day 93. skiing. sunday river. 3/28.

i was throwing a party that night and one of the djs mike said was out snowboarding so i headed up to take a few runs with him. i was quickly taught about lot 10 which is a little dirt parking lot of dreammaker which is quite the party spot. my friend ben had mentioned it to me once last year but this is the first time i experienced it. its quite the little "underground" event and most of mike's friends were telemarkers. it was cool. conditions were incredible loose granular. really sweet. i would have loved to stay longer but nic was on his way up and i wanted to save something for the dance floor. i love to dance, but i'm very picky about what i dance to, so i had to bring my own djs up to play...

day 92. skiing. sunday river. 3/27.

today was the first time in a while it was a kasmira only day. i worked the top shack on south ridge and then the door at the goggle so i had no time for skiing. kasmira took a few runs on south ridge and then met up with ken and cameron. cameron had a friend on a snowboard, too. first ken turned up in the goggle and then the snowboarder friend called it quits, too. kasmira and cameron continued to shred the night away. it actually stays light quite late these days. they finally quit around 7:30. i could tell kasmira had a blast.

day 91. skiing. sunday river. 3/26.

i had the day off and kasmira had no school. we took her friend shelby skiing. the temps had dropped dramatically and the skiing was fast and icy. it felt really good to me. shelby is basically a green skier. i was hoping to track down my old friend regis who was on the mountain as the event coordinator for red bull at the dumont cup. kasmira pointed out, however, that shelby isn't supposed to leave south ridge without an adult. we took a chondola run then went over to barker and took the lazy river. then we took her over for her first trip to jordan. we got her on lollapalooza and she was loving it. kasmira was happy she was able to take her there for the first time. we stayed there for a while and then headed back across kansas. when we got back to south ridge they decided to stay there so i could go find regis. i went up barker and over to the stage to see if i could find him but he wound up calling me from out on the hill. i met him at the bottom of barker then we cut back to south ridge to find kasmira and shelby. they had gone in so we took one south ridge run and met them. we took one chondola ride then did a few more south ridge runs. it was really fun.

day 90. skiing. sunday river. 3/24.

back to work. it had continued to rain overnight but was turning to a wet snow when i arrived. i took a chondola cabin up first and was stunned on the ride up to see that there was actually quite a bit of fresh snow. the winds were also picking up. after covering the break there i took escapade to the top of south ridge which was probably one of the best runs i had taken all year: about 4" of unbroken powder all the way down. what a surprise. i did the south ridge break and the spruce break and headed out towards the outback. asi headed across sirius i saw huge windblown drifts on the top of votex. crazy. by the time i made it to northern lights it was very chopped up with some really good sized bumps of powder mixed with icy spots underneath. it was kind of a challenge. i had to do a break on thirteen because it was running since jordan was down. then i did aurora which went on wind hold just as i was leaving. i took lights out to lower downdraft back to escapade which was still good but not as good as before. by the time i reach broadway there really wasn't even any fresh snow and it was mostly scratchy. after doing the barker top i came down ecstacy to cascades to get to the top of nine and at the beginning of the run it was mostly powder but as i went along more and more spots were windswept and icy so it became like waves of powder and ice. after nine, i headed down wildfire to roadrunner where it was mostly all ice. after eleven, i was done since white cap had never opened. assumption was actually really nice as i headed back to nine to cut back over. off of nine it turned out that lower cascades was sheer ice which for some perverse reason i really enjoyed skiing down. at least it was consistent. it was definitely the most variable day i had experienced all season and while the long season has at times left me a little tired and uninspired, today really was a fun day.

day 89. skiing. sugarloaf. 3/22.

conditions were awesome. soft and smooth. again, we started on whiffle tree and then headed over. timberlie was just incredible. kasmira gets bored with the slower lift so we skied all the way down but as we got down to the base the snow got a little heavy for my tastes. we took a lunch and i thought about switching to boarding, but it was starting to drizzle and we weren't sure how much longer we'd go. we went all the way back up to timberline but again the slo lift got on kasmira's nerves so we came down. we headed back to whiffle tree where i just really wished i was boarding, although it wasn't as heavy as it was on the lower superquad area. the rain eventually did pick up and we headed back to the fitness center/pool. that would be it for the skiing on this trip because it poured the next day.

day 88. skiing. sugarloaf. 3/21.

we headed up for our luxurious stay at the sugarloaf mountain hotel, which i got dirt cheap for being an employee. we started on whiffle tree and it was soft and nice. we headed up the superquad to timberline where it was a little crunchy underneath but it was actually snowing now and covering up the bad stuff. we didn't push it until 4 because we wanted to check into our room and check out the pool and fitness center. the room was awesome as was the fitness center. we then treated ourselves to an excellent fancy meal at the hotel restaurant which was also a steal because i'm an employee. it was really, really good.

