continuing

in report mode...

surprised to wake up to a few inches of dry enough snow,
didn't think skiing would be in the mix today
thought that warm layer would be in place
quickly rallied the boy and drove up under a quiet sky
unlike yesterday, no crowd on the gravel or the white

nice soft snow again
it's tough to keep Oliver out there even when it's good
after an hour, he's asking how many more runs before we can go home
found an interesting tree run and some snacks in the pocket to eek out a few more runs
Oliver skied the big lift better than ever, and did the Drop In to get back to the car with little trouble
happy enough to call it an early day
having that pass is key to short bursts of guilt-free enjoyment

WT's new glade

pic by Julie
yesterday, w/ the famous Outlaw couple, there was good snow and a big crowd.
these folks on this lift missed a lot of time, and came down on the evac rope.

Wonder if this will ever be skiable?

wonder if I'll be able to get the Suby close enough?

something

Always worth a paddle out. After a few days of forced recovery and rainy holidays, something was needed to reverse the calories in:calories out ratio. The mtn biking couldn't have been any good, and the 20+ hours of fog we had sucked most of the snow up into the lower atmosphere and destroyed the fledgling XC base. That fog also kept it too warm for the snow guns to work overnight, and kept the boilerplate away. yin yang

Couldn't rally the fam, so a solo to Whitetail sufficed. A fresh batch of tunes arrived from the north. Pizza boxed bootlegs, mellowing to a Led Zepp Cap. Centre '77 on the drive.

No lines, good soft snow, everything open. Even the new 1/2 pipe was open and pretty fun.

Always trying to get something out of everything, working on stretching out the transitions, to not be in such a hurry to make that next turn. Don't slam it, feel the nothing in between for a bit longer. Take a breath. Visualize what OMW and Buchness look like, both arms punching down the hill, ride the back pinky toe. Some clean runs down Bold and the Drop, some cleanliness in baby soft bumps, back to the 1/2-pipe for some carves, another try of the big gap.

It got warm after noon, started sweating out some white-chocolate bacon. Warm soft = Sticky. Work it harder. Get something out of everything. The pipeline and slope at White Grass are often sticky and rarely perfect. Ski the crap and ski it straight. Something.

a good start

feels odd
the day before the big day
counting several xc jaunts, have put planks to snow on 7 of the last 8 days
I'm probably forgetting to do something important, but skiing keeps me from remembering what that was

thanks Ullr

The best two days of Pennsylvania skiing I've ever had

lots of nice playgrounds

fun skiing w/ mtn bikers yesterday at Liberty, which had good snow deep into the weekend.
Sat. was Oliver's first day of powdah skiing at Whitetail. Can't say he's a huge fan of the deep, though Jody and Kim somehow twisted his arm enough to get him to try a few more runs before giving it up.

Where were the crowds??

Normally, this sign is spelled C-L-O-S-E-D, but Liberty decided to open a few runs with natural snow only, no grooming. I give 'em a ton of credit for that. You don't get that around here much, and it made for some fun terrain despite a few rock bites.

opening day

a low-key opening day
cold dry snow
good surface early

running home after the first day as a 2nd-grader

winter rules

the ratio of ride time : post-ride time has been shifting over the past few rides