Saturday: Day 30! And the first day where I felt more or less back to my skier self.
Breck reported five inches Saturday morning ... but Friday was god-awful crunch, and I really didn't think five inches would do much to help. To give you an idea of how bad Friday was (aside from me quitting after 3 runs even though I'd begged for a PTO day) - Breck closed for lightning at about 2:30pm. BRECK closed for lightning. And one of my instructor friends with decades of experience - an examiner - told me conditions were awful. "I wouldn't be skiing if I weren't teaching." Her description: "Frozen slush with a dusting on top." At the bottom, I found the snow to be a strange combination of grabby and loud. On the way to the condo, I talked to more people who were unhappy with conditions. In the meantime, graupel fell from the sky.
So I turned off my alarm and slept in an extra hour, despite the reported snow, most of which fell in the afternoon. I figured I'd do a run or two, then call it and drive home. Hah.
Low expectations + great conditions = banner day.
The Zeldas were perfect for conditions.
I've realized that my knee really does best with a warm-up, so I started with two laps of the long groomers on Peak 10. I found plenty of soft stuff, and I was able to aim my skis through small patches that hadn't yet been tracked. I would have needed first chair to get untracked. I considered The Burn, but I figured it was probably crunchy under that tempting blanket, and like a waterfall at the bottom. Not what I need to be skiing, just yet.
Throughout the day, I did three laps of Whale's Tail (dropping into Y Chutes, Deb's, and Boundary Chutes) - the first lap with close to zero visibility. Very happy with how I took the cornice all three times. The snow on those runs was just delightful. I also skied bumps surprisingly well on lower High A - there's always a nice line directly adjacent to the trees on the right side, where the snow is shaded - and then again on lower Psychopath's slush bumps.
Excellent visibility at the cornice
Getting in line for Chair 6 after my first lap, Jane and Pete spotted me - instructor friends who were out with a relative. We did another lap of Whale's Tail (why mess with success?). It had gone from a wind-whipped whiteout to perfect clarity. Not only could we see Copper across I-70 - we could make out the bumps on those runs. Below, Jane suggested Ore Bucket, a mellow tree run - hey, my first tree run of the season! Then she took us down a tight little trail in the trees between some blue runs. Excellent coverage.
Whale's Tail after the winds cleared
We split up, and I rode the T-Bar with an enthusiastic woman who's had her full cert since the .. 70s? 80s? ... and teaches at Greek Peak. I also saw several of my usual ski lesson buddies. We met up at the top, and the woman, who shall henceforth be GP, joined us as we made our way to Imperial. She braved Whale's Tail and Joker Rolls. On 66mm skis. We ducked in for a late lunch, where we all shared snacks. I ran into another few friends at Vista, then met up with the crew. As usual, friend John brought a feast, sharing red wine, prosciutto, and aged Gouda. I shared what I had - sugar snap peas, apple slices, and macadamia nuts. Then we had our new Greek Peak friend swap skis with another friend of similar BSL - Atomic Centuries, 102 underfoot. GP friend gamely skied them on a groomer (beautiful turns!) and part of a bump run, but then wanted her 66mm sticks back. One more run up the 6 chair - GP friend split off, and I saw some more friends I hadn't skied with all season at the bottom of a run. But my knee was screaming, and my turns down King had been pretty poor, so I headed off to Peak 9. Where I was having just so much fun that despite my knee pain, I kept going on groomers for two extra laps.
I got to the bridge and took off my skis to start my walk to the condo - when another familiar face said, "Monique?" So, two more long-lost ski buddies to catch up with.
In total, and through random chance, I skied with six ski buddies, said hi to ten more, and skied some laps with a random woman from Greek Peak. I skied my most vert so far this season, much of which was upper mountain. I skied some fairly challenging terrain, some of it with poor vis and/or heavy snow, confidently (if not always well!), and it didn't spook me.
It was a good day.
... after I got back to the condo, the rush of the day wore off, and my knee gave me a serious talking to. Now, more than 24 hours later, it's still cranky. But you know what? Worth it. Totally worth it.