day 87. skiing. sunday river. 3/20.

after riding for a few days my plan was to ski and get the outback done relatively quickly and then meet kasmira and head to jordan with her where even in the late afternoon the snow should still be very skiable. the first part of the plan went fine and the skiing was good. kasmira was supposed to meet me at the top of the chondola at the end of my shift but kasmira had a little equipment mishap that delayed her. she kept calling me and i really couldn't talk so when we finally met there was some tension in the air. then the clouds came in and it cooled off a little so she needed to get her jacket so we couldn't head straight to jordan. knowing escapde would be soft as hell we took lower downdraft to lower american express where we ran into huge moguls. not what i had in mind. anyway, we then shot up north peak and across the lateral chair to jordan. kasmira wound up using rental boots and skis which was kind of a bummer, but we took some nice lollapalloza runs before heading back. then it was time for me to report to the goggle and send kasmira home on the explorer.

day 86. snowboarding. sunday river. 3/19.

yet another warm beautiful day. again, i had the whole mountain to do. again, i did it on my board. took a slightly different route today hitting the chondola and six after jordan and then doubling back to aurora. then i doubled back to south ridge to get steve who was working a double so i didn't get him first thing. escapade was the first of the serious slop, but i stayed to the right in and out of the shade and it wasn't so bad. broadway was pretty sloppy too. after barker ecstacy wasn't so bad nor was cascades. i didn't have to do eleven so i avoided the lower white cap slop and went straight from jibe to ten. obsesion was quite fun and even down to the race track was still good especially along the shady side on the right. i tried to make it across the "barker pond" but a couple of people heading to the ift went in front of me causing me to veer right into the worst of it. yuch, picked my way across easy street and in. all in all, riding on the soft stuff is coming pretty well to me, especially after last year when i switched late and really struggled with it.

day 85, snowboarding. sunday river. 3/17.

st. patty's day. another beautiful warm day. i seriously laid low on my day off yesterday and today was the first day i did the whole mountain on my board. it was quite nice early while i did the outback and kansas was fast enough i had no problem making it on my board. as expected as the day wore on and i headed over towards white cap it got crazy warm and slushy. l felt pretty good on my board and just took it easy picking my way down the trails. i even made it all the way across easy street at the end of the day. i was pretty pleased at how well i felt at the end of the day. not like moday when i felt ready to drop...

day 84. skiing. sunday river. 3/15.

the ides of march. i was still really struggling for energy but being a weekday i had to do the whole shebang. two, eight, and over to fourteen. the skiing was actually pretty good as a little snow had fallen on the backside of the storm. then aurora and the chondola. barker had been down so i didn't have to do it so i headed all the way down roadrunner to eleven. i wanted to grab lunch at hungry harry's but despite what the sign said they were closed so after eleven i took moonstruck down to the moonstruck cafe and brought my lunch up nine. it was a much bigger lunch than i usually eat and really made me just wanna call it a day. i went up ten to do my last break but because of racing on cascades it wasn't my last run. all the way down obsession and back up nine and over. by the time i hit easy street it was all mush. i was completely spent by the time i reached the hub. its really getting to be fulltime snowboarding weather.

day 83. skiing. sunday river. 3/14.

the rain came in overnight. i again had the outback. i hit two first then rode a cabin up to the top of the chondola. i knew three and six might not need their breaks covered due to early closings so i headed to aurora next, then jordan. it was pretty miserable as visibility was terrible, i was getting hit with ice pellets, and the skiing was actually fast and frozen. i was also struggling with the time change. i was delighted to hear three and six were all set and took the long ice pellet-filled ride back across kansas to an early day.

day 82. skiing. sunday river. 3/13.

the nice weather hung on for one more day. i stayed out a little late the night before so i was exhausted. i think in general the long season is starting to wear me down a bit anyway. i've already got more days on snow in one season than i ever have before. i got the outback. i took the chondola up but headed right over to aurora. after aurora iheaded over to jordan. i blasted lollapalloza and took thirteen back over to three and six. then i hiked u to the chondola and skied down to south ridge. then it was up to the hub for a nap on the coach before the safety meeting and the night at the goggle.

day 81. skiing, snowboarding. sunday river. 3/11.

the beautiful weather continues. i had the day off and was out for first tracks. i took the chondola and headed down paradigm to head towards jordan. up aurora and over to jordan. i bombed an empty lollapallooza twice and then took excalibur. it was perfect soft corduroy. i took kansas back and headed up barker on my way to white cap. i discovered it wasn't quite as good over there so i headed back over to jordan. i killed it for a while longer over there and then came back to the hub and headed home for lunch because i was going to pick up kasmira after school to bring her back to the mountain. i switched to riding and she skied. we mostly hung around the chondola and south ridge and she took a few stabs at the park. i was a little skied out and tired for riding. it took me a few runs to start getting my groove which quickly led to me getting tired. kasmira of course skied around making it all look effortless.

