New Years celebrating

I rang in the New Year in style in smalltown skitown WV near our resort with a bunch of ski patrol friends. We hit up two different places and I reveled at the genuine people that live up there. I know several, but met a lot more. Its nice to have people truly care about how you’re doing, what you’re doing, and REMEMBER your name after a first meeting. So often anymore people just ask these questions and the information goes in one ear and out the other. It was really nice to interact with people who really cared and stayed present in the moment and conversation. I listened to a great band, danced, drank a little, and laughed and conversed a lot with great friends. Perfect way to ring in the New Year.

New Year’s morning started slow. While I wasn't drunk the night before and thus didn't have to fight a hangover, I still got way less sleep than I'd hoped and woke up freezing for some reason. I trudged grumpily along (though not so grumpily because, hey, who could possibly hate going to ski for the day?) for the first hour and a half or so. Then we made our first run and the comedy routine began.

Cruised down some closed runs to gain access to the now packed powder from two days before. We have to ski past snow guns and the snow had really built up in front of them. The shit is usually sticky so we really brace ourselves for it in a tele-stance or power snow plow or just sitting way back on our skis. Despite this working in days prior, Robb's attempt at his tele-stance did nothing. He was going at a really good clip and got stopped DEAD in his tracks, thrown forward in his bindings and face planted very soundly into the wet mush. I almost peed myself laughing.

At the lift at the bottom our group of three became four and Robb grabbed bamboo and a sign to carry up with us on the quad, but then decided he would ski around and ahead of the lift chair to retrieve a glove someone had dropped. So the three of us wait until he's picking it up, then skate in and sit on the chair leaving a seat for him. Well, from where he grabbed the glove he was a good 6-8 feet from where we sat on the chair as it came around. He turned and positioned waiting to have the chair hit and pick him up as we carried forward. His weight hitting the chair caused it to swing back then forward in an odd, forceful way which ended up ejecting me forward out of it (all our feet are still on the ground, this chair has a long runway to get up and off). So with a little yip I'm ejected out and onto the ground tangled in everyone's skis and board as I was in one of the middle seats. This causes Robb and the other skier to get ejected out and the boarder clings and stays on despite scraping his board over my body heaped on the ground. The lifties stopped the chair just after it passed over me. I sat up to see an absolute MESS of a heap of patrollers, skis, poles, bamboo, and signs. We all lost it laughing. It took a little doing to extract ourselves from the royal heap of equipment and bodies. 

We laughed all the way to the top where a near repeat occurred. I hopped of right quick not wanting to deal with anything crazy again. The boarder did, too. I guess Robb with the boo didn't get off and the other skier had to shove him and then jump off, but mid jump the chair snagged his aid pack, effectively booting him forward and onto his face. I nearly peed myself.

We managed to get through the rest of the day without major incident. Skied a lot of packed powder that really turned into some heavy mashed potato nonsense that was really difficult to ski. My. Legs. Are. Beat. But I'm seriously loving it. I really forgot what it was like to get such a thorough workout and be THIS active all the time. Its absolutely thrilling and I really don't know WHAT I'm going to do when the snow is gone. I'm a little cracked out on all this exercise. I absolutely love it.

I’m looking forward to the season ahead. Here’s to hoping for more snow, lots of skiing, and fun times with awesome people!