was all "oh yeah, there's only 3 of us.... come with us..." even though I was obviously already lined up to go on the chair with them. derrrrr. anyway, the lift line traffic guide timidly asked me if I was solo, which should have been obvious due to the SINGLES LINE I had just emerged from. So the next group out of the gate only had 2 people. I moved back to join them, and the guy behind me in the singles line made it 4. OK. got that taken care of. didn't even have to jump out of the way of the chairlift.... hehehe.
Funny how fate steps in and takes care of things for you. I started talking with my new friend, who also thought the scene at the bottom was a bit ridiculous, and we wound up taking a run together. This kid RIPS! Say what you want about east coast college students on spring break, but he was way cool. We traversed over as far as possible under the bottom of expert chutes. The snow was phenomenal. As we traversed, I noticed the snow chunking out under us (not that I was all that keen on heading out of bounds anyway, but that pretty much quashed any hopes of headwall opening up.) Once we started down, though, it was smooth sailing. Totally fresh, totally floating. beautiful. Took another run with my east coast friend. His name was Fitz. Appropriate person to celebrate St. Patty's Day with, don't ya think? While riding up the lift and discussing which run to hit, we noticed that Sublette was moving. And there were people on it. Hmmmmm. 3 guesses where we went.
Cut through the trees down the southern facing slope. Since the wind had come (at 60 MPH) from the North all night, the snow was soft and light and deep. wheeee. cut under sublette to the moguly jumps. Got to the bottom and low and behold, ran into Fitz's Dad. Coolness. Took a run with him (even though he was on skis) through Bivouac woods. more great snow (although a little sketchier than I prefer, probably should have cut in a little farther down.) Took another run with both of them, cutting into Tensleep this time. Papa Fitz was heading to the bottom to meet a friend, so we tucked and made it across the evil flat at the bottom of Tensleep bowl. Traversing into the Cirque, we didn't go far. The snow beneath us was virtually untouched. We couldn't resist. And it's a good thing we didn't. That was probably the best run I took all day. deep, steep, and fresh. what more can you ask? How about a cool cat to ride with.... oh, yeah, had that too!
Took a few more runs on thunder and decided to call it a day. Thought about hitting the lower faces, but Fitz had seen them on the way up and they looked sketchy. As I traversed around past Dick's Ditch, I saw what he meant. yikes. continued over to gros ventre and passed the mid-mountain mark. night and day. the lower faces redefined crap. Definitely not what I would call spring snow (which was what I expected with 40 degree weather at the base.) Oh, no. This was loose granular at best. aka crap. unbelievable crap. Not that I care after such a phenomenal day, it was just a shock.
Chilled out in the VC with my new found friend. He decided to head back out until the lifts closed for the day. Of course, when I met up with him, that was his second run of the day, so I was just a wee bit more tired (not to mention the effects of my cumulative lack of sleep.) If you're reading this Fitz, I'm glad I met you and I hope our paths cross again someday. If not, have a nice life, and may you be blessed with many powder turns and face shots. L8r.
Has it really been that long? Mood: irritated Topic: shred report
new snow: 0" surface: spring conditions
Amazing how NOT bad it was today. But as usual I'm getting ahead of myself. Got a rather lazy start this morning. I was supposed to meet a friend at 9 and was worried that I might miss him because I was not my usual prompt self. That's not entirely accurate. I was early, I just wasn't ready. Went into Hole in the Wall because I know they have a bench in there and I needed someplace to sit down and braid my hair. I am such a girly girl sometimes. But seriously, if I don't, it flies into my face and I can't see where I'm going. So it was necessary. really. By the time I finished that, I realized it was already 9. Went outside to look for my friend (I'll call him Dan, because, well, that's his name.) 9:15, still no sign. called his cell and he told me he was in the parking lot. asked if i wanted to get a coffee before we hit the slopes. and here I was all stressed about delaying his first run. guess I'm just a natural born drama queen. The fact that I've written an entire paragraph about this incident certainly supports the case.
Took our first gondola at about 10am. we figured the slopes would have softened up by then, and we were dead right. Perfect spring corn snow. Soft and carvable and springy enough to land anything. I immediately searched for something to huck myself off of. Not much on Liftline, but I knew I'd find something. took a few runs on casper, then headed to a.v. Moran was roped off most of the way down due to a competition. the halfpipe was also closed. wwwaaaahhh. perfect halfpipe conditions, too. Ah well. another day. worked our way over to thunder and then sublette. sunshine and spring snow, and 40 degree weather. yummy. got so carried away I didn't even notice what time it was until about 1:15. And of course, I still had to work out, shower, and be at work by 3, so I totally had to bail. Flew to the bottom at mach speed.... well, OK, for me that's really more like semi-fast. Got everything done and made it to work on time, so it's all good. Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? Did I leave something at the moun... DAN! Oh crap! wait.... he drove his own car. whew. it's all good.
