Zaskoda

After hitting Echo and playing on pure park terrain on Monday, I wanted to take some nice long runs. So, I went up to Keystone for the day. The conditions were suck. There was slush at the base and hard packed, nearly ice on much of the runs. I still had a lot of fun. I took a few of the jumps in the incubator park. Previously, I had trouble clearing the tops and kept knuckling them. This time around, I managed to completely clear them.

I also took a dive off into what I expected to be a tree run. After a few turns, it dumped out into a narrow run under a lift. The run was nothing but deeply carved moguls. I was able to do a fair job of riding through all but one small part. The steepest section gave me some trouble. Near the end, there was a pretty good lip that I caught some air off of. I went for the front side grab, but couldn’t get to it in time. So close!

The gondola was closed, so I stuck to the quad most of the time. A couple of kids sparked a one hitter on the lift and didn’t even bother to offer me any. So rude. Anyway, they told me that this is the last weekend for Keystone. It’s really sad, there’s still a ton of snow on the ground. We were talking about how hard it’s going to be for mountain biking season because the snow will take so long to melt this year.

55 days left…

56 Days in 07/08

I went up to the “terrain park with a lift” that is Echo Mountain Park today. I was treated to about 5 inches of fresh snow. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Echo with fresh snow on the ground. To make things even better, no one was there! There couldn’t have been 20 cars in the parking lot and it seemed like less than a dozen other people on the mountain. After a warm up run, I knew it was going to be a good day.

The landings were nice and soft, so I got brave. I took bigger and steeper jumps – ones I’d never had the guts to hit before. I crashed a few times while I was trying to adjust my center. By the end of the day, I was landing every jump I took – most of them very clean and smooth. On my last full run, I went for the rotation and landed switch fairly clean. It was my most profound 180 thus far. I was a little sketchy, but I stayed up and never so much as touched the snow with my hands.

I forgot the camera, so I tried to snap a quick shot on my phone on the drive up. I went up before the plows ran, so it was an adventure getting there. A few areas had fog sitting in the forest. I wish I’d had my camera as I’ve never seen fog and snow before…

56 days left…

56 Days in 07/08

Today was the last day for Cynthia, Roger, and Erin. The day started off with about 5 inches of freshies on the ground. The first half of the day was bright and sunny. Then another storm moved over and continued to dump inches of snow. We couldn’t have asked for a better riding day.

I was really impressed with how well Erin picked up snowboarding. She was cleanly carving down blues on her third day after having been beaten to death by hard pack on the previous two days. It was as if the universe was testing her and finally rewarded her resolve with a day of near perfect conditions.

We spent some time playing in one of the little parks. The fresh powder made the approaches slower and more difficult, but the landings where much softer and easier. Today’s picture is a still frame from one of the videos. It’s hard to see my brown and black clothing in front of the trees. I’m starting to grab the board a little in my jumps now. In this particular shot, it was more like a slap. However, earlier in the day, I got a good grip on the board.

I’ve also spent some time working on some rotations. I can do little 180s on flat surface or small kickers. I tried a 180 off of one of the park jumps, but didn’t get a clean landing. Cynthia started doing some jumping and spinning herself. I better watch out, she’s going to be catching up with me soon.

To finish off the trip, I took everyone to my favorite Pho place around the corner. We talked of our adventures, debated world politics, sipped hot tea, and enjoyed some wonderful soup. Then it was time to head home and get everything ready for the early flight home.

It was a great three days… I’ll miss waking up to Roger in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It was wonderful having the crew up from Dallas.

57 days left…

56 Days in 07/08

Today was the answer to life, the universe, and everything – day 42. It was a slow start this morning, but we worked our way out to A-Basin for some morning turns. After some warm ups on the front side, I took Roger and Cynthia to the Montezuma Bowl. The ridge was windy and there was lots of snow blasting us in the face. Once we dropped a couple of hundred feet down the bowl, the wind was gone and the run was awesome.

When the lifts started to shut down, we went down to the Dam Brewery for a snack and some regrouping. Refueled, we headed up to Keystone for some night riding. On the way down, we had to stop in what I think must be the tiniest park on earth. It consists of two tiny boxes and two tiny rails sitting right on the ground with a little baby kicker on the end.

Of course, when we finally decided to head home for the night, the snow set it. We had trouble seeing the road on the way home. We’re hoping it keeps up all night so we can have some freshies on the ground tomorrow morning.

The attached photo was just about the only shot that even came remotely close to showing some of the views we were treated to on the way home. With all the random storms passing over head, we had some remarkable lighting off in different directions creating some breathtaking views. We tried photos and video, but nothing could capture the amazing scenes.

