Utah - Back in the Saddle

Today I worked my way over to McConkey's Lift.  There was not much doing there--the "Signature" runs, both Double Blue, were pretty chopped up, so I stayed on the opposite side.  Not much thrill there, except for my initial candidate for Run-o-the-Day which was Tycoon.  A beautiful smooth Blue with more than a touch of steepness at the end.  But better to move on.  I targeted the King Con Lift, and painfully made my way over there. (A boring story, so boring even I can't remember much about it.)


It was fun, but.... This area, along with the 3 almost identical runs off the Pioneer lift, is a great example (IMHO) of the weakness of Park City.  Whoever set up the mountain thinks it is fine to cut a slope into a dozen runs that are so indistinguishable that they have their names posted at the bottom of the run so folks on the chairlifts can tell what is what (although I can't really disagree with that practice, even for diversified runs).  Sitka, Liberty, Shamus, all impossible to tell apart once on them, or even from the chair.  The runs were certainly fun, well groomed and just steep enough, and collectively they are probably my Run-o-The-Day.  But as they say, Seen one, seen 'em all.  That has always been my chief gripe about PC, but that was before I was a Black Diamond Rider.  I hope tomorrow to try some more of those, but from looking at the map, they seem to be likewise afflicted. Ah, well, we'll see.

Clearly the Worst-Run-o-the-Day goes to Gotcha Cut-Off. I think it is there just to allow regular Blue Riders a way down without attempting a Double Blue or a Black. Either of those latter options would have been preferable.  The conditions on it were HORRID--brown dirt, little trees, and rocks were centered in the middle of tight curves.  It reminded me of one of the roads in NC that winds down the mountain almost at an angle.  I passed two young girls who had taken off their boards and were walking down.  Though I managed to get through the crud in one piece, ironically I hit a bad patch on a stretch of icy, curvy slope and went A-over-Tkettle without warning.  It hurt more than my pride, as I landed on my elbow and, to a lesser extent, my head on the hardpack. Double ouch!!  Though it hurt a bit, I had no fear of permanent damage (who could tell?) but it was an odd injury.  There was a residual discomfort, but no blood and surprisingly not even a knot on my noggin. I expect a headache sometime tonight.  Time will tell.  If I start babbling or repeating myself, might be best to tell me. Time will tell.  If I strart abblling or repetating myslef, mihgt be best to tell me.

Some readers might take this as a call to badger me further about getting a helmet, but I object.  A helmet would give me a false sense of security and give me the opportunity to get looser and injure something else.  This was a freak fall, akin to the last one I remember (that doesn't sound good) when Brant and I were in Utah in 2007.  That one involved some blood, and a helmet would not have made a difference there.  Rock on.

Rest of Jax folks come in tomorrow, but not in time to ski, unless they want to hit the night slopes. It will be nice to have some company on these long, lonely runs.  Am missing everyone back home, and hope someone can remind me why I just had to do this.

Utah - OK, I'm Here, How About a Break

OMG, what a horrible night's sleep (from Sunday)! A spot on my left leg was cramping so badly I thought I would wake up. I couldn't get it to go away, no matter what I tried. I rubbed it, I stretched it, I cursed it--not easy to do while sleeping--but nothing. Then I tried pointing my toes, which is always an invitation to a calf cramp, and, strangely, got enough relief to go back to my normal deep sleep. I'm not sure I brought enough Advil for this trip!

Finally woke up (damn alarms!) around 11. It was supposed to be snowing today (we hope for it every day), but it didn’t. I felt pretty queasy, so I decided to take the day off and do a little work. Emails, phone calls, the usual; I would have had to do it one day, so today was fine. I couldn't tell if it was AltSickSynd or sheer exhaustion, but I wasn’t going anywhere. Went shopping later in the day and found a little pub that served Newcastle. What a relief! The Fresh Market here is not at all like the one in Jacksonville. It's a lot like every other food market out here, especially City Market. Found a neat UnderArmour Cold Weather shirt at the local Sports Authority, but it was the wrong size. Not to be deterred, I spent a few hours finding it online and ordering one. So there! To bed at 2 AM not the best way to get ready for a full day…but it's my nature I suppose.

Utah -The Journey Begins. At 3 AM….

The trip started inauspiciously, by not finding my A team snow clothes…when I was in Jax and couldn't find them, I thought they must still be in Lakeland. Wrong. Even had to go to Sports Authority to pickup some thermal gear and new socks. But I got all packed with backups by Sunday early in the morning, chanced it to take a nap, and (thankfully) woke right up at 3 (ouch).
Flight was from Tampa, and one reason for leaving so early was to try the economy parking lot. Seems they took a new approach to economy parking--it's now a covered garage with a regular shuttle to the terminal. Very nice.

Now we start the Good News/Bad News feed.

