12/31/08

Day 18

Conditions: Icy, windblown, and crowded
Location: Keystone, CO

Ugh. No new snow for the 5th day in the row. Conditions were just like Boyne Mountain, with longer runs. In a desperate search for something decent, we spent most of the day paying $5 per ride for the Keystone cat. We found some nice stuff in the Tele Trees, but most everything was windblown or skied off. (Interestingly, an old Seaholm classmate of Steph’s is a ski patroller at Keystone and gave us a few tips on areas to check out.)


Dirk prepares for another cat ride.


Dirk makes an esoteric signal to Steph, which he later reveals means to get out the radios.

After a crowded lunch and a few runs of scraping down ice runs, we headed home. Maybe we are just spoiled, but today was one of those days when it was just work.


Even a rough day on the mountains has amazing views.

Highlights:

- The Tele Trees in South Outback Bowl
- Dirk hugged a tree. Despite getting the wind knocked out of him, he was fine.

Lowlights:

- Basically, everything but the highlights.

Après Ski:

More football. More food. We’re pretty boring, actually.

Days to go: 32

12/30/08

Day 17

Conditions: Packed Powder and Windblown
Location: Breckenridge, CO

We finally made it to Breckenridge on a day when the T-Bar was open. Boy, were we disappointed. Everything was windblown, rocky, or skier off. It was a rough day. We looked in all our secret spots for good turns, and didn’t find many.

Desperate for good snow, we hiked Lake Chutes. Why is hiking so much easier for guys? Dirk was taking panoramic shots while I was still panting uphill on the 60 degree bootpack. And this is a guy who thinks 25 minutes is a lot for cardio. Luckily, he got all the evidence on video.


Steph straps up near the gate for Lakechutes

After practically being blown off the mountain, we dropped into Lake Chutes to find the snow just as worse as the windblown crud elsewhere on the mountain. At least the steepness was a little scary. We’ve had mind-blowing runs down Lake Chutes. This wasn’t one of them.


Dirk takes a breather after riding LakeChutes

The masses were lined up at the chairlifts when we got down to the tree line. The snow was just too bad, and the crowds were just too big. We were heading down the gondola by 1:30 in the afternoon. What would Coach D. say?

Highlights:

- Hiking Lake Chutes provided a good cardio workout

Lowlights:

- Most of the day. Hey, they can’t all be epic!

Après Ski:

We watched Maryland upset Nevada, cooked dinner, and hung out.

Days to go: 33

12/29/08

Day 16

Conditions: Packed Powder
Location: Keystone, CO

Steph baptized her new alpha snowboard today. It was a pretty special day from the start. We are so proud of the little Alpha.

The forecast predicted high winds, so we gave up on Breckenridge and the T-Bar for the day and went to Keystone. (Interestingly, there were not high winds, and we are pretty certain we missed the opening of the T-Bar, despite our obsessive plotting.)

Truth be told, we were expecting a ho-hum day. We took a Cat ride up to Outback bowl in the morning. We found great snow and had a great run. It was definitely worth the $5 each to ride as opposed to hike.


The cat takes riders above and beyond the limits of a chairlift


Wait, why is Steph carrying both boards?

We spent the rest of the day playing in the trees. We were surprised to find tons of powder. We even discovered a hidden glade, which Steph named Shakespeare’s Glade because all the trees were orange and the snow was white. (Well, the trees were orange because they are dying from some beetle disease, but the name is not changing.)


Steph takes a run down the newly discovered Shakespeare's Glade.


We took a ton of video footage and made a full day of it.

Highlights:

- Finding and naming Shakespeare’s Glade
- Outback Bowl Cat skiing

Lowlights:

- The line lifts were long in the afternoon. But we rode single and it didn’t really affect us.
- Steph hit a tree…with her head…hard. Thank goodness for the new (and now dented) helmet.

Après Ski:

We went to the South Ridge Seafood Grill, the best restaurant in Breckenridge. The owner is also the chef and everything is made from scratch.

Days to go: 34

12/28/08

Day 15

Conditions: Packed Powder
Location: Breckenridge, CO

For the second day in a row, we went all-in with the hope that Breckenridge would open the T-Bar and Imperial Lift – two great areas that have not been open since the storm. When we took our first chair ride up, the wind was blowing hard. So hard that we put down the bar and each clenched it with both hands as we swayed uncontrollably. At times, it felt like our snowboards would become sails and take us right off the lift.

After cheating death, we took one run and found that the wind-blown conditions had blanketed much of the mountain with snow, and that the runs were terrific. Unfortunately, when we got to the bottom both of the main lifts on Peak 8 were closed due to wind. We waited 45 minutes for a slow, double chair to take everyone in the area to a different area. The day looked like a wash.

We made our way to E-Chair, fully expecting it to be packed. However, the chair was empty. We rode E-Chair for most of the day. It services only expert terrain, and some of the stuff was pretty steep. It wasn’t epic, but it was a good, challenging day.

By 2:30, the crowds were unbearable, the elusive T-Bar still hadn’t opened, and we had hit our share of rocks and lumber in the woods. It was time to go. On the gondola ride down, Dirk vowed to come back the next day, determined to hit the T-bar the day it opens. Whenever that may be.


Dirk finds some nice snow in The Doors at Breckenridge



Dropping into some sketchy terrain off E-chair


Highlights:

- Finding some soft snow
- Practicing hop turns in the steeps – it’s a great workout.

Lowlights:

- Fearing death on the windy chairlifts
- Once again, the very reasons we came to Breckenridge were all closed today.

Après Ski:

More food, more football. The Lions lost, becoming the first 0-16 team in the history of the National Football League. Next year literally can’t get any worse.