58 days left

56 Days in 07/08

Cyn, Roger, and Erin flew up from Dallas last night and tonight we’re hanging out in a condo at some 5-star lodge slopeside at Breckenridge. It’s a fairly snazzy place, especially for the money. The kitchen is fully equipped with modern appliances and there’s a big LCD screen hanging in the living room… We’re about to wander down to one of the many hot tubs and soak off the day.

Cyn and Roger are experienced riders, but this is Erin’s first trip. She took a lot of hard spills, but managed to carve a blue before the end of her first day. She’s definitely got something to brag to her boyfriend about tonight on the phone.

The weather was a tad warm today and the conditions themselves are fairly mooshy. The upside is softer falls, but the downsides include slower conditions and random patches of ice in the shady spots. We did get some fresh snow fall today, but not enough to make a difference. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder, so here’s hoping we get a little bit of fresh snow tonight.

59 days left

56 Days in 07/08

Earlier in the week, Joe offered me an opportunity to try out the “Ski Train” that runs from Denver to Winter Park. This morning I drug myself out of bed after a mere 4 hours of sleep and managed to slither down to the train station. I ate a breakfast burrito, juice, and slammed a cup of coffee. I was lucky enough to have two seats to myself. Even after the coffee soaked in, I stretched out and fell straight to sleep. Yes, I was that tired.

The train ride was really wonderful. The times I woke up and looked outside, I was met with breath taking panoramic views all scrolling by. The train was smooth enough that it seemed like we were moving along slowly, but we got there quickly enough. Every once in a while the train would enter a tunnel and the world outside would go black. Those moments seemed so peaceful – especially when you’re as sleepy as I was! Eventually, we pulled into Winter Park and unloaded.

Old Marry Jane was not in her finest today. We found some slightly deteriorated powder stashes back in the bowl, but most of the runs were packed snow conditions. It’s starting to feel a lot more like spring (because it is), so at least the packed snow has a certain “give” to it. While it’s somewhat soft, it’s also a tad slower. Overall, we had fun conditions – but nothing to write a blog about… Oh wait.. oops…

So we play all day and have a blast. On our last run of the day, I almost get tagged by a girl’s snowboard as she’s flipping over and strapping in. One comment lead to another. I think it went something along the lines of:

– her: “sorry”
– me: “it’s all good, at least you didn’t hit me”
– her: “well, I was trying to and missed, you’re too fast!”
– me: “what?! well bring it on then! I triple dog dare you!”
– her: “watch out…”

At least, that’s the best I can remember… It went something like that, and then she slid by and tried to blow some snow on me. Game on! I took off through the trees and down a drop to cut into the trail she was headed down. I cut her off, went down the trail a little, and shot up into the woods on the high side. From there, I was able to send a couple of snowballs her way before racing down the trail in front of her.

I thought I’d lost her and was waiting on Joe and Christina. My new nemesis was right behind them, snowball in hand and on a mission for a powder spray. We chased each other down the mountain for a while. I finally scooped up a snowball behind me, went for the hook shot, and very irresponsibly shot off over the lip of a black run. I guess I was in “show off” mode because I rode significantly more aggressive and accurate than I had all day. As far as I could tell, she was no where to be found.

I scooped up one more snowball and stalked around near the base where the runs converged, but she never came. When Joe and Christina showed up, I decided to head the rest of the way down with them. For some reason, I didn’t drop my snowball.

Sure enough, not 5 minutes later while conversing at the base, she comes sliding up beside us with a snowball. Good thing I was still packing. I tried to dodge after my throw, but she was on target and we managed to nail each other. Laughing and giggling, we introduced ourselves and had a good hug. After some conversation, I found out that she was late getting down because she’d been hiding behind a pole waiting for me to catch up!

I’ll never forget day 40. A special thanks to Becca for the hook up!

60 days left…

56 Days in 07/08

I went out to Breckenridge on Saturday (yesterday). I rode with Becky, Jason, and Jayne. We had some good snow fall the night before – around 16 inches I was told. Most of the snow was already tracked down; but, it was still soft enough that falling didn’t hurt. The weather was nice and it was good to get a full day in. I’m still building back up from being sick. The highlight of the day was having a squirrel dart across the run in front of me.

Today I went up to Echo Mountain. I rode solo. I was really nervous most of the day. By the time I was relaxed and confident, I was getting tired. I was happy to see all the brand new Echo Mountain road signs. The little park finally got big enough to get their signage. I really like Echo, it has a fantastic vibe.

56 Days in 07/08

So I got sick. Two weeks of no turns. It’s just not right. Finally, last Sunday, I made it out with Velzy. We went up to ABasin for an easy going day. The conditions were hard pack but the weather was great. We slipped on over to the back side and played around in the new Montezuma Bowl area. It’s a really fun area and I’m glad they’re finally servicing it with a lift.