G.N. = I got to the gate in plenty of time (1 hour early) to get an exit row…

B.N.= It was in the middle and was one of those exit seat rows that didn't recline

G.N. = I rushed to make my connection in Atlanta and walked from the arrival gate right onto the airplane for the next leg…

B.N. = I didn’t have time to ask for an exit row and even though it was a window seat, my "neighbor" was a giant. (Maybe she was Samoan, returning to school?)

G.N. = I slept the entire flight after we leveled off--4 hours of desperately needed shuteye…

B.N. = given the space limitations, I ended up sleeping in odd positions, resulting in a sore neck (damn).

G.N. = Although it was a connecting flight, my snowboard bag arrived with me…

B.N. = The Delta baggage gorillas must have been having a tug-o-war with it because it was badly torn on the top edge.

G.N. = I had forgotten which car agency I rented from, but the first one I tried (Thrifty) had my reservation (shortest line too)…

B.N. = (not much, but now that I've started like this…) I left all my travel papers--including my voucher for a free lift ticket--at the car counter and had to go back (but Jessica had saved it, so Yea!).

The car is cute-ish (Ford Focus) and big enough for the one person who is me. On to Park City!

The ride was uneventful, highway most of the way. I found the hotel easily, Chateau Après, and everyone was friendly. It is a bit of a dump--somewhere between an old Day's Inn and an old Motel 6--without the amenities we tend to take for granted (like an ice bucket!) but it is cheap and adequate for the one person who is me. And, of course, location, location, location. It's less than 600 mincing steps to the slopes.

Odd, they gave me room 115, my identification number with the firm. Hmm…it's a "firm" trip after all. Coincidence? I think not.

 I got my board all set up, dressed (no small feat) and headed out by 1:30, actually on the mountain shortly after 2. As I mentioned the program they have gives away a full day's ticket the day you arrive with just an internet voucher and a boarding pass. OK, 2 hours for free, big deal. What I didn't know was that it was good for night skiing too. Well, night riding, actually. Are you there KITT?

 I didn't waste any time--fell getting off my first lift, awkward, but with a low newbie quotient. This taught me why people use stomp pads on their boards--new board + snow = slickness.

 I was amazed at how quickly it came back, and also at how hard it felt to turn toeside. Very odd…toeside (on toes, facing the mountain) was my favorite side before. Board just didn’t seem to want to go there; heelside turns were fine. I worked my way around the mountain, at least as much as I could in 2 hours, gaining confidence and speed with each run. No blacks today, but I found a few double blues that were fun (Prospector, Silver Queen). My favorite run of the day was probably Payday (I did it enough, day and night). I managed to hold off going into the trees until late in the day, and then just the edges (tiny bits of powder left from days ago). On one run I rode up the lift with some younger guys (my guess, early 30's) and came down with them for a bit. I must have been showing off a little, because I got going w-a-a-y too fast for a good part of the run. I lost them when I stopped to recover and they went on. Damn those young legs!

 Speaking of which, my legs and wind were surprisingly strong. Of course, they could have been better if I had held to my exercise schedule (or had one) pre-trip, but I feel I held up pretty well, all things considered. I fell a little, maybe twice, nothing major, and nothing stupid. All in all, a good warmup day.

 One disturbing thing I noticed was the tendency to get cramps in my back and rib muscles. Very odd--have never gotten them there before. My feet would hurt for a while, but then it would randomly go away; maybe something shifted in the boot. Also odd.

 The best part of night riding is the continuity from the daytime. There's not a rush to make the last lift or a worry about get stranded (as long as you've made it back over to the night area--that's another story, too boring to relate here). Early in the session it is still sort of light, and the trail lighting fills in the rest. It's still warm enough to not be icy, and the crowds thin considerably, especially early when anyone with sense has stopped for dinner. The downside is that there are only a few runs open, some blue some green. Still, a lot of fun for the first day.

 I did quit earlier than closing (9 PM, go figure) and cleaned up. Then it was a struggle to find a spot for dinner (got out late), but I ended up at Squatter's Pub.

It really does look like this:

They brew various beers sold locally with interesting names, hopefully you can make them out in the picture below.  My favorite name is a toss-up between Provo Girl Pilsner and Captain Bastard's Oatmeal Stout.

The place was OK, I guess, but I doubt I'll go back. The problem with brewpubs, is that the beer they serve is very often too green, very hoppy. Maybe that's just how they like it up here in the Wasatch….Speaking of Wasatch and interesting names, there is also a Wasatch Brewery up here that makes a Polygamy Porter and an Evolution Ale. I have tried (and like) the latter but couldn’t bring myself to try the former.

Apparently they make something for the Mormon population as well….

Winnie is Gone

After a difficult ending, we lost our sweet Winnie.  She fought bravely til the end, but like Evie, it was time.  When your pups don't want to get up or, especially, to eat, you know the time has come.  Having given us all so many loving, wonderful years, she deserved a dignified and peaceful end.  I hated not being in town, but Jane did the right thing.  We will miss her terribly.