Days to go: 35

12/27/08

Day 14

Conditions: Arctic
Location: Breckenridge, CO

A few days ago we hatched a secret plan to get all the good snow in Colorado. Our first step was to hit Vail hard on the first day after the storm. That was a success. Step two was to hit Breck the day after the storm (today). The logic behind this was that nothing major would be open at Breck during the day of the storm, due to the high winds the mountain always experiences. We were hoping that Imperial Chair and T-Bar would be prime today, because we assumed they would be closed the previous day.

When we pulled into the gondola parking lot, our car thermometer said -10 degrees Fahrenheit. That was at the warmest point on the hill – not a good sign. We rode the Gondola up and got ready for the day. The winds were high and it was so cold we literally had to stop in warming huts twice before lunch (And we never go in warming huts. I mean, come on...only wimps and losers go there.) We did take lots of runs, and the snow was pretty good. But the long rides up the windy chairs got to be too much.

By lunch, we were chilled to the bone, and Steph took a fall that made her thankful she was wearing a helmet. The T-Bar was still closed, and showed no signs of opening. The wind was kicking up, and Imperial Chair was unrideable due to the winds. It was time to call it early, something we rarely do.

By 1:00, we were heading down on the Gondola with all the cold gapers. So much for our plan to get all the snow. Our only comfort was that no one else was enjoying it, and that it would probably be there tomorrow.


Everyone on the hill tries to tuck and head for cover as the wind picks up.


Highlights:

- Horseshoe bowl and Solitude were two of the better runs. Overall, the snow was good; it was just difficult to find a place where we could stand to ride on it.

Lowlights:

- The weather. We ride through a lot of junk, but this was too much even for us. Judging by the sparse lift lines, even the Saturday locals agreed with us.

Après Ski:

We watched the Champs Sports Bowl, made dinner, and relaxed.

Days to go: 36

12/26/08

Day 13

Conditions: 6+ inches of Rocky Mountain Powder
Location: Vail, CO

We arrived in Colorado last night to find that the whole state was expecting severe weather. Vail had the tastiest forecast with a predicted 10-20 inches. So, we decided to get up early and make the drive the Vail.

When we woke up, we were glad that we planned ahead, as Breckenridge got a lame 1 inch and Keystone got none; Vail on the other hand reported 6 inches (which usually means double that in the bowls). Our morning was nothing short of Epic. We hit Sun Down Bowl, then made our way across to Tea Cup Bowl, and eventually back to Blue Sky Basin. Blue Sky had the best snow of the day with huge stashes in the Champagne Glades. Pretty soon, we were starving. Only then did we realize it was already after noon.

We ate lunch in the perpetually overcrowded Two Elks Lodge. It was so crowded that we had to share a table with three rock-climbing hippies who were brown bagging it. That led to some interesting conversations.

The afternoon was just as eventful, but not as enjoyable. We hit some bumps off Highline express. Then, Dirk got a brilliant idea to search for some fresh snow in the trees. These weren’t trees just off the run, or the kind of trees that have tracks in them. These were death trees – the kind that have no discernable fall line, are thick, and seem never-ending. We don’t get scared much, but at one point I realized that if one of us were to get hurt, then ski parole would either never find us, or refuse to try and get a sled into those trees.

After surviving the trees, we headed to Game Creek Bowl, just as extreme wind gusts and zero-visibility-snow infiltrated the area. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day trying to get out of there (with every other idiot on the hill).


Taking a break to enjoy the brief blue sky of Highline Lift.



Dirk goes over the river and through the woods to find a hidden stash.


Highlights:

- Powder, powder, powder. The drive the Vail was certainly worth it.

Lowlights:

- Being in Vail is great. No complaints. However, there is just something about knowing a mountain front to back. Bombing down a run and knowing the location of every rock, stump, and dip is priceless. You don’t need to worry if you partner can find you, because you both know exactly where you are going. No gripes about Vail, but in a way it made me miss the farmiliarity of Mount Bohemia.

Après Ski:

Beer, snacks, dinner, ESPN. Good.

Days to go: 37

12/21/08

Day 12

Conditions: Powder + Backcountry = EPIC
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

We thought all the deep snow was gone after Saturday, so we geared up for a day of packed powder and fast trees. We had a great couple of runs, when we heard the backcountry was opening. We found that one rope had been removed to open Shivering Timbers and Lonesome Wolf – one of our favorite run packages. As soon as we turned into the steep of Shivering Timbers, we realized we were the first ones on it.

We spent the next five or 6 runs in knee-deep powder in the backcountry. No obstacles, no speed-checks, just floating through the trees. It was a flow experience.

Right before we left, Lonnie offered to show us the Outer Limits. We tried to find our way through this labyrinth before, and always ended up hiking out. In the process of getting to the actual runs, we un-booted three times as we hiked through un-packed snow that reached up to our waists. At least we got a cardio workout.

When we finally got to the runs, we looked at each other with a silent stare that could only mean “this better be good…” To our surprise, it was. It’s definitely a run that has hiking, but it will be a nice place to go play late in the day.

Highlights:

- Powder in the backcountry. Days like this are why we snowboard.

Lowlights:

- Not expecting much from the day, we ditched the video camera. So, we didn’t get any epic, first-track shots. But, we really didn’t care. We were having too much fun to worry about getting the perfect shot.

Après Ski:

Because we had too much fun, we stayed too long. We didn’t leave until after 3:00p.m. – three hours later than usual. As a result, we didn’t get home until 1:00a.m. Once again, worth it.

Days to go: 38

12/20/08

Day 11

Conditions: Packed powder in the morning; powder in the afternoon
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

After a surprise snow day on Friday, we were able to start the 10 hour drive up to Bohemia a few hours early. Unfortunately, no one in the Lansing area knows how to drive in the snow, including the snow plows and salt trucks. The drive took us the longest it ever has (11 hours), but at least we arrived at 9:00 p.m. instead of 1:00 a.m.

After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to go. Even though most of the front side was skied off, we found plenty of powder pockets on Powder Keg and Widowmaker.

