1/31/09

Day 25

Conditions: Packed powder & powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

No new snow this morning, but conditions were still decent. We hit all our favorites: Jesse James, Widowmaker, Powder Keg, Lindsey’s run, and Rollercoaster.

Unlike most days at Bohemia, the people-watching was prime. A bus brought 35 Wisconsins for the day, and there were plenty of first timers. Most interesting were the park rats, who were trying to enjoy themselves without a park. They were decked out in mesh, DC bibs layered over sweatshirts and baggy pants. Apparently they just came from a half pipe competition or something. They spent the day doing 360s off every huck on the mountain, hiking back up, and doing it again. A few of them also tried the log slide.

By mid-morning, we were ready to take our trip to the Outer Limits. Unfortunately, Dirk whizzed right by the spot where we needed to stop, take off our boards, and hike. As a result, we ended up on some snowmobile trail at the edge of the resort. This led to an even longer hike, as we attempted to get back to the trail. BAsically, wvery time we have gone to the Outer Limits, we have struggled to find our way. But, once we made it to Jupiter it was all worth it.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the mountain.

Highlights:

- The snow was great – very soft, despite the fact that there was no new snow
- At a sweltering 26 degrees, it was one of the warmest days of the season for us.

Lowlights:

- Dirk blew the repaired edge on his old Canyon. This time, it really came out. He slowly came to the realization that this would be Canyon's last day out. It was sad, but he had a good life and took many great lines. RIP, little board. See you on the big mountaintop in the sky.

Après Ski:

We want to Eagle Harbor Inn with friends, and explored the various allusions to The Three Stooges in vintage Seinfeld episodes

Days to go: 25 – Half way there!

1/19/08

Day 24

Conditions: 3-4 inches of new snow
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Every time we leave Mount Bohemia, it is snowing. Well, except that one time in December when it was raining…But, usually it’s snow.

We woke up to find 4 light and fluffy inches of new snow, and it was still coming down. A little kid chose the letters “GRDY” for the lift ticket, and Breanne became convinced that Lindsey and Lonnie were paying tribute to their dog, Gordy. Only later in the lift line – when they saw the real Gordy – did they realize that we were wearing the name of a little kid, not the dog.

We lined up early for the chairlift, hoping to get in as many runs as possible. Unfortunately, we ended up hanging around for about 30 minutes while the staff handled some mechanical issues with the chair. At Boyne this would have driven us insane, but at Bohemia it was somewhat endearing.

We found decent snow all morning, especially in Widow Maker and Jesse James. Unfortunately, it was a short day. We quit with enough time to pack and complete the arduous task of lugging a disturbing amount of clothing and equipment back to the cars.



Highlights:

- Snow for four out of the four days we stayed – we couldn’t have asked for much more.

Lowlights:

- As we drove away, big, fluffy, Bohemia flakes were floating toward the ground. The next day Bohemia’s website reported a foot of snow. Don’t they need a team of marketing directors or something?

Après Ski:

We dropped Lib off at the airport and spent the next nine hours in the car. We arrived and unpacked just in time to clock 5 hours of sleep before re-entering the matrix.

Days to go: 26

1/18/09

Day 23

Conditions: 2 inches of new snow
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Most of the fresh powder was skied off, so we had to get creative to find fresh lines today. Dirk and Liberty started by hitting Grumpy Bear rock-star style under the double chair. This pattern of hucks, rocks, and cliffs was repeated throughout the day, rendering many great video shots.

By mid-morning, we decided that it was now-or-never for The Outer Limits hike-a-thon. Liberty convinced Breanne that she wanted to go into it. Dirk and I attempted to navigate through the hills and valleys. At times, it seemed like we had gone astray. Finally, we saw the sign for Mars like a beacon in the darkness; we rejoiced that we had found our way. The snow was deep and the terrain was great.



