Day 102 - Killington

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood! 35° and mostly sunny with a light wind; on the hill from 9:00 until 1:45 with a quick KBL coffee break; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 26 runs; 32,000 vert; spectacular snow conditions today - smooth, soft and extremely carvable without getting clumpy or wet; Lower Ovation was groomed so that was nice, but Dip Dip and Cascade were unbelievable again today.

Day 100 - Killington

A beautiful mid-winter, 3F day - perfect for my GS skis; on the hill from 9:00 until a little after 1:30 with just a quick coffee break in KBL; hard freeze (15°) overnight and some good grooming made the Canyon and Superstar near perfect; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 29 runs; 35,000 vert; After consulting with Nadine about last week's Ski Bum disaster, I've been focusing on sustaining much more of a macro view while skiing. Rather than looking at some spot on the ground in the the turn I'm entering, I've been looking much more down the hill trying to see 100 or 200 yards ahead and focusing on the entire slope, not just some point on the ground. I think it's been helping me a lot - I've felt pretty good.

Day 93 - Killington

19 runs - on the hill from 9:00 until 1:15; 30° with flurries clearing to broken sunshine; 1" new snow on last night's groomers - nice! first run on Cascade was fantastic; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's and switched to the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's after coffee; made a few more runs with Amy and Mark - she is the coolest person I know; I'm not sure, but I think my skiing is actually coming around.

Day 79 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 12:30 with a quick KBL coffee break; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 28° overcast and very windy with a few short periods of freezing rain; Ski Bum double header today - second run scored seperately as make-up from last week's cancellation; Despite periodic white-on-white conditions in the Canyon Double Dipper was in excellent shape - I've seen it softer, but rarely smoother.

Ski Bum #1 - 1st in class Men's B, 13th Men's Overall, and 15th Overall including the Women

RANK	BIB	NAME	CLASS	RESULT
15	98	MARTIN BURNS	MB	26.01 (15)

Ski Bum #2 - 1st in class Men's B, 12th Men's Overall, and 12th Overall including the Women.

RANK	BIB	NAME	CLASS	RESULT
12	98	MARTIN BURNS	MB	26.19 (12)

Day 70 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 till 10:15 - 12 runs; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 25°' with low clouds - top half of the Canyon was white-on-white in the cloud layer; decent crowd starting to build when I left; nice morning, despite not being able to see real well.

Day 62 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 till 1:00; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Ski Bum Race today - DNF; With the Canyon chair running, Double Dipper was good enough for a few laps; Doctor appointment this past Monday to read the MRI on my left knee - torn meniscus requiring arthroscopic surgery. I'm hoping with enough medication I can wait till after the season.

Day 60 - SNÖ Mountain

Beer League; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Finally beat all the women! Finished 2nd in class M50-59, 8th men's overall, and 8th overall including the women..

RANK	BIB	NAME	BEST RESULT	HANDICAP
8	286	BURNS, MARTIN	30.86	15.97

Day 59 - Killington

On the hill at 9:00 and skied till 1:30 with a KBL coffee break; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Overcast and 18° with on and off light snow; No Ski Bum Race today; Dip Dip was really good - I did like 10; Played 'race the chair' - I'd get off and 15 chairs later get back on, I couldn't get to 14; My knee feels much better today.

Day 58 - Killington

Parked at Snowdon; On the hill at 9:00 and skied till 1:30; Started out on the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's and switched to the Rossignol Experience 98's after coffee; Gorgeous day - perfectly clear, cold, and no wind (6° at 9:00, 15°' at 1:30); Started off with a Bunny-Chute-Chute and a Bunny-Chute-Bunny over to K1, then did Rime and Lower East Fall a couple of times before heading over for a few laps on Superstar; Everything before coffee was deserted, 3f perfection; After coffee I switched skis and headed for the snowmaking on Lower Skylark and Wildfire - very nice; There are some stupid big piles of snow around - maybe some pictures tomorrow; The left knee wasn't too bad today - a little Celebrex this afternoon and I should be good for tomorrow's Ski Bum Race.

Day 52 - Pico

ASRA GS again today; 32°, overcast and very windy; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; today's race was back-to-back runs on the same course; screwed up the bottom on run 2 again today; finished 6th in class M6, 14th men's overall, and 16th overall including the women...

POS	RACER NAME	CLUB	BIB	1ST RUN	2ND RUN	TOTAL	HANDICAP
16	BURNS, MARTIN A	KSC	726	51.81 (24)	50.68 (16)	1:42.49	12.16

Day 51 - Pico

ASRA GS; Upper twenties, overcast and windy; Skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters in Run 1 - big mistake, the course was more or less straight; Changed to the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's for Run 2; I nearly got bounced out of the course near the bottom of Run 2 and ended up way off line; finished 3rd in class M6, 18th men's overall, and 24th overall including the women.

POS	RACER NAME	CLUB	BIB	1ST RUN	2ND RUN	TOTAL	HANDICAP
24	MARTIN A. BURNS	KSC	726	47.31 (32)	47.12 (20)	1:34.43	13.71

Day 50 - Wildcat

Clear, cold, and a little windy today; -5° to start, but it warmed up to around 10°; great views of Mt. Washington today; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; inside leg drills in the morning; full length GS in the afternoon; SWIX waxing clinic at 3:30; although these skis are a handful, my knee doesn't seem to hurt as much when I ski them; our group spent way to much time in the lodge warming up today, so I stayed out and did a few free runs - with all its twists and turns and drop-offs, Lynx is one of my favorite ski trails anywhere.

Day 40 - Killington

On the hill at 8:00 and skied till 11:30 with a coffee break in KBL; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; clear and cold again today; 2 hours up in the Canyon before coffee - Cascade was excellent, but East Fall was better.

Day 39 - Killington

Easily the best day of the season so far; On the hill at 8:30; Parked in the Vale; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Clear and cold with 2-3" of new snow overnight; The Canyon and Superstar were really good; Out about 4 hours with a KBL coffee break.

Day 32 - Killington

Ok, a slight expectations adjustment is necessary. Tomorrow, my goal is to finish... Highline from the top today; same thing for tomorrow; used the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's for run 1 with limited success, so I tried the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters for run 2 but DNFed; no reset between runs; I need to get a lot stronger on my left side if I want to ski anything close to a fast line on the steeps; today I just kept getting lower and lower and lower on each right turn.

POS	RACER NAME	CLUB	BIB	1ST RUN	2ND RUN	TOTAL	HANDICAP
50	MARTIN A. BURNS	KSC	19	42.77	DNF	264.98	14.23