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