BERT AND THONNIE

Monday, March 16, 2009 Yesterday it snowed at our house. Big fat snow flakes until the lawn was once again completely covered in white. That got me to thinking that maybe, just maybe ski conditions might be good up on nearby Mt Baker. And besides, last weeks black eye from snowboard lessons with Dave is nearly healed, so this morning after coffee I headed up the hill, where I found the parking lot less then half full and snow falling hard. After gearing up and purchasing my ticket, I began to worry that maybe there is too much snow falling, visibility would suck and I had made a mistake. That concern was quickly forgotten. From the top of Chair One, I headed directly off toward Chair 8. With my board floating through a foot of untracked powder, I made gentle carving turns until I got to the steep then I raced to get in line for Chair 8. Visibility at the top was a little tuff, but doable and I enjoyed run after run through the deep soft conditions. Snow fell hard most of the day, gusty wind kept the snow tracks full and each run felt like the “first man on the mountain”. Temperatures were ideal for powder snow; however, staying warm while riding back up was a bit of a challenge. My chair mate on one ride up  was a grey beard who told me he has been boarding for three years but because of his surfing background he was really is “in his element.” “Year one” he told me “I broke my shoulder, year two I broke my arm.” “This year” he continued “I knocked out my two front teeth”! Jeeze, I got a black eye once, I mumbled under my breath. As we got off the chair he shouted “follow me! I got a great route through some trees”. He went left and I…… well, I didn't follow him. Off on my own, I couldn't help but notice that the trail groomers must have had a tough go in the morning as most of the runs were narrow tracks and the machines had piled snow off to each side in a long furrow, or jump depending on your outlook. Racing down slope I would hit the furrow, get some air, (keep in mind I am attempting to learn how to jump) land in deep powder, bank a sharp turn and over the furrow the other direction back out on to the track. By mid day this fun was over because the furrow was lost in new and wind blown snow. Not to worry; however, the half pipe  saw a lot of me on this fine day. On one, very memorable run, I dropped into the pipe and hit the far side lip perfectly getting my best “jump” so far. Oh my Gawd did that give me a rush. Snow just kept piling up and it was still coming down hard at the end of the day when I headed for home. As soon as I arrived, I phoned my instructor (son-in-law), Dave, just to let him know it was an absolutely astounding day on the mountain. An hour later I received a text from Jonathan, inviting me to a few days riding in Tahoe. That is a big explanation point to a great day.