12/19/09

Day 7

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

Every day now is a stolen day. A great day.

Mount Bohemia opened Friday with 300 powder hounds taking every stash on the front side of the mountain while we were both at work. A little freezing drizzle Friday night turned that packed powder into something that was not very fun to ride on. Luckily, there were still some untracked places and we were able to have a pretty good day.

We went to Outer Limits before the crowds got there. Usually this is a good thing, but today it meant a paucity of tracks that normally guide us through the ups and downs of the galaxy. We (okay, I) made several wrong turns. This wouldn’t have been so bad had the hiking not been so damn hard. No one had forged a trail, so we were waist high in powder trying to hike every which way. Meanwhile, Brian was waiting by the road in a truck to take us back to main camp. We were really trying to haul ass on the hike, and falling all over the place in the process. By the time we got to Venus, we were overheated and tired. Still, the run itself was great. Fresh, deep tracks: totally worth it.

Who knows how long we were in the Outer Limits, but by the time we got in it was time for lunch. We whipped up some homemade egg salad and tried to cool down from the hike.

Conditions went from decent to great in the afternoon. They opened the double chair and plenty of runs with plenty of powder. We rode the back most of the afternoon, taking about three passes down Lindsey’s run. It was a really great afternoon with lots of solid turns. The best part was that Dirk’s bicep didn’t really bother his at all.

Dirk and his bicep both rode like champs. And it even snowed!

Highlight:

- Just being back up here at Mt. Bohemia. Cabin 8, the familiar smell of the air freshener, the predictable turns in the entrance to the backcountry…it all feels like home.

Lowlight:

- The sad realization that we will not be back here until March. If we’re lucky…

Après Ski:

We went with Lindsey to the Bear Belly Lodge in Lac La Belle.

Days to go: 43