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Anonymous
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For once I was up early enough for first tracks, almost. As I pulled into the lot they started loading Superstar, 20 minutes early. Wish I had known that. I woulda been among the few and the proud had it not been for a snow plow driver who decided to pull out in front of my rapidly approaching automobile. Big dent, smashed hub cap, two totalled mailboxes. Coulda been a lot worse. Can you guess what the first thought that went through my head was when I saw him pull out? You guessed it: "Oh no, I wont make first chair!". No life flashing before my eyes, just images of a bunch of powder pigs oinking in the trough without me. Thankfully that, wasnt the case and I was on my way soon after determining that this oaf would not be producing any documents. Waiting for the cops was out of the question... so my ailing auto has some new character. <BR> <BR>Anyway. The information you all need and crave: <BR>Guess what? It snowed a bit in Vermont! Maybe Two, two and a half feet... really this storm was a bust if you ask me. But I guess I'll settle. 30000 verts of powder turns isnt so bad. I guess. That crust that was so omnipresent just days ago was nowhere to be seen. Word is it was banished to some beach in Florida. So no more creme brule, just creamy windsculpted vanilla, intermixed with a fluffier variety of whipped cream. <BR> <BR>I was on my day old Rossi Axioms. Describing just how these things ski in conditions like this is difficult. It was a bit like driving an turbo jet powered eighteen wheeler through some Lilliputan village. I felt all-powerfull, and I think I felt a twinge of supernatural powers creeping up my legs. Who needs a cape, I've got FAT skis. Seriously though, these things instill such confidence that instead of slamming on the brakes when a pile of old ice storm rubble blocks my path, I just downshift, throw it into 4 wheel low, unhitch the wrecking ball, drop the plow blade, and crush the offender into oblivion. <BR> <BR>Not to suggest that sort of behavior was at all necessary today. About the only folks wearing frowns were also wearing those silly snowblades. There is so much snow in the Killington woods that in some places you had to ski all hunched over to keep from hitting your head on the forest canopy. Depths varied from aspect to aspect, but generally there is at least 2 feet of fresh on top of that old crust. It seems to have bonded fairly well, but I still wouldnt be caught on any steep open terrain -- it seems to fail at around 35 degrees, give or take, with a 14-20" slab resulting. <BR> <BR>Runs of the day were the four or five I had in the .. uh... the Urinal? You know where the Toilet Bowl is, figure it out. All untracked of course, arcing big gs turns around the edges of tree wells and absorbing the rolls like a super-G super-star. Next up would have to be the Bear's Ass, which was a first for me. The cliff band above and skiers left of the traverse when you first break out into the hardwoods had been sorely neglected, so I gave it some TLC and sliced and diced several of K-Mart's hairier lines. Actually, everything at Bear was great, and I made non-stop laps in every treed area I could find over there. But I didnt stop there and worked every conceivable combination of woods in the Needles eye area on my way back to the bountiful Basin. Then, just before last run, I ran into my brother and we pillaged what was left of the Hairy Balls-Light woods. The lifts were closed and I was spent so I called it a day and went off searching for some free tacos, 2 maybe 2 1/2 feet of free tacos. Ahhh, Killington... <BR> <BR>I hope that suffices for some vicarious turns for those of you that couldnt. If that spells Y-O-U, dont worry. I'm sure another storm like this will roll through soon; after all, it was only 2, maybe 3 feet. Nothing to get excited about. Really.