day 20. skiing. sunday river. 12/30.

day 20 already. not bad considering day one was 12/6. i had south ridge, spruce, tempest, barker, locke mountain, and white cap again. it was icy in places but they were also blowing snow like crazy so it was real nice in others. have i mentioned i love my job? this is just so much fun. i got 6 hours in. kasmira was going to come snowboarding but read the bus schedule wrong and got discouraged. after i got home i got a surprise phone call: i get to be a bouncer at the foggy goggle for new years eve. i get some more hours and get to enjoy new years eve at the bar, see the fireworks, etc. good times. maybe if it goes well i can do it more often.

day 19. skiing. sunday river. 12/29.

the first wind hold day. the winds were howling but at the beginning of the day only the white cap chair was on hold. i knew that wouldn't last. it was also bitter cold. i headed straight to the top of spruce figuring i should get the tops done first. sammy and the lift mechanic were watching the winds and seemed to be thinking a wind hold was imminent. barker went on wind hold when i was up there. locke mountain was still running so i headed there next but it was on hold by the time i got to the bottom. i headed straight to the tempest chair and even that was quite hairy. the chairs were blowing around like crazy and the top guy hadn't even requested a wind check which i did immediately. todd came right away and said to hit the slow button when the big gusts hit and to tell the bottom guys to load people in the middle. i also told them to try to get three on any chair they load. while todd was still there a family showed up and was pretty stressed out. the wind was blowing the surface snow away making it very icy and they seemed completely unprepared. i don't think they even had a map. their approximately 12 year-old daughter came into the shack freezing because she wasn't properly dressed for the cold: i think she had a shell on with a shirt underneath it. no layers. wind chills were probably 10-20 below. i gave her my coat and her shivering slowly subsided. todd sent the rest of the family down on the chair and gave her a snowmobile ride down. i coached the operator on watching the lift in those conditions and headed back to do south ridge. since just about everything else was down the lines were fierce. i didn't really care since i was getting paid and jon told me never to jump the line. when i finally got to the top it was a regular party in the shack with russell, zane and jon himself up there. i was going to man the controls but jon took them himself for russell's break. even on south ridge it was very hairy, especially since that's the lift all the little ones ride. the wind blew any snow whatsoever off the ramp and it was sheer ice. fun fun. as i headed in people were giving up and the line was dying down. you gotta love wind hold days. another short day for me. good thing i am working six.

day 18. skiing. sunday river. 12/28.

the groomers are miracle workers. after all that rain the skiing was still great. it was hard and fast but there was a thin layer of granular everywhere and you could really hit it. i did the outback again and really enjoyed it. i'm also really enjoying the camaraderie from my trips around the shacks with the lifties, the ski patrol, and the lift mechanics. everyone is getting to know me and seems to enjoy my little tour. it was very hectic at the top of the chondola but i guess that's just the way it is. todd sent me back out to jordan to cover the drive at thirteen. it was a bit of a pain because i had to bring my winter boots over in a backpack. bottom breaks are an hour but thirteen is an easy chair. i took the long ride across kansas to lights out around to escapade down broadway and in. my legs are getting whipped into shape fast.

day 17. skiing. sunday river. 12/27.

pouring rain. i did the outback and got completely drenched. the north peak chair was running today so i did five lifts today. i was so wet i was more than ready to head home.

day 16. skiing. sunday river. 12/26.

christmas eve and christmas were a long couple of days. i had the outback today, which is certainly a lot easier now that sensations is always open and aludra from sirius to get you to northern lights. i did aurora and jordan and then headed up to do three. the north peak chair had crapped out on its first day of operation so i headed up to do the top of the chondola for the first time. its kind of crazy up there because you've got chairs and cabins unloading simultaneosly, there's blindspots, and the controls and the phone aren't in the same place or the best place to sit. at least i had someone to help me on my first day. as vacation week was truly underway, it was quite busy. however, after that, i was done for the day. short day. kasmira came up to ski with me, but really, we would normally never ski on a busy saturday. i wanted to head to jordan but she wanted to stick around south ridge and barker and try the rails in whoville. there were a lot of people, it was getting scraped off, and the light was flat. after skiing the chondola and the south ridge chair, we took a couple of runs down the lazy river and called it a day.

day 15. skiing. sunday river. 12/24.

christmas eve. an incrediby mild and beautiful day. the snow was just about perfect. they told me i was tsbr right off the bat today. pretty much the same route today except i took south ridge to get to barker and headed straight to white cap after barker because i could take one less lift ride that way. i was done at noon. it was almost a little frustrating because the skiing was so good and i have to stop after taking one run every time. i'm sure as the season wears on i'll feel more comfortable sneaking in a few fun runs. anyway, i called kasmira and told her to jump on the explorer and come down. she did and we had a wonderful but brief time skiing in the soft snow and the sun. she is simply such an incredible skier. her form is so perfect. we were taking the chondola first but then we switched to just riding south ridge because she was trying the rails in whoville. its obvious the mountain is covered with kids from her school who are just always there. i think she might have better luck learning to do tricks on her snowboard than on her skis. anyway, we had a long drive to the butler christmas eve party so we headed out around two. it was a great day and obviously a clear indicator of what a great season it is going to be.

day 14. skiing. sunday river. 12/23.

i was scheduled all week as a spare and jeremy was doing the whole mountain by himself. there are less lifts on weekdays but he was still having some trouble getting it all done. i started the day checking tickets on the chondola. at around ten kyle came and told me they needed me to do tsbr. jeremy had been helping on south ridge and was just getting started, too, so there was no way he could do it himself. i got barker, spruce and white cap today. south ridge went down for a while so i took the chondola up and skied down to barker. i headed up the lift and kenny was up there and i gave him his break. i really like the barker shack: comfortable, nice view and easy lift (hardly any stops). then i headed down ecstacy and cascades to the top of the tempest lift. i realized that after that break i wouldn't be able to get straight to the white heat lift from there so i headed up the locke mountain chair and gave benny his break. from there it was back down ecstacy and cascades to snowbound and lower obsession to the lift. on the ride up it was cool to watch the groomers ripping up the mountains of snow they had made on white heat. the cat at the headwall actuyally gets tethered to a pulley because it is so steep. and they had made a lot of snow. wayne gurney was at the top and he is kind of an odd bird. not mush going on up there. i had never worked that shack before but obviously its all experts up there and there were no stops. i was alittle nervous because i was going to have to take obsession which is a black diamond down and wasn't sure if my legs and confidence were up for it but it was actually fantastic. for my 4th day on skis i felt really good. then heat's off to cascades down to barker and easy street and back to the hub in south ridge. the guy loading cabins on the chondola said his back was bothering him so i did that for the rest of the day. i have never done that before and it is a very fast-paced and active position.