This weekend marked my official start to the ski patrol season. Unfortunately I had to cut my Christmas holiday visiting short but even more unfortunate was the weather forecast. Typically, I like to ride my snowboard in snow. I don’t mind if it’s cold or windy, but rain is a whole different story and that’s exactly what it was doing on Saturday. Even with rain and temperatures in the 40’s, the mountain stayed open.
Initially I wasn’t crazy about the idea of getting to the mountain at 8:30am to slide around on my board in the rain, but I figured since I had to be out I’d make the most of it. To my surprise the snow was really nice. Since it
was warm and rainy everything was really soft. The mountain was virtually empty so I decided to test the limits of my board and have some fun. Also, Scott was patrolling with me so he grabbed his tele gear to get some practice.
After a few runs I realized that the conditions were truly fantastic. I could practically set an edge just by looking at it. I was digging trenches like a prison chain-gang. A few times I managed to drag my toes and bury the nose but it didn’t matter because the snow was so soft and forgiving. The mountain was ours except for a few other patrollers, several employees and about a dozen paying customers. By the time my shift was over I was soaked from head to toe but I didn’t care. I was having so much fun I decided to keep riding for an additional three hours. I even spent some time helping a new snowboarder learn some technique.
We were back on the mountain Sunday morning and the conditions could not have been more different. It was a bluebird day and much colder. Everything had firmed up overnight but as the sun continued to rise it softened up the cookies and made for some ideal riding. By the time my shift was over I was thoroughly worked and ready to get off my board. The riding turned out to be much better than I expected. The forecast is calling for cold temperatures and additional snow over the next week so hopefully it will be a solid season on the slopes.
Initially I wasn’t crazy about the idea of getting to the mountain at 8:30am to slide around on my board in the rain, but I figured since I had to be out I’d make the most of it. To my surprise the snow was really nice. Since it
was warm and rainy everything was really soft. The mountain was virtually empty so I decided to test the limits of my board and have some fun. Also, Scott was patrolling with me so he grabbed his tele gear to get some practice.After a few runs I realized that the conditions were truly fantastic. I could practically set an edge just by looking at it. I was digging trenches like a prison chain-gang. A few times I managed to drag my toes and bury the nose but it didn’t matter because the snow was so soft and forgiving. The mountain was ours except for a few other patrollers, several employees and about a dozen paying customers. By the time my shift was over I was soaked from head to toe but I didn’t care. I was having so much fun I decided to keep riding for an additional three hours. I even spent some time helping a new snowboarder learn some technique.
We were back on the mountain Sunday morning and the conditions could not have been more different. It was a bluebird day and much colder. Everything had firmed up overnight but as the sun continued to rise it softened up the cookies and made for some ideal riding. By the time my shift was over I was thoroughly worked and ready to get off my board. The riding turned out to be much better than I expected. The forecast is calling for cold temperatures and additional snow over the next week so hopefully it will be a solid season on the slopes.
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