We ate lunch and adjusted our angles, which made a huge difference later in the day. By the time we got back out, the back side was opening. We had a five star run down Rollercoaster and Goldilocks. There was a wait for the bus, but luckily we were at the front of the line. We took one more bus run, this time waiting through three busses for a total down time of about 20 minutes. We both agreed it was worth it. Bohemia fired up the double, so we were able to ride the back for most of the day. With Lindsey’s help, we discovered a second set of trees in Goldilocks. Later, we discovered the long-lost Papa Bear. Both newly discovered runs were top notch.

Highlights:

- Widowmaker
- Discovering and naming a new run that links many runs together and hits several runs that don’t see many riders. To protect the secrecy of the new run, and to respect the person who told us about it, we will reveal nothing further.

Lowlights:

- We were both riding “Boyne” angles earlier in the day, so we were both having difficulty hop-turning. Once we figured out why we were struggling, we were able to fix it and enjoy the rest of the day.

Après Ski:

We ate a greasy dinner at the Bear Belly, watched a movie, and fell asleep.

Days to go: 39

12/13/08

Day 10

Conditions: Packed Powder
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

The work week was over, and it was back to work for us as we woke up at 4:00am and headed to Boyne. Even though Boyne did not post much new snow, the conditions were in the top 5% we have ever seen at there. The snow was soft, the grooming was decent, and the trees were still in great shape.

We enjoyed the killer-groomers and then got some much needed footage on Fallen Tree run. We also ran into some unfortunate man-made “petrified silk powder” (Dirk’s term) off Meadows.

We broke for lunch and met up with Lonnie and Lindsey for the afternoon. We took most of the runs through the trees, including Brad’s run. We were also shocked to discover Super Bowl open, and the glades in great shape.

We spotted the scraper-hater. After much chasing and plotting, Dirk enlisted a Ski Patroller to help him confront the kid after he got off the lift, while Lindsey and Steph stood at a safe distance. After much denial, the kid finally admitted his was involved and apologized. It was probably the best-possible result we could ask for, given everything that happened the weekend before.

Highlights:

- Finding decent trees all day
- Dirk’s poetic justice incident
- Getting our money's worth: we almost never make it a full day at Boyne, and it felt pretty good to do so.

Lowlights:

- Sitting on the stalled, Super Bowl chair in the cold, wishing we had called last run earlier.

Après Ski: We had a few drinks before heading the Water Street Inn. We ate dinner at Red Messa and watched Iron Man (well, Dirk did…Steph fell asleep).

Days to go: 40

12/7/08

Day 9

Conditions: Packed Powder
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

After the horrors of yesterday, we were ready for a mellow day. We took some warm up runs and hit the trees. For the first time ever, we attempted to get video footage in Boyne trees. This was difficult, because the trees are so close together. We has fun, though.

We called it early and told our lift buddy Duane about the hate crime we survived the previous day. Then, we ate lunch and headed home.

Highlights:

- Kevin the tune master gave Steph’s old rock board an incredible facelift. That guy is like a P-tex surgeon.
- Finding more nice lines in the trees.
- Not getting harassed by skiers….

Lowlights:

- It was a short day, and Monday was looming in the distance.

Après Ski: The 3 hour drive home. Apparently there is only one radio station up north, and it plays country music. So we couldn’t listen to the Lion’s game. I can’t really explain why we would want to listen to the Lions, but we did.

Days to go: 41

12/6/08

Day 8

Conditions: Powder
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

This was possibly the most eventful day we have experienced together as snowboarders. Everything that could happen did happen. We arrived in Boyne City to more than a foot of fresh snow. No one went out the day before (Friday). So, for the first time at Boyne we had a lot to choose from. We bought our 4 hour passes (this will be important later) and headed off.

We warmed up and then went to Disciples Chair, because nothing was groomed there. We took a couple great runs through the trees. They had been untouched all year and the coverage was great. We decided to go down a main run called Devil’s Dive. It was not groomed, so there was knee deep powered, but several people had already skied down it. We got off the chair lift and prepared to strap in. Then, the following incident took place.

Random skier: Hey, stop snowplowing down Devil’s Dive!
Dirk: Me?
Random Skier: Yeah, someone is scraping snow off my run, and I’m pretty sure it was you.
Dirk: And you think that was me.
Random skier: Yeah, you look like a gaper! (Laughs to himself and skies about 10 yards toward Steph) And you too. (Pushes Steph off the traverse path as he skies by.)
Steph: What the f-- is your problem?
Random skier: Settle down B---!
Steph: You’re an ass.
Random skier: Come catch me! (Skies off)

We called ski parole and the patroller actually tried to rationalize the behavior, stating that some skiers are frustrated with snowboarders. Yeah, that makes it right. In the end, he took down the description and said he’d talk to the guy if he saw him. We found the patroller at the end of the day, and they had not found him. Our only confort is that some day that kid will walk into a bar, start talking smack, and get his ass whomped.

We took a few more runs and went in for lunch. It didn’t seem like we had been out that long. We got to the lift line after lunch and had our 4-hour passes clipped because it was 1:20 and our passes expired at 1:00. The liftie let us ride up one more time, so we decided to go under a closed rope and hike up Superbowl. We couldn’t ride the lift without passes anyway, and we knew there would be good snow there. We made it to Superbowl and took off our boards to hike, when a mechanic on a snowmobile caught us and told us the area was closed. We waited until he left, and went to another area to hike.

We successfully hiked this other area of woods, which we ride every now and then. It is probably considered out of bounds, and the trees are not cleaned up, because they don't want people ridig there. The run is normally great, but someone chopped down a bunch of trees or something, because it was virtually unrideable. There was lumber and carnage everywhere. When we finally made it to the bottom, we were beat up, and so was Dirk's board. We caught our breaths just in time to see another snowmobile was going by, this time with a patroller. He reminded us that the area was closed. “We know,” was all Dirk said. The patroler didn't say anything else. I think he saw our tracks and knew we had a rough run and were getting out of there anyway.