Craig had an incident with Brian, for reasons that remain unclear. It seemed to involve him standing in the road. Craig’s triple apology seemed to help, but Brian’s famed “Your welcome!” just wasn’t as enthusiastic after that.

We broke for lunch and had a mediocre afternoon. Most of our legs were turning to jelly, so we ended up calling it by 3:00 p.m. Conditions were still great on the mountain.



Highlights:

- Craig lost both his skies and fell, something we only saw once before. Perhaps he is human after all.

Lowlights:

- The fear that we were lost in The Outer Limits…again. Luckily, we weren’t really lost.

Après Ski:

Craig decided to try an fix the “obstruction” in Steph’s ankle. Watching Craig work was very exciting for Breanne, and she volunteered to play Doctor’s assistant. Then, we went to the Bear Belly to watch some football and hang out. We were shocked to find that the all-fried, one-page menu had blossomed into a three-page smorgasbord of options. Later, Breanne forced us all to do shots.



Days to go: 27

1/17/08

Day 22

Conditions: 3 inches of powder on packed powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

We slept in by accident, but still made it out by around 10:00 a.m. There had only been 3 new inches of snow, so we weren’t expecting anything epic. However, between the layers of powder from the past few days and the new snow from today, conditions were great.

It was the first time all five of us had skied together, so it was a very exciting day. Breanne had only skied six times before, and she was rocking. We spit up into various groups throughout the day, and we managed to hit almost everything.

For extra entertainment, we got to see Brian ban several people from the bus for life. He did mumble the statement “…it’s always the snowboarders,” but we can forgive him for that. Watching the exchange, Lib was eternally grateful that Joe was driving yesterday when he board-slided across the road.



Highlights:

- Fresh, clean snow in Haunted Valley
- Lots of bus runs

Lowlights:

- Breanne hit her head and Craig mentioned the term "brain hemmorage" in an attempt to get her to focus. This didn't seem to go over too well.

Après Ski:

Breanne and I convinced Craig and Liberty to play a board game called Triploee. I constantly went all-in during the poker section, but Breanne just gave me more chips. We don’t really know who won, but I definitely lost. We all ate chili and watched good old Napoleon Dynamite.

Days to go: 28

1/16/08

Day 21

Conditions: Layers and layers of powder
Location: Mount Bohemia, MI

Back to Bohemia, home sweet home.

We arrived late last night after making the 10 hour drive from Lansing, with a short pit stop to pick up Liberty at the Houghton airport. Lib was pretty amazed with the sheer amount of snow piled among the city streets. As we unloaded the car, it was snowing fluffy, Lake Michigan flakes. The yurt was impressive (and warm).

We work up at 4:00 a.m. to the sound of a wayward FJ Cruiser trying to get back to the Bohemia parking lot. Screams like "hit it...okay...you've got it...you've got it...awww, shit!" echoed through the woods as the sun rose. It looked as if the FJ Cruiser had tried to drive right over the ski traverse to the chairlift. It was not until around 11:00 a.m. that it finally was towed back onto the road.

Despite getting less than perfect sleep, we woke up to 4+ inches of new snow, on top of many other layers of powder. We had been hoping that Lib would be able to see Mount Bohemia on a powder day, and we got out wish. Everything was fantastic all day: deep, smooth, and well-covered.



Highlights:

- Fresh tracks all day on Lindsey’s run
- Shivering Timbers to Lonesome Wolf
- Hearing Liberty say things like, “Wow, I never thought I would see something like this in Michigan.”

Lowlights:

- Lib got yelled at by Joe for riding on the road. (This will become more important tomorrow, when someone actually gets kicked off the bus for life.)





Après Ski:

We cooked dinner and hung out. Craig and Breanne arrived around 8:00 p.m., then we watched Eagle Eye. We went to bed pretty early, ready for another great day.

Days to go: 29

1/10/08

Day 20

Conditions: Icy base with light snow on top
Location: Boyne Mountain, MI

While we were off in Colorado, things got pretty warm here in Michigan. And warn weather means that things melt and turn into ice when it gets cold again. So, we weren’t expecting much when we returned to our home mountain of Boyne this weekend.

