Today was a powder day. Try not to fall out of your chair. We all know that fresh pow has been about as scarce as a cool glass of water on the surface of the sun lately. At least in Utah. This was perhaps a ‘surprise pow dump,’ since the forecasters didn’t foresee nearly the amount of snow that actually fell.
The morning's view gets the treatment.
I was in the process of roping in one Jason to ski when another Jason texted with the always brilliant idea of skiing. Thus, I headed out with the Jasons – Borro and Dorais. We headed to Short Swing, where the coverage was good, the rocks absent, and the turns decent. A little crust beneath the new snow caught us by surprise after hearing that 15 inches had fallen in relatively recent hours. It was just a touch less than that where we chanced to roam, but no matter.
15 inches? I'll take sum o dat! J-Bo dips his toes into the goods. A bit shy of 15, but soft nonetheless.
Something far worse was on my mind on the first uphill lap on the skin track. I couldn’t keep up. I felt weary. I dropped far behind both Jasons. Near the top, all energy seemed to leave me. With strained breath I found myself stopping frequently. Uh oh. Having been sick recently, I realized I’d misjudged my apparent returned health. I figured I’d catch the guys up top, make a joke about them having had enough time to build an igloo while waiting for me, and ask for the keys (we’d carpooled), then drive home. I’d collect the fellas later when they’d had enough.
Jason Dorais doing what he does - moving quickly.
Fortunately, I didn’t voice these thoughts at the time. Reaching the bottom of Short Swing, I felt a bit of energy return. Mad pow disease is a known energizer. Push on, try to keep it together. Midway up lap two, the unthinkable happened. I actually started to feel a lot better. By lap three, I actually felt good, compared to the first lap, anyway. Still not 100%, but managed to keep it together until we pulled the plug on the powder madness after about 6,000 feet.
A known energizer, that powder. A OK recharging. Photo by Borro.
Kind of grey out there today. It didn’t matter one bit. Nice to get back on the planks with some pals after a brief absence. Looking through the days’ photos, I’m reminded just how fun of a day it was. Even if it was easy, safe, low angle, powder skiing.
For the next three photos, we all took turns trying to incorporate the same tree for our own interpretations of ‘art shots.’ I think they turned out interestingly – all 3 are quite different. (Feel free to vote if that’s your thing!)
Tree shot #1. JD as seen by A OK.
Tree shot #2. JD as seen by J-Bo.
Tree shot #3. A OK as seen by JD.
A OK gets 'shot' by J-Bo.
J-Bo heads down low. Nursery rhymes aren't this good.
Thought this image was great. It's reminiscent of a screen grab from a grainy home movie. Who needs a tree to make it into an art shot? JD schusses while J-Bo captures the scene as an artist might.
J-Bo captures A OK in motion, making for a bit more artistry. Kind of a natural black and white feel...
And one more in color. J-Bo rips it down the hill. Doesn't the Man in Black look good in blue?
I vote 3 then 2 then 1. Sorry. But I’m not an artsy guy. Glad some snow finally fell! My stinkin mom (lives in Park City) called me to gloat and ask when I was coming out.
Pondsy – I won’t take the voting personally. Just as long as you don’t take our fine powder layer (that you’re not skiing) personally.
I like the picture of AOK in motion, in almost black and white. You look like a speeding bullet.
Wendy – Funny that. Borro thought he missed the shot. I’d say, ‘nope, got the shot all right!’