With no hiking or lift options, we called it a day.

Highlights:

- The snow and the trees – obviously.

Lowlights:

- Pretty much everything except the snow and the trees.

Après Ski: We stayed at the Water Street Inn, watched football, and cooked burritos.

Days to go: 42

11/30/08

Day 7

Conditions: 4+ inches of fresh on man made
Location: Keystone, CO

It just kept snowing. It was too windy for the gondola to run, so we hauled ourselves to the lift line at 8:15 a.m. so we would be ready for the 8:30 opening (the lifts opened at that time all weekend. Either the lifties were too hung over to start on time, or the website was wrong, because we stood there with more than 50 other people for over forty five minutes until the chair finally started running at 9:00.

Highlights:

- Powder runs where there is no board, boots, bindings, legs, hips, or shoulders; there is just one fluid, esoteric motion. It’s a flow thing, and it doesn’t happen often to us Midwest riders. It felt good to make turns like that.

Lowlights:

- By 10:20 a.m. we had to book out of there. It had been snowing for 3 days and we needed to take I-70 to Denver to catch a 7:00 p.m. flight. We gave ourselves 5 hours to get to the airport, and we barely made it. Many people didn’t make it through I-70. We were lucky that our drive and flight had no major glitches.

Après Ski:

The travel day continued with our flight out of town and a drive from Metro Airport back to Lansing. We got home just in time for Steph to catch 3 hours of sleep before waking up to find out that there was no snow day (despite pretty dismal road conditions) and she had to get ready for work. Two words: worth it.

Days to go: 43

11/29/08

Day 6

Conditions: 4+ inches of fresh on man made
Location: Keystone, CO

It didn’t stop snowing all day or night, and we woke up to find snow everywhere. It was a little disappointing that every resort around us reported more snow, but we stayed at Keystone anyway. While waiting in the Gondola line, Dirk struck up a conversation with a guy who had the same snowboard. Ian, as it turned out, played football for U of M and the Denver Broncos. We had a nice chat while waiting over 20 minutes for the gondola to get going and take us to the top.

Highlights:

- Soft snow all day
- The first powder runs of the season

Lowlights:

- More crowds. We quit before 1 p.m. because there were just too many little kids trying to pizza wedge competing with freestyle skiers with extra long T-shirts hucking every ledge or push pile in sight. It was madness and people were getting taken out like republicans in the senate.

Après Ski:

We made tacos and watched The Devil Wears Prada.

Days to go: 44

11/28/08

Day 5

Conditions: 2 inches of fresh on man made
Location: Keystone, CO

We woke up to some fresh snow blanketing the ground; it was a welcome change from the pavement and dirt we saw over the past few days

Highlights:

- Finding soft snow all day
- Hucking push-piles in the afternoon

Lowlights:

- Crowds, crowds, crowds. It was a game of bumper cars on every slope, and there were plenty of yellow-coated patrollers with whistles telling people to slow down. In general, that didn’t slow most people down. Dirk did have an accident with another snowboarder, who stayed on the ground and was hit again amongst the chaos.

Après Ski:

We watched some football and went out to dinner. We also tried to go to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory. To Dirk’s great disappointment, it was closed.

Days to go: 45

11/27/08

Day 4

Conditions: Man Made
Location: Keystone, CO

We spent the day at Keystone, where our condo was located. Dirk insisted on driving to the parking lot, because it was free. To get to the parking lot, we actually drove past the ski hill and around the resort. As a result, we walked just as far from the parking lot to the lift as we would have walked from our condo to the lift. At least Dirk felt good about it.

Highlights:

- Long, smooth runs
- Riding switch and getting better at it.

Lowlights:

- None, it was a good day.

Après Ski:

Weeks ago, we looked at several options for our Thanksgiving Day feast. Ultimately, we chose the Big Horn Steakhouse because it had some good fish and vegetarian options. It was going to be our nice dinner out for the trip. We double checked the menu and made our reservation. When we arrived, we found out the four star restaurant was converted to an upscale old country buffet for the night. Regrettably, there was no mention of this on the website or when we got a reservation confirmation online. No ordering, no serving, just drag yourself to the buffet and pile up your plate. After much discussion, we went home and made pasta. We just couldn’t justify dropping a lot of cash on a buffet.

Days to go: 46

11/26/08

Conditions: Man-made
Location: Breckenridge, CO

We woke up at 4:15 a.m. to take the shuttle to the airport for a direct flight to Denver. By 8:00 a.m. we were in Denver, and by 10:00 a.m. we were on the slopes. The only downside was that everyone else was hitting the slopes too. There were two main categories of riders: People who were incredibly slow, and people who wanted to go as fast as possible. And, both these groups had to share the same three runs.

Highlights:

- We were making turns on long runs and riding high-speed chairs, which is more than we could say of Boyne.

Lowlights:

- By 2:00 Colorado time, we had been up for 12 hours. So everything seemed a bit foggy by the afternoon

Après Ski: We checked into our condo, went to dinner, and went grocery shopping. By 7:30 Colorado time, we were in bed.

Days to go: 47

11/23/08

Day 2

Conditions: Packed fresh and man-made
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

We woke up with a football hangover from the MSU loss to Penn State. Luckily, nothing cures a football loss like a little snowboarding.

Highlights:

- Hiking Superbowl and finding some untouched snow on the way down.
- Getting our legs for the upcoming trip out west.

Lowlights:

- The crowds. At times, Victor looked like a traffic jam.

Après Ski: We checked out of our hotel and hit the road around 1:00 in the afternoon. We drove back to Lansing. Unfortunately, we missed the part of the Lions game when they were actually winning, and we only saw the final minutes of another humiliating loss.