Almost powder Mood: chillin' Topic: shred report
new snow: 10" conditions: powder, packed powder
10 inches is 10 inches. except of course, when 5 of it fell yesterday while the lifts were open. So there was powder, but if you hit anyone else's tracks it was pretty scratchy. Still, there was plenty of softness, and I seem to be able to find the fresh when I want to.
Started off slow with a triple macchiato and a bit of shopping. Finally went up the gondola around 9:30 and bombed into the woods. First tracks through air bowl. And only tracks when i went up the lift again and scoped it out. That's pretty cool. Went into moran woods and sleeping indian woods to find no tracks. went over to saratoga bowl and found myself at the ski area boundary. whoops. don't usually go that far. long, grueling traverse back out, but it was way worth it because the powder was faboulous. Unless you crossed someone's tracks.... which there weren't vary many of so that was cool.
traversed all the way over to sublette, but didn't take the chair. went straight down sublette ridge, which was some of the best powder i found all day. Of course, about halfway down it got pretty heavy due to the warm temperatures, but there was still plenty of untracked snow to destroy.
Eleven inches and counting Mood: celebratory Topic: shred report
new snow: 11" conditions: powder
I have the coolest boss in the world. See, on Mondays, I work 8 hours. Doesn't really matter which 8 hours as long as I finish what needs to be done. When I told her that we were going to get a huge snowstorm, she told me that by all means I should go snowboarding. I love my job.
www.trapperinn.com
shameless plug, I know. but they deserve it. Anyway, we had 9" at MID mountain when I got in at 6, and it was at 11" by the time I left at 8... well, really more like 8:30 or so because I had to get dressed and everything after I got off work. (my other job, www.jacksonhole.com/snowreport.asp just in case you don't know who I am. Incidentally, all reports posted HERE are my opinion and in no way reprsent the policies or opinions of jhmr.) Ok, now my a** is covered.
isn't this supposed to be about snowboarding? sheesh. way off topic. where was I? ah yes, the gondola line. and it's 9:15. And there are still a hundred people in front of me. Which is my fault because I'm the one who told them how much snow we got. And I don't care because I know where the powder will be. Didn't even strapped in, headed straight for the stairway and the first entrance to Casper Bowl. Phenomenal snow. 3rd track through the chute. I couldn't even turn because the face shots were obliterating my view. Fabulous run. Wanna see?
Cut over into sleeping indian woods and sailed to the bottom of casper lift. Spent the rest of the morning on casper and met some really cool people. Took a run with Dave from Vermont who works for Winterstick. That guy RIPS. We tore down through Moran Woods through the powder field no one ever hits because the drop in too early, seduced by the pristine snow on the way across the traverse. Wandered over to thunder and hit the south facing tree line on the way to sublette. oops. south is bad. rock garden. very sketchy. made it to sublette and had intended to check out the hobacks, but decided they might be a little too exposed and not quite covered enough. Went the other way into tensleep bowl instead. Great snow all the way down through the cirque and in the woods above thunder. Made my way back to the gondola line. At this point it was getting late, and while I didn't have to be at work early, the later I got there the later I would have to stay. Besides, I was already feeling the burn and my legs were just about toast. or maybe jello. jello on toast. yeah. mmmm. wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, gondi woods. wasn't really quite as smooth as I needed it to be based on my exhaustion level (fueled more by lack of sleep than physical fatigue). Found myself on the left side of Gros Ventre in semi-fresh powder right along the tree line. got to the big mogul field at the bottom and decided to cut over to the groomed part of the trail, but I had already missed it. Which was a very fortunate thing. I cut through the woods to get back over to gros ventre and found a steep, open, COMPLETELY FRESH tree line! It was SICK. I've hit the woods on the other side of gros ventre before, and they're usually fun and abandoned, but this was unreal. I can't believe I've never been through these woods! Anyway, took that down to the lower part of Gros Ventre and across the traverse to the base. Unstrapped and was off to work. Happy Valentine's Day to me. Snow gave me some good loving today.
Lazy start to my morning - I hung in the office until after 9am and moseyed my way onto the slopes. Of course, I did have to reassemble my board and alll - after the demo on thursday i figured, hey, why not get my board tuned? the bindings were already off, after all. So I dropped it off and forgot about it. Picked it up friday and left it in my car. So that's what I was doing instead of hustling my way out to the ranch lot.
excuses excuses. but it explains what I was doing at the base area just after 9am. the first tram had left, and there was NO ONE in line. Not one soul. So I decided this would be an opportunity for me to actually take the tram for the first time in 2 years. at least. I can't even remember the last time I took the tram. So there I was, first in line, waiting for the tram. waited maybe 10 minutes before they let us on the dock and the tram arrived. shuffled in with the herd. ah yes. this is why I never take the tram. it SUCKS.