day 80. snowboarding. sunday river. 3/10.

another beautiful day. what a stretch of weather. i spent a good part of the day waiting for the cable guy to upgrade us from just the basic local staions (and a bunch of stupid shopping channels) to the full digital line-up. he missed the 7-12 window by about 10 minutes so i got a free install. i kind of wanted to get to the mountain earlier, but in the end it gave me a chance to do some nice riding without getting too tired. i also re-charged the ipod and loaded it up with a new batch of mixes. i was so eager to get to the mountain when the cable guy left i didn't even want to wait till the next explorer but just as i went outside our neighbor chris saw me headed out and offered me a ride. i took a few chondola rides first. conditions were perfect: soft but not too soft. i cut over to barker and came down ecstasy to cascades to the race course. i was really starting to feel by far the most comfortable i have felt on my board this season. i had a cheeseburger and a beer on the barker deck. i realized i didn't have my phone and couldn't remember whether i had left it in the hub or maybe i had left my pocket unzipped and lost it. i took the lazy river back to broadway to the hub where i had indeed left my phone when i went down a layer. i had a voicemail and checked it and it was the people at the census wanting me to call back. they offered me a job starting next week, even though when i took the test they told me they'd be calling in early april for a mid-april start. i had to say no because there is no way i'm qutting sunday river. he told me he'd put me back on the list for a call in april and that he thought i would get a call because i was on the top of the list. if not, que sera, sera...no way i'm going to quit this early. it was nice to get the call regardless, especially since my job searches over the last few years have been so fruitless. anyway, i went back out to the chondola and headed up and finished out the day riding south ridge. just seems like everything is going my way these days...

day 79. snowboarding. sunday river. 3/9.

despite how beautiful it was yesterday and the fact i had ample time to ski or snowboard i took the day off to let my legs recover. plus i had a couple of beers on the goggle deck and relaxed. i was a "spare" again today and only wound up covering one break. i took a run to get there, too. i did quite a bit of stretching and felt much better. unfortunately, my ipod died pretty much right away, but other than that it was great afternoon of riding. the weather was again beautiful and i took a nice goggle break in the middle. i also quit "when i was ahead" and didn't push my legs to the point when they would push back tomorrow. speaking of which, i have the next two days off...

day 78. skiing. sunday river. 3/7.

my legs were exhausted from snowboarding and it had been colder the night before so figured i'd jump back on my skis. i got a ride again and this time did my phone calls and headed out early. this time i gave sam the early break at spruce and skied straight to jordan from there. no oz break so i headed down lollapallooza (which i never get to ski) and took thirteen back to the aurora chair. after benny's break i was headed to light's out when i took a "shortcut" to it by hitting part of vortex, which is a double black diamond. it had been bumped up the day before but riding up the lift i saw it was fresh groomed and the snow looked great so i did it. it was great and it was exciting for me how well i skied it. then i did the chondola, the quantum leap chair, and the north peak chair and was done. i took dreammaker down which was really soft, better for riding then skiing. when i checked in the hub they sent me out to check tickets at the chondola. later that night, my legs were so sore i could barely walk. i love snowboarding but it kills my legs.

day 77. snowboarding. skking. sunday river. 3/6.

after two days off snow i was ready to get back at it. the weather was turning spring-like so i was up for snow-boarding. i woke up early so i headed out to the explorer and on top of that someone picked me up and gave me a ride so i figured i'd take a run before i made my morning phone calls to all the shacks. as much as i've made every effort to be a "good boy" all season i guess that was a no-no somehow. i figured since i normally wouldn't even be there then what difference would it make (it never even crossed my mind frankly) but when i got back kelly told me that if i was ready to ride i was ready to work. my guess is it has something to do with others at work being envious/jealous of me being out while they are working. of course, after making the phone calls i go right out again anyway....the one run i did take was great, though i did: my traditional favorite escapade to broadway. after the phone calls i did the chondola first. then i took paradigm to aurora where i already found huge lines. i also had to bring some stuff to jen on the other side of thirteen so i headed across. turns out the line at jordan was much worse. after jordan i rode down kansas to cyclone to the oz lift, which needed a break because they were extending the hours. after the break at oz i took a quick walk up to the scenic vista just up the hill and into the woods and it was truly breath-taking. amazing view. rather than take kansas again i rode the lift down. it was interesting to realize that from up there you are actually looking down at the tops of all the other peaks. kyle was actually dropping someone off at the bottom of oz to cover the bottom break so i jumped on his snowmobile and he took me to the bottom of aurora. when i got up to see benny it rurned out kelly had been looking for me since i went out of order, even though i had called in from both shacks. after aurora i jumped on light's out and over to spruce where i covered sammy's break, my last of the day. kasmira, who had been skiing on barker, met me there at the end of the break and we headed down american express and cut over to escapade and broadway. after checking in with the hub i punched out and we took another. my legs were killing, and kasmira was under the weather so we called it a day. of course, i still had the safety meeting and my shift at the goggle ahead of me. the goggle was off the hook and i worked till afer midnight.

