Day 91 - Arapahoe Basin

Still sick as a dog - I wish I'd just cough up a lung and be done with it! Out 9:00 to 12:00 with a coffee break - just long enough to make a couple off Pallavicini, see the rest of the mountain and go back to the hotel and climb in bed; 20° or so, bright sunshine and a stout breeze; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; 8 runs or so; unknown vertical; even the greens here are blue.

Day 89 - Crested Butte

Another beautiful spring day. Out 10:00 to 2:00 with Radvanyi; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; lots of groomers and just a couple 'other' things - thanks for taking it easy on me today Chris; took a couple of good falls this morning, including one where my boot must of stuck a rock or something as I tumbled, because 3 of the 4 teeth on one of the metal buckle clasps are now broken or severely deformed - update a few days later: I also totally destroyed the skis - bases and edges - as bad as I've ever done before; a fairly large crowd, but no real lift lines; the Silver Queen Express lift might be the most efficient lift I've ever ridden - extremely fast with more or less top-to-bottom coverage on a big hill (maybe 2,500 vert?) and access to all types of terrain; very cool looking down, and I mean down, on the town of Crested Butte from the top of the mountain; very tired.

Day 88 - Telluride

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with Radvanyi and Natress - I bailed on the two Chris' when they hiked Palmyra Peak after lunch; spectacular panorama of the San Juan’s from the top; skied Blizzard Brahmas; as I'm writing this a couple of days after the fact, I can't really remember what we skied, just that my overall impression of the mountain was a luxury Sunday River on steroids; countless million $ homes in Mountain Village.

Day 86 - Jackson Hole

Out 9:00 to 1:30 with a lunch break; 5" new snow overnight on the hill; mostly sunny with very little wind and temps at the top around freezing at noon, mid-forties at the base; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; 19 runs; 22,400 vertical; needed to give my legs a break so it was mostly groomers today; I did take the time to stand in the Tram line and go to the top for a look down Crobett's - it's doable, just not by me.

Looking up Corbett's from the top of the Gondi

Back Bowls from the far side of Rendezvous Bowl

Day 80 - Steamboat

Thank God is started to snow this afternoon... lots of old crud, groomed death cookies, and frozen granular - felt like home; out 8:30 to 2:00; about 35 runs - 20 using the short lift next to NASTAR; unknown vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Blizzard Brahma's; 10.33 today at NASTAR - Platinium; even disregarding the snow conditions, I'm not all the impressed with the mountain - expansive, yes but not very much sustained steep; maybe some new snow will help my disposition; taking 13 days off was a huge mistake - I'm tired as hell, but maybe that's just the 17 NASTAR and 2 warm-up course runs talking.

Day 75 - Killington

Powder day - 6" of bone dry, blower pow this morning; out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; Temps around 10°, cloudy, light winds, heavy snow squall when I left; 12 runs; 13,600 vertical; started with the Blizzard Brahmas, but changed to the K2 Apache Xplorers almost immediately to venture into the nats; did tons of stuff for the first time this season - Patsy's, Low Rider, Lower Great Bear, Northstar, Conclusion, Escapade; Big Dipper Glade; they cleared way too many trees out of Low Rider; 3 falls today - I believe that doubles this year's total.

Day 70 - Killington

Out 9:00 till 12:30 with a KBL coffee break; 17 runs; 19,500 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; sunny and 20° with a little bit of wind;

Day 68 - Ski Sawmill

Surprised how nice it was for such a small hill - 225 vertical; out from 12:30 until 5:00 with a couple of short breaks; overcast with temps comfortably around freezing; 25 runs; 5,600 vertical; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters and the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; picked up new skis from FedEx in Horseheads

Day 59 - Killington

Good day - it felt good to get some mileage. On the hill from 8:00 until 12:00 with just a quick coffee break; light snow accumulating to 2"; intermittently windy with temps in the low twenties; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; 21 runs; 22,800 vertical; light crowd for a holiday - never waited in a lift line and the KBL parking lots were only half full when I left at 12:00; hit a rock on Dip Dip and nailed the edge on the Brahmas - first time I've dinged them up; got to ski Lower Ovation and Outer Limits for the first time this year; felt pretty good today - I handled lots of tough conditions with ease; Lower O was gnarly, icy bumps; Lower Downdraft was flat, but an ice skating rink; Vertigo Headwall was an ice skating rink as well.

 

Day 45 - Killington

On the hill a little over 2 hours starting right at 8:00; skied the Blizzard Brahma's; Needle's, Superstar, and the Canyon; right knee is bad, bad, bad.

Day 40 - Killington

Out 9:00 until 2:00 with a quick KBL coffee break; overcast and windy with temps in the twenties; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; miles; skied with Sardelli and Bud's NJ posse.

Day 39 - Killington

No real progress today - still skiing like shit. Out from 9:00 till 2:30; warmer today - teens warming into the twenties; full on K-Cloud this morning, with a heavier overcast by the afternoon; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the brand new Blizzard Brahma's; another crappy Ski Bum result today, 28th overall - even finished behind the Women's B winner; the Blizzard Brahmas ski shorter than their 180cm length.