After a sardine-crunched ride to the summit, I decided to go inside corbet's cabin to assemble myself. There certainly wasn't any room in the tram to even pull my goggles down from my helmet over my eyes.... anyway, 2 minutes later I was strapped in and ready to go.
Wind was unreal. vertigo set in and I was so blinded by the blowing snow I couldn't tell which way was down. Gravity had other plans, so despite my befuddlement I descended into rendezvous bowl. The snow was FABULOUS! I couldn't believe it. I couldn't see it either, but that really didn't matter because it was so soft. About two thirds of the way down I regained my ability to navigate and floated down to bivouac woods. Which were also great. Took sublette back up and decided to check out cheyenne bowl. BIG mistake. Central Chute was closed, which meant I had to hike back over to r-trail because I couldn't see the closed sign until it was too late to cut back. Ah well, not like it was FAR or anything, just annoying. Hit bv woods again, then crossed over into the bottom part of bird in hand. When there's that much wind blown snow on the northern slopes, it has to come from somewhere.... namely the southern facing slopes. Cut right back down onto the trail because bird in had was crap. Cruised over to thunder to check out paintbrush woods and the mushroom chutes. North facing. yummy. meandered over to casper and spent the rest of my time in moran woods. ran into the guy from wildernest sports who sold me my goggles. took a run with him to the bottom, then hit the gondi for my last run. Came down throgh the trees under the liftline and by the end my legs were toast. all in all a great day on the mountain.
So I guess they really did get 5 inches of snow the other day. I noticed some of it was still on headwall but I hiked about 3 feet up and discovered it was not nearly as soft as I had hoped due to the melt/freeze effect. decided to stick to the groomers. but I'm getting ahead of myself.
today was 'employee demo' day for my department, so I decided to take full advantage of my enslavement and check out the only remaining board on my hopefuls list, the salomon ivy 154. which lucky for me was IN at the rental shop. woo hoo!
intended to hit the halfpipe, but of course it was being groomed because it's thursday. derrrr. i knew that. which is why I didn't zoom down werner but instead paused at the top of south pass traverse to check my theory. didn't quite feel comfortable with the stance, felt a little off balance. either I wasn't on the sweet spot on the board or my stance was too narrow, or maybe the board was just too short for me. hmmmm. the never summer 154 didn't feel too short...
so after my nice cruise down from the gondola to the closed halfpipe, I continued cruising to the base. hopped on eagle's rest to hit the mini park. mini park is fun. wheeee. especially on a board with pop. not quite as much pop as that never summer board.... you can see where I'm going with this.
decided to take another cruiser from the gondola. went all the way down gros ventre, which i never do. that's actually a pretty cool trail. not very steep, but good on a day when you want to stick to groomers. the snow actually wasn't too bad. kinda like a decent day in vermont.... not the pow we're used to getting here, but certainly carvable and a good surface on which to test the functioning of a new board. not a cloud in the sky either, and for once I remembered to wear sunblock. so i was a happy camper. except for the halfpipe issue. which i'm over. no really, over it.
so yeah. I'm going with the never summer board. somehow i don't think anyone who has ever read my blog will be surprised to hear this. i know i'm not. I just needed to be sure. now i'm sure.
Misadventures at the king Mood: incredulous Topic: shred report
new snow: none conditions: loose and frozen granular
2pm decided to go hit the halfpipe for the afternoon. pulling out of the parking lot my soon-to-be-ex-roommate was pulling in, snowboard gear atop the car and in full regalia. and with his skier girlie in tow. Actually, she was driving, so it was more the other way around. Whatever. trivial extraneous information.
thought it might be fun to go with them to snow king instead of by myself to the village. they both rip, so it was a blast riding with them. Conditions were very scratchy from the summit, and only the groomed trails were really decent. Every once in a while we'd hit a nice patch of snow, but then we'd find ourselves on icy thin cover, so there was no safe bet except the corduroy.
Rode all over for the hour and a half the lifts were still open. It was just about 4 and the lift was still spinning so we hauled a$$ to the line and just made it. The liftie was already putting the seats up, and told us we lucked out and this would be last chair. He then proceded to put the chair up right behind me instead of bumping it. nice move. there is a possibility I could have contorted myself and put it down while in the air, or just hung on until i got to the top, but fortunately I didn't have to. He managed to stop the chair before I was too far off the ground so I jumped down, he flopped the seat back down, and then I jumped back up. nothing like adventure to end the day right. ;)
accident prone
happy
chillin'
happy
don't ask
celebratory
lazy
energetic
on fire
mischievious
irritated
incredulous
caffeinated