Days to go: 48

11/22/08

Day 1

Conditions: 10 inches of fresh and man-made
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

We left Williamston at 5:00a.m. and made our way North to Boyne Mountain. The snow was decent, but the crowds were significant. In a flash back to the 50’s, only Hemlock and Victor chairs were open. As a result, we only clocked 7-8 runs per hour, in contrast to the 15+ we get when the high-speed chair is open. It was nice to see the regulars and get our legs.

At noon, we quit to eat lunch and watch the UM/OSU game. Unfortunately, the bar was filled with MI fans. Sure, we were cheering for U of M, like and self-respecting MSU fan did that day. But these guys were alpha males, and racists based on some of their comments. It was disturbing, and confirmed that all U of M fans are assholes.

Highlights:

- Poaching Meadows and Victor, even though we hit dirt.

Lowlights:

- The crowds. At times, Victor looked like a traffic jam.

Après Ski: We spent the night in the new Boyne Hotel, where we watched MSU end their regular season with a tough loss. But, 9-3 isn’t bad at all.

Days to go: 49

Season Preview

50 Days, Volume 2 - The Entire Video

Countdown to the 08/09 season 11/19/08

Boyne Highlands and Mountain opened today and the season is right around the corner. We got out all our stuff and started packing for the weekend. It can't come soon enough. The only downside is that we will miss the UM/OSU game. We will be able to catch the Spartens, however.

Day 45: 4/26/08

Conditions: Packed powder and slush
Location: Blackcomb, B.C., CAN

Highlights:

- Steph, Dirk and Lib completed the last hike of the season
- Finding powder in the bowls

Lowlights:

- On the 4 mile traverse back in bounds, Steph decided to pull a frontside 180 and fell on her ribs. She kept going for a few runs and then had to call it. It was an abrupt end to the season. (Later, after 4 X-rays, it turns out Steph didn’t break any ribs, she just tore some muscles.)

Après Ski:

Steph took a lot of Motrin and we all went shopping.

Days to go: 5

Day 44: 4/26/08

Conditions: 4 inches of new snow at the top; slush at the bottom
Location: Blackcomb, B.C., CAN

Highlights:

- It was pretty amazing to just be out in great snow during the Spring.
- Finding new snow in the middle of April
- Boarding with Liberty and Penny

Lowlights:

- For some reason, it took us one chairlift ride and one gondola ride ust to get to the place where we could buy lift tickets. All told, the process of buying our tickets took about an hour
- We has some interesting traverses while following our fearless leader, Liberty

Après Ski:

We ate and wandered through Whistler Village

Days to go: 6

Whose Woods These Are Part 1 of 2

Parts 1 and 2 of our 2008 Mt. Bohemia contest entries

Whose Woods These Are Part 2 of 2

Day 43: 4/12/08

Conditions: 50+ degrees; Spring conditions
Location: Squaw, CA

Highlights:

- Soft conditions all day
- It was sunny and warm. We changed into T-shirts on our way to the airport.

Lowlights:

- We only had 2.5 hour of boarding. We had to catch a plane and were concerned about the airport.

Après Ski:

We quit boarding at noon, CA time. We arrived back in Williamston at 4:00am Sunday Morning. Ugh.

Days to go: 7

Day 42: 4/11/08

Conditions: 50+ degrees; Spring conditions
Location: Squaw, CA

Highlights:

- Soft bumps off the KT-22 chair
- Playing in the baby park
- Making another full day of it: from 9:30-4:00
- The Cuban Panini for lunch

Lowlights:

- No major lowlights, just the bittersweet feeling that the season is rapidly coming to an end

Après Ski:

We went out to an amazing dinner at a small, local restaurant called Soule Domain. It was delicious.

Days to go: 8

Day 41: 4/10/08

Conditions: Spring conditions
Location: Kirkwood, CA

Highlights:

- Playing in the baby park
- Finding terrain that would have been really great with more snow
- Making a full day of it: from 9:30-3:30
- Working on our tans

Lowlights:

- Breckenridge and Mt. Bohemia are both expecting epic storms. Not that we’re bitter…but Spring conditions are getting old. The idea that it’s still winter in other places (to which we have season passes) stings just a bit.

Après Ski:

We hung out in the condo and relaxed

Days to go: 9

Day 40: 4/9/08

Conditions: 2 inches of fresh; very warm in the afternoon
Location: Squaw Valley, CA

Highlights:

- Once again, there were very few people around
- The 2 inches of snow really softened things up
- We got some great video footage of people jumping insane cliffs
- We were finally able to get off the groomers when things softened up

Lowlights:

- We called it at 2:30 in the afternoon, for reasons of which we are still unsure.
- Breckenridge, CO got 6 inches of snow two days ago and is expecting 6-14 inches in the next 24 hours. Why does it seem like it’s always snowing more somewhere else?

Après Ski:

We hung out in the condo and watched Into the Wild.

Days to go: 10

Day 39: 4/8/08

Day 39

Conditions: Hard pack in the morning; snowy in the afternoon
Location: Alpine Meadows, CA

Highlights:

- The place was empty. We got a great parking spot and did not deal with any crowds
- It was softer than we expected in the morning…that’s not to say it was very soft – just softer than we expected
- There was a nice baby park
- Things were soft enough that we were able to leave the groomed runs in the afternoon

Lowlights:

- Even though it warmed up for a little, it got colder in the afternoon. The conditions were pretty hard all day

Après Ski:

Dirk bought a new shirt for himself and new sunglasses for Steph. We watched I am Legend.

Days to go: 11

Day 38: 4/7/08

Day 38

Conditions: Hard pack in the morning; mashed potato snow in the afternoon
Location: Heavenly, NV/CA

Highlights:

- We were surprised to find soft snow on the Nevada side in the morning. Although there were hard spots, the conditions were good all day
- We had one of the best lunches of the season: good food, no crowds, and no kids. Plus, it was warm enough to eat outside.
- We got some good spring-skiing footage in the morning

Lowlights:

- Tahoe has not had good snow since their epic storm in January. Much of the terrain we like to ski (trees, glades, bumps, etc.) was either closed or rock hard with pavement-style snow.
- Dirk was tired and sore by 2:30, so we quit early.
- The baby park was closed…and we do not have the skills to go in the medium or large parks.