In the ski world, home mountains are not nostalgic, fun places that riders look forward to visiting. They are a last resort, with more annoyances than benefits. At times, visiting them is like punching a time clock.

One thing we do look forward to at Boyne is seeing our lift buddy, Duane. Duane is one of those people who have a pretty crappy job, but for some crazy reason seems to love it. He always has a smile on his face. Sure, he puts Christian propaganda on his little white board, but we can overlook that. When we saw Duane, he hinted that he was gone the entire time we were gone. When Dirk asked him why, he told us it was a long story. A lady on the chairlift informed us that Duane had a heart attach, and this was his first day back. It was nice to see him back, but it was a real bummer to hear.

The groomed runs were decent, so we tool several runs then headed back to the woods. Because of the temperature fluctuations, the woods were blanked by a bumpy sheet of ice, covered by a small dusting of snow. In other words, they were dangerous. We tried a few of our favorite spots, and found most of them were sketchy.

To waste time, we went in for lunch. We ate our sandwiches in the cafeteria, right next to a birthday party with six little girls. The mom had purchased “princess jewelry” for all the girls to wear. The actual birthday girl got pissed that all the other girls got presents on her birthday and refused to put her princess jewelry on. It was incredible how cattiness is so genetically programmed into women.

After lunch, we headed to Superbowl in search of decent snow. Just to cross over there, we had to go through three different race courses (and there were two more set up on Superbowl). Basically, racers were monopolizing the hill that we were paying $59 each to ride on. It was one of the many things that Boyne gets wrong every year.

Superbowl was no better; if anything, it had more ice than the other hills. We packed it in for the day.

Highlights:

- Fallen Tree run had some decent snow.
- Duane survived the heart attack.

Lowlights:

- The conditions and the mountain. After mile-long runs in Colorado, the runs seemed incredibly short and flat. We drive three hours to Boyne. If we lived in Seattle, we would be driving three hours to Whistler, B.C.

Après Ski:

We had a brilliant idea to change up our dinner plans and drive past out normal dinner place to visit a bar near the mountain. We eat lunch at this bar every Sunday, and the food is great. We didn’t count on the fact that dozens and dozens of parents would be getting wasted in that bar while their kids were out night skiing. There was not place to sit or stand in the entire bar, so we had to drive back to the Red Mesa, our normal dinner spot. We slept at Camp Hobeywood and ended up going home the next morning. $59 was just too much to pay for two hours scraping ice.

Days to go: 30

1/2/09

Day 19

Conditions: Windblown, hardpack
Location: Keystone, CO

Why does the last day of a vacation always make Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” play over and over in my head?

It was our last day, so we hit Keystone early. After a few days of hardpack, we weren’t expecting much. We were pleasantly surprised to find most of the Outback Chair had experienced high winds that coated the moguls with a few inches of soft, fluffy snow. We spent most of the day riding moguls – work for snowboarders, but great cardio.

By noon, we had to go. We changed and packed up in the parking lot – with Dirk’s various systems this was a 45 minute task. Of course, as we left an epic storm was headed right for Colorado. It seems like we always miss the great dumps.

Driving down I-70 and watching the mountains grow smaller in the passenger mirror, I couldn’t help but wonder why we live in Michigan. I know there are reasons, but they just don't seem that compelling whenever we are in Colorado.

Highlights:

- Soft bumps, small crowds.
- Finding a new entrance to Shakespeare’s Glade.

Lowlights:

- Saying goodbye to the mountains (again). It gets harder every time.

Après Ski:

A long drive through Colorado and Nebraska. We ate at a Ruby Tuesday, and Dirk noticed that every guy in the place was eating a steak or a burger. Except for Dirk, he was eating the low-fat fish special. We spent the night in Lincoln at the Fairfield Inn.

Days to go: 31

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