07-08 Ski Season Wrap Up
This was a year for recalibrating my expectations. I explored new terrain that gave me a new definition of "experts only." The run that best showcases that is Paradise at Mad River Glen. To say it kicked my butt is an understatement. My trip down that run was nothing more than a semi-controlled fall and slide.
Photo Shoot
My definition of "epic snow" was changed on the day that Jay, Andy, and I met up with Bernard for our photo shoot at Crystal. I've never skied truly bottomless snow before. Bernard opened my eyes to a lot of great runs at Crystal that I had never touched before. The crazy thing to me is that Bernard said it was a good day for him but definitely not his best snow day of the year. That blew me away. To have a photographer following me around in snow like that was unbelievable, but it was even better being able to share that with two great friends.
Chasing a Moving Target
What I've learned is that while I've come a long way, I have just opened the door to another level of skiing. It's like getting to the end of a level is Super Mario Bros and hearing "your princess is in another castle." I had become a fairly solid skier on the runs that I confined myself too, but once I stepped out of the comfort zone I had unknowingly set, I was fumbled around like a newborn fawn. It's learning to ski all over again. It's a new challenge. I love it. The best part for me is that the areas I'm now learning to ski are rarely traveled by other skiers. On a normal groomer, I'll be bobbing and weaving through hundreds of other skiers. Take a run down the double black "Exterminator" at Crystal and you'll be lucky if you see a handful of skiers on your trip down. It's a very different feeling.
La Nina
Crystal had 481" instead of their usual 350" and that was just by the end of the season. They continued to get snow after closing on April 13. Summit had a near record year with about 591". Their average is 435". La Nina did not disappoint! So far, the long range forecasts are showing a neutral to light La Nina year so we could have a second great season in 08-09!
Travel
There were three mini vacations this year. I started the season over Thanksgiving at Whistler. That was followed by a local vacation when Jay and Andy came to visit. A few weeks after that, I headed to Vermont to see both of the them and Lauren for skiing at Sugarbush, Sunapee, and historic Mad River Glen. We had originally hoped to get to Utah, but these three mini trips were a good substitute.
Hope on the Slopes
This year's Hope on the Slopes cancer fundraiser was a very interesting experience. I racked up a personal best 60,000 feet in one day and rode the same lift 50 straight times. I haven't decided if I'll do it again, but it was a fun diversion from the normal ski day.
Racing
I put my Summit at Snoqualmie season pass to good use by joining a race league at Alpental. It was a complete new experience for me, but I feel like I picked it up fairly quickly. I got my original time of 36 seconds whittled down under 27 seconds. It was a great excuse to get up there in the middle of the week.
More to Come
It's difficult to say this is the end of the season. Alpental is open at least one more weekend, and Crystal Mt may reopen in June. Blackcomb is still open and the backcountry season has just begun. I'll be getting my first taste of that on June 6 as I attempt to climb to 10,000 feet on Mt. Rainier to visit Camp Muir. From there, I'll be skiing back down the Muir snowfield to about 6000 feet. MikeDa will be leading me on that trip.
Stats
Since the 05-06 season, I have kept a record of every ski trip. I record the date, location, number of runs, and the total vertical skied that day. You might think I'm a geek (and I am), but I'm slowly finding out that this is a semi-common practice. I've included a few of the graphs at the bottom of this already long post. If you compare these numbers to other skiers around here, I'm still on the very low end. 30-40 days per year is average for people around here, but I'm satisfied. The current tally for vertical feet this season is 449,340, but that will increase slightly before the end I've set for the statistical ski season on Aug 30. These numbers attempt to do justice to the fantastic ski season that was 07-08!