The highlight of the day was a run down the front I’ve never taken. It was a blue run but it was also a bit of a trail crossing. There was an uphill ahead so we were bombing the run trying to get enough speed. Something about the terrain or the lighting was deceiving. Suddenly, the ground sort of dropped out from under me and I felt weightless. It was a rush, but terribly unexpected! Velzy was right behind me, didn’t “see” it either, and hit the same spot at a relatively high speed. We went on about that spot most of the drive home. Good fun!

I got a nice shot of velzy at 13k feet. I thought it was going to be the blog photo until we spotted this modified car on the drive home. Talk about a neat ride! We were legally supposed to turn in front of him, but we waved him on so we could get a snapshot of his rig. Very cool ride.

As a side note… it’s now the middle of March and I’m no where near 100 days. Barring a huge change in my life, I’m obviously not going to make it. Still, I’m going to carry on and see how far I can take this.

63 days left…

56 Days in 07/08

I’m writing this post while sick. I think I pushed myself a little too hard. Day 35 was pretty tough on me. The following day (Sunday) I tried to recover. Near the end of the day, I noticed my throat was a tad sore. Hoping for the best, I still joined my coworkers for a Monday on Copper Mountain. I have to admit, the conditions were near epic. I would have hated myself for having missed it. We had 10+ inches of fresh snow and it snowed most of the day. The front of the mountain was fairly tracked out; but the back bowls were still amazing.

I felt the burn after the first run of the day. I knew I wasn’t up to par before we even started riding. Still, we took several runs down the front before heading to the back. Kris and Jason were eager to hike up over the ridge so Travis and I followed. As Travis filmed Kris and Jason dropping into the back bowl, I laid face first on the snow gasping for my life.

We broke for lunch and I had trouble getting warmed back up. I used the blow driers in the bathroom to help warm up. After some food and coffee, I was able to head out with Travis for one more run.

Once I got home, I squeezed in a hot bath and went straight to bed. I headed to work the next morning (yesterday) and tried my best to be productive. I didn’t feel all that bad and hoped the worst was behind me. This morning, I was hurting. I had a fever off and on all night. My eyes ached. My nose and throat felt raw and inflamed. I couldn’t stand for very long without getting light headed. I didn’t make it into the office today.

I’m feeling much better this evening – I hope I feel even better tomorrow morning. My 36th day was hard earned and I’m still paying. Still, it marks a very special base goal!!! I have officially doubled the total number of days I’ve gone snowboarding. My next goal is to hit 100 days total. My ultimate goal, as always, is 100 days this season. But right now, my goal is to get over being sick.

64 days left…

56 Days in 07/08

I signed up for a snow trip drawing last time I was over at Lodos Bar and Grill. It was only after I dropped my name in the little box that I noticed it was a middle of the week trip and that you had to be present to win. I thought for sure it was all over. Early this week I got an email. Turns out, there were a few slots left on the bus. Woo hoo! I won… sorta. That still left the problem of it being a Wednesday. But, then I managed to get the required time off. Game on!

The prize was for me and a guest. My friend Sui was able to come with me. This worked out great, as I needed a lift to Lodos! Once we got there, we were greated by all kinds of awesome shwag. The event was sponsored by Sweet Leaf Tea, so there was much tea on hand. It’s a great product. It’s made from sugar cane, not corn syrup. It also proudly boasts an “organic” label on the side. Major kudos there. Best of all, it tastes damn good.

We had some other nifty items including discounts for lift tickets, cans of Red Bull, a huge Lodos chocolate brownie (and it was awesome!), a Lodos trucker hat, and Tuaca branded cap and shirt. Later in the day they handed out some Tuaca branded lip gloss – after I volunteered about 30 minutes to untangle the rat’s nest that the attached strings had become (boring story, really).

Beth (a snowboarder from Lodo’s) and Diana (a skier from Sweet Leaf) were awesome hosts for our trip. I also can’t express just how awesome our bus driver was. A pickup truck flipped in front of us, but our driver was able to maneuver around it swiftly and safely. There were plenty of folks stopping to give aid and that big bus had no business stopping there on the pass. He was so rock’n that we all pitched in for an extra tip at the end of the day.

Sui and I ran all over Winter Park. We played a bit in the park. We made our way back to Mary Jane and then to Parson’s bowl. I’ve tried to ride the bowl every single time I’ve been to Winter Park – and I finally got a chance. The tree runs back there are primo. We also got in some mogul runs. It was a full day. The conditions weren’t the best, with hard packed snow in most places. However, the weather was wonderful – we couldn’t have asked for better.

The ride home was pretty wild. What do you expect from a bunch of skiers and snowboarders who actually have a Wednesday off. At the end of the day, Beth and Diana hooked us up with some more of that delicious Sweet Leaf Tea, which I’ve been sharing at the office. Thanks again ladies, my coworkers are getting hooked. All in all, day 34 was a much welcomed surprise!

66 days left…

56 Days in 07/08