Après Ski:

Dirk bought a new snowboard and got his laces fixed. We shopped more at Heavenly and ate out before heading back to the condo.

Days to go: 12

Day 37: 4/6/08

Conditions: Hard pack in the morning; mashed potato snow in the afternoon
Location: Kirkwood, CA

Highlights:

- We hired a guide named Rodrigo…or we thought we hired a guide. What we actually did was buy a private lesson. We spent the morning working on new ways to carve. If it had been a powder day, we would have been upset. However, since there was nothing better to do in the spring melt, we actually learned a lot and had a lot of fun.
- We met someone who is living our dream. Rodrigo has an endless winter every year. He works at Tahoe for the winter, and when the Tahoe season ends he goes to Argentina for their winter season. Hearing this gave us a glimmer of hope.
- We’re seriously considering not going home. Nevada needs teachers…

Lowlights:

- It took 2 hours to get from our condo in Incline Village to Kirkwood. That included 3 detours because we got lost (the map was seriously flawed)
- We ate lunch in the “ski school” cafeteria by mistake

Après Ski:

We went back to the condo and hung out. We finished watching No Country for Old Men.

Days to go: 13

Day 36: 3/30/08

Day 36

Conditions: Cornmeal snow and packed slush
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- Well, we made some turns and talked to John

Lowlights:

- Spring conditions ate Boyne are not exactly exciting…

Après Ski:

We ate lunch at Pearson’s, drove home and got ready for the week.

Days to go: 14

Day 35: 3/29/08

Conditions: Cornmeal snow and packed slush
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- Riding up the chairlift with Duane and finally getting to chat with him
- Soft bumps in the afternoon
- The snow was generally soft, and it was a beautiful, bluebird day

Lowlights:

- The trees were unrideable
- Superbowl was closed for a snowmobile competition

Après Ski:

We ate dinner at Red Mesa, watched some TV and went to bed at the Water Street Inn

Days to go: 15

Day 34: 3/22/08

Conditions: Powder and packed powder
Location: Snowbird, UT

Highlights:

- Soft snow and trees off the Gad 2 Lift
- Steph made a new friend named Ben during lunch thanks to her proud display of Spartan pride. Apparently there are many Spartan fans in Park City.

Lowlights:

- Steph was sore and never felt quite right all day; amazingly Dirk was unstoppable.
- We quit early. Steph wanted to cruise down groomers and Dirk wanted to hop over the river and through the woods.

Après Ski:

On their way out the door, Dirk expressed disappointment that Steph was wearing an MSU shirt out on the town. Apparently, a Tommy Bahamas shirt is much higher class than an MSU shirt. Steph changed into a POLO sweater and pouted. We went to an Italian dive and sat at the bar. By then we were already stuffed from eating snacks while watching the afternoon games, so the food didn't even taste that good. Ridden with guilt, Dirk suggested they duck into a bar to see in anyone had a Midwest feed of CBS (the only part of the nation that was showing the MSU game instead of the Texas A&M game). Amazingly, the bar had several. Even more amazing…there were several tables of MSU fans decked out in MSU hats and t-shirts. Hm…

Day 33: 3/21/08

Conditions: Powder and packed powder
Location: Snowbird, UT

Highlights:

- There were still plenty of fresh tracks off the Gad Two lift
- More soft snow under Little Cloud
- We had an early lunch and managed to avoid the crowds

Lowlights:

- Dirk was experiencing hamstring cramps and Steph was sore in general

Après Ski:

We had dinner at the prestigious Riverhorse then watched the tourney

Days to go: 17

Day 32: 3/20/98

Conditions: 5+ Inches of Powder on hardpack
Location: Park City, UT

Highlights:

- Waking up to an unexpected 4-8 inches of snow
- We made it a long day. It was nice to get there when the chairs opened and stay late (for once).
- Soft bumps and trees late in the day off McConkey’s Lift
- Jupiter bowl

Lowlights:

- Our dedication to boarding caused us to miss MSU’s first tournament game. Weak.
- There were still some hard spots. To quote a ski patroller, some of the mountain was “dust on crust”
- Park City is not made for boarders…we unbuckled frequently
- We had a lame beginning to March, so we were sore by the end of the day. Well, at least Steph was sore…

Après Ski:

After a slight dinner reservation mix-up, we wound up at 350 Main in Park City. Then, Dirk dropped several hundred dollars on a new snowboard outfit

Days to go: 18

Day 31: 3/7/08

Conditions: Powder and Packed Powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- There was fresh snow in hidden spots – like Goldilocks
- Widowmaker
- The Extreme Backcountry
- Getting incognito video footage of Lindsey and Lonnie on the chairlift

Lowlights:

- Dirk didn’t feel well, so a lunch break turned into a four hour nap. He was so sick that we didn’t make it out for the rest of the trip. In total, we drive 20 hours for 4 hours of boarding…

Après Ski:

We went to Copper Harbor for dinner. The next day, we packed up and went home after saying goodbye to Lonnie and Lindsey. It was our last Bohemia weekend for the season. How sad.

Days to go: 19

Day 30: 2/23/08

Conditions: Groomed snow on top of ice
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- Hearing about the Single Track from John.
- Hm…the minute we called it a day and went home?

Lowlights:

- We waited for 25 minutes just to buy our lift tickets
- Boyne had rain the previous weekend, so the entire base was ice. They had a few inches throughout the week, but that was scraped off in an hour or so.
- The crowds were ridiculous and the conditions sucked. It was a day filled with everything we hated about Boyne.

Après Ski:

We drove home because we knew we couldn’t take one more day of Boyne bullshit.