day 76. skiing. sunday river. 3/3.

the whole mountain again. it was a little cooler and overcast. the snow was packed down and fast, but obviously still completely edgeable. it was effortless skiing and for the first time since the storm my legs felt great. of course, on that kind of snow ou never have to turn unless the urge strikes you so you don't have to use much energy unless you want to. kasmira said she spent the afternoon skiing with the boys hitting rails and skiing in the woods.

day 75. skiing. sunday river. 3/2.

an absolutely beautiful day. sunny and warm. packed powder everywhere that got kind of slushy by late in the day. being a weekday i got to do the whole mountain. i was a little beat from sugarloaf and when the snow softened up it was a bit of work, but what a day. incredible. kasmira went with the school and i think she spent her time in the park. i looked for her at barker on the way through but she saw me headed across south ridge to the hub and followed me. only one more day for the bus from school.

day 74. skiing. sugarloaf. 3/1.

our first trip to sugarloaf of the year. holy snow batman. it was unbelieveable. it was also much lighter and fluffier than what we got at sunday river. we started on the whiffletree quad which was groomed up on the trails but powder was plentiful in the easy glades trails there. we also cut over to the lower part of king pine which was on wind hold and we were skiing powder over there all day. we then headed to the superquad. the fog was quite thick near the top and timberline was also on wind hold. coming down the tote road it didn't take long to get out of the fog. it was a little bumped up on the pitches but even where it was the bumps were soft and forgiving i was doing pretty well with them, keeping my skis pointed more downhill and less across the hill than i usually do in the bumps. lower tote road was just soft groomed heaven. kasmira kept cruising through the woods trail along the right side of the tote road. at one point kasmira wanted to ride the t-bar which i had no interest in and since i was up for resting anyway i let her ride it alone while i waited. to get there we took sluice which is a fairly steep blue but it was considerably bumped up. i really felt encouraged by how i did in the bumps. kasmira had a blast on the t-bar and was back in a flash. we tried to take a late lunch and were somewhat unimpressed to find the freaking food court closed for the day at 2:30. we finished the day on the whiffletree where we still got plenty of powder along lower king pine and kasmira continued to ski the woods. they had also just set up a small park there that day where kasmira was hitting the rails and jumps. the day also included a bizarre coincidence. the liftie at the bottom of the whiffletree looked down at where my pass was to point out to me that it was gone. he let me ride anyway but then i went in to get a replacement day pass so there wouldn't be any issues. its no big deal, because i would have been able to get a replacement the next day back at sunday rover, but later in the day i actually skied right across my own pass and found it. what are the odds?

day 73. skiing. sunday river. 2/28.

another good six inches or so had fallen and the snow was getting drier. i chose to ski and do the outback. around the bottom of oz i got stuck in a little bit of bumps, but other than that despite my still tired legs, everything went smoothly. i really admire people who can just attack the bumps but i just can't. my legs simply aren't quick enough. a rare treat for the day was covering a break at the top of oz, which usually isn't open long enough to require a break, and the amount of pure white snow up there was breath-taking.

day 72. snowboarding. sunday river. 2/27.

i was still sore from all the snow shoveling. wet snow had continued to fall so i decided to snowboard. randy chose the outback. the ride from south ridge to barker surprised me because rather than being thick and heavy the snow was all packed down and firm. even hard to get an edge in. after barker i took ecstacy which was actualy very nice to cascades to the top of nine. from there i took wildfire to roadrunner to eleven. assumption to the white heat chair was good, too. my legs were already getting tired, though. as i rode the white heat chair there was an incredible snow squall. the amount of snow at the top was incredible. foolishly, i tried to hike from the to the top of locke but the snow was so deep on bim's whim it was never going to happen. i went down the bottom part of bim's instead and hit some powder and bumps. by the time i got to the bottom of locke my legs were so tired i made the decision to leave my board and ride down when wayne' break ended. i also hate that top ramp on a board. then i took easy street back to get steve at the top of south ridge and i was done. skiing probably would have been a better choice. obviously, i'm glad we got snow but snow this wet is challenging.