Days to go: 20

Day 29: 2/18/08

Conditions: 4+ inches of fresh, lake effect snow
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- Everything was soft and wonderful
- We saw Lonnie carving through the back country with three ski patrollers
- Steph’s Pro-Bohemia editorial was published in the Daily Mining Gazette

Lowlights:

- We had to leave at 1:00pm. As we handed in our key, Lindsey said “you’re leaving early on a powder day?” As if we had a choice…

Après Ski:

The long drive home.

Post script

It dumped for two days after we left. Lindsey kept updating the Bohemia website to say things like “Powder is everywhere. Get up here now!” It was almost like we were being taunted.

Days to go: 21

Day 28: 2/17/08

Day 28

Conditions: Hard pack in the AM, 2 in of fresh in the PM
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- After snowing all morning, the afternoon runs were fantastic
- Rollercoaster (Black Bear) was particularly fun

Lowlights:

- The morning was hard packed snow and our joints were feeling it.

Après Ski:

We ate at the Bear Belly Lodge; Steph did some Masters work; we came home and read

Days to go: 22

Day 27: 2/16/08

Conditions: Packed Powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- We heard one of the lift operators respond to a skier with the comment “Well, welcome to the Keweenaw!” For the rest of the day, we came up with theories on what exactly the skier said to generate that response. We concluded that the possibilities were endless and spent the rest of the day coming up with them.
- Lonnie told Steph that out of the 200 letters they received about their recent dispute with the tourism board her letter was the best.
- Dirk got to meet Papa Glieberman

Lowlights:

- We decided to get footage of Lonnie getting off the lift. Dirk made a smart-ass comment to him, then realized he was giving two random guys a tour of the mountain.
- We decided to give the Outer Limits another shot. After unstrapping twice and taking a mildly-long hike we concluded that it still sucks on a snowboard.

Après Ski:

We both did some work, made dinner, and watched A Mighty Wind.

Days to go: 23

Day 26: 2/15/08

Conditions: Powder and Packed Powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- The double chair had not run all week, so when it finally opened there were plenty of fresh tracks
- Shivering Timbers in the backcountry was a powder stash, as usual.
- We pulled Dirk off the injured reserve after his injury two weeks ago; he did great, but the bruise is still visible.

Lowlights:

- Steph decided to go bigger than last week on Ice Fall and fell twice, giving us more great footage for the Love Hurts section of our next video.

Après Ski:

We both did some work, made pasta and watched The Cooler.

Days to go: 24

Day 25: 2/3/08

Conditions: Powder and packed powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- We finally got some extreme footage for the video, including Steph’s run down Icefall.
- Finding more fresh tracks on Shivering Timbers.

Lowlights:

- Dirk hugged a tree in the backcountry. He hit it so hard that several large limbs fell off the tree (see photo). Ultimately, Dirk hiked out of the backcountry while Steph carried his board for him.
- Because of Dirk’s injury, we quit early
- We realized we are already half way through the season. We began to mentally calculate whether 50 days would actually be possible, then stopped ourselves.

Après Ski:

Dirk iced his injury. We ate and watched the Super Bowl at the Bear Belly Bar and Grill

Day 24: 2/2/08

Conditions: Powder and packed powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- Surprisingly great conditions
- Finding fresh tracks in the Extreme Backcountry

Lowlights:

- Steph’s ankle hurt in the morning; luckily it was nothing that 2 Ibuprofens and 4 Glucosamine tablets couldn’t take care of.
- The conditions were fine, but nothing compared to the epic conditions of a few weeks ago.

Après Ski:

Steph did some Master’s work at the Lock Labelle Lodge. Then we cooked dinner and watched Saw IV.

Days to go: 26

Day 23: 1/27/08

Conditions: Killer groomed
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- The show was soft and chewy, and we got there at open so we had some good runs before the hill became a mess of push piles
- There were half as many people as yesterday and we did not wait in line at all
- The sun came out for about 5 minutes

Lowlights:

- From 8:30-9:00 we were forced to wait, apparently only season pass holders can ride the lifts before 9:00. There was literally a banner with Season Pass Holder’s Only prominently displayed. As the season pass holders skated by us, we silently wondered why we pay $50 per person twice a week to support such discrimination.
- The Country Day Ski team does not understand how to board a six person chair lift.

Après Ski:

We ate lunch at Pearson’s and drove home while listening to the MSU Men’s Basketball team beat U of M.

Days to go: 27

Day 22: 1/26/08

Day 22

Conditions: Packed and groomed snow
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- Getting first tracks in Fallen Tree run (all the trees were pretty good, actually)
- Skiing with Dr. Mathers – Steph’s Mom
- Laughing at the idiots wearing anything from neon to PBR hats (see photo – Craig and Breanne we took that for you guys).


Lowlights:

- The lines were long and the novice skiers were tumbling down the runs in droves
- John wasn’t working
- The hill was infested with the infected: Walmart Wolverines!

Après Ski:

We stayed at the Water Street Inn again and enjoyed homemade Spaghetti and Dove Bars. We also watched Mr. Brooks, which was very good.

Days to go: 28

Day 21: 1/21/08

Conditions: 4+ inches of more powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:
- More snow, more powder runs, more fun (see photos on day 20).
- Again, the whole day was one big highlight. Widowmaker and Jesse James were particularly good

Lowlights:
- Dirk’s quads were cramping
- They never opened the double chair, which limited some of the runs. But, it really didn’t matter.
- We had to leave at 1:00pm in order to drive home

Après Ski:

We made the long drive back to Lansing and arrived home after midnight. We unpacked the car and prepared for a morning that was only a few hours away.

Days to go: 29

Day 20: 1/20/08

Conditions: Snowgasmic! (4+ inches of fresh atop 3-6 inches of fresh from yesterday.)
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

Things that words cannot express…
- Looking down at a totally untouched run as the beginning of “Thunderstruck” seems to echo through the snow.
- The tingle of fresh powder hitting your shins
- Having that “this is going to be a great run” sensation all day long
- The feeling that you don’t want to stop for anything – lunch, a bathroom break, or a much-needed rest – because the powder is just too good
- The false enthusiasm of lift operators as they pretend to be happy for you, even when it’s obvious that deep down they are bitter because they have to work.
- Realizing that you paid only $100 for a season pass and are having just as much as you would have out West.

Lowlights:

- Not only does today have no lowlights, but it actually negates any previous lowlights.(Except for lowlights that involved anyone getting taken off the hill in a ski-parole toboggan…those still suck and are therefore still lowlights – especially if the individual involved cannot enjoy powder days for 6 weeks.)

Après Ski:

We drove up to Copper Harbor and sat in the parking lot of the Marnier North bar so Steph could do work for her online class with the magic of WiFi. Then we came home, cooked dinner, and watched another episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Days to go: 30

Day 19: 1/19/08

Conditions: 3-6 inches of fresh, soft powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Highlights:

- Steph’s first Bohemia Powder day. After dealing with ice, rain, hard-pack, rocks, and dirt in the past this day was pretty damn awesome. For once, there was no question that it was worth the 10 hour drive.
- The Extreme Back Country was full of deep, fresh snow all day.
- Untracked tree-runs off the main lift – at 3:00pm

Lowlights:

- We determined that Haunted Valley is neither haunted nor a valley. It’s not even that scary. In fact, the scariest part isthe 1 mile traverse back to the lift.

Après Ski:

We hung out in the cabin, cooked dinner, watched the documentary Jesus Camp (much scarier than Haunted Valley) and an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Days to go: 31

Day 18: 1/13/08

Conditions: 1 inch of light snow on a limited, frozen base
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- John, our favorite Disciples lift-operator, was promoted for a day to the high-speed chair in Duane’s absence. We were so proud of him….
- Nicknaming the little kid who laughed at Steph several weeks ago The Green Munchkin.

Lowlights:

- The conditions were questionable at best. The woods were un-ride-able. The base was icy. Superbowl was overflowing with racers. At the end of the day, we questioned whether or not we got our money’s worth.

Après Ski:

We drove home, with the usual stop at Sam’s and Meijer. Shakespeare was desperate for attention upon our arrival. Steph cleaned and did Masters work. Dirk just cleaned.

Days to go: 32

Day 17: 1/12/08

Conditions: 3 inches of heavy snow on a limited, frozen base
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

Highlights:

- Steph mastered the skill of videotaping someone else while simultaneously snowboarding down the hill.
- Duane the lift operator said he missed us the past few weekends. Aw…

Lowlights:

- 3-5 runs were completely monopolized by high school racing teams.
- While going down Broken Fence Run – a tree run where the entire base had melted away we learned two important lessons:
1. When there are only a few inches of snow on top of leaves and debris, it can be very difficult to get an edge and turn
2. If a person(s) falls in these conditions, the slippery leaves will make it all but impossible to get up…causing that person(s) to slide down the leave/snow mixture uncontrollably
- In a prelude to next week’s MLK chaos, there were a variety humorous/idiotic displays of skill and fashion, these included: old pins (194 and higher), orange hunting suits, Carharts,

Après Ski:

We stayed at Jack and Vicki Hobey’s summer home and ate dinner at the Red Mesa Grille. Evening activities involved watching a movie, reading, and (for Steph) catching up on Masters work.

Days to go: 33

Day 16: 1/4/08

Conditions: Packed powder
Location: Keystone, CO

Highlights:

- The two mile mogul run
- Dirk’s chairlift conversations with people who are “living his dream”

Lowlights:

- It was possibly our last day in Colorado for the year – barring a trip to A-Basin in late June.
- Flashbacks to the Day 14 tree run.

Après Ski:

We drove to Lincoln, Nebraska and arrived at the Fairfield Inn late at night. The receptionist gave us a quizzical look and asked us, “weren’t you two here last week?”

Days to go: 34

Day 15: 1/3/08

Conditions: Icy, windblown
Location: Breckenridge, CO

Highlights:

- T-bar North and South
- Our last run down the Breckenridge Luge

Lowlights:

- Breanne got a call from her Radiologist and found out she suffered a compression fracture in her spine (for some reason, Craig was very excited about this development…).
- The conditions were lousy: ice and hard, wind-blown snow

Après Ski:

Breanne and Craig went out to dinner while Steph and Dirk stayed in. Everyone packed and watched Superbad.

Days to go: 35

Day 14: 1/2/08

Conditions: Packed powder
Location: Keystone, CO

Highlights:

- A very long mogul run
- A tree run down Bushwhacker
- We paid $5 each to ride a CAT up to the top of Independence Bowl. Unfortunately, this lead to our first lowlight

Lowlights:

- Breanne met the ski parole – as in they gave her a ride out of the Outback Bowl in a toboggan. Thankfully after many hours at the medical center she was alright.
- Steph and Dirk got lost in the woods in the middle of very thick, heavy powder and potential tree wells. The run resulted in Steph breaking down to tears when she realized she might not survive the run. Thankfully, they did survive.

Après Ski:

Breanne and Craig made it home safe and sound. Steph and Dirk were too tired to cook, so we grabbed dinner at the South Ridge Seafood Grille (again). More football (Go WVU!).

Days to go: 36

Day 13: 1/1/08

Conditions: Packed powder
Location: Breckenridge, CO

Highlights:

- Craig and Breanne disappeared for a run and returned engaged.
- Bailing off the T-bar when it temporarily stopped to do one of two things: save Breanne and/or poach a run under the closed T-bar South. Both were successful.
- We actually had room to take off our boots and relax at lunch.

Lowlights:

- The T-bar was temperamental
- Imperial bowl was windblown and closed
- Once again, it was incredibly windy

Après Ski:

We all went out to dinner at the South Ridge Seafood Grill. It was amazing.

Days to go: 37