Another Year Goes By - Happy Birthday Pappy

Never forget, he who made all the wonderful things in life possible, like snowboarding...Pappy would have been 90 today.

Utah - This is the End, My Friend

It wasn't supposed to be, but life has a way of altering plans.  I had trouble sleeping (runny nose) and, of course, I hurt a bit.  I ended up sleeping in til 10.  I can't blame it all on my back or groin, but maybe some impending illness (cue foreshadowing music)--I was very lethargic.  My thought was to stay in and ride the Canyons with my remaining day pass tomorrow.  Then I got to thinkin'... riding by myself again? While hurt? There had to be a better way.  My main concern about rescheduling my flight was the extra fare that most certainly would incur at the last moment.  But it can't hurt to call...Wow! no fare difference, just that unconscionable change fee.  Still, not a bad idea, given that the ticket was acquired on FF miles.  So I pulled the trigger and got the redeye out early--very early--the next morning at 12:55.  Bit of a swing in plans.  (And who the hell travels at that time of night?)  That meant I had to rush to get out and use up what was left of the day.

Sarah's Folly

 I caught up with the guys on Iron Mountain around 1 (just Peter and Josh--the Big Boys had gone to Deer Valley, where we aren't welcome anyway).  The first order of the day was to attend to/comfort Sarah who had crashed on Lead Foot.  Unfortunately we couldn't be as much help as the ski patrol, who took her down in a sled. Ouch.  It was a tough run, and I fell more than once getting down from there, on my sore hip, no less. Ouch also.  Come to find out 2 others of our party had gotten stranded on Iron Mountain earlier in the day. Bad day for our averages....

After Sarah was safely on the way to the clinic (she turned out to be OK, just "tweaked" her knee), we went back over to Day Break, but a lot of the powder was skied out. Fortunately not all of it, but enough to limit our runs.  I lost the guys on the ride home, but worked my way back to Cascade.  Had I been just a bit quicker to get into the run, I'd have been golden.  But I delayed long enough for a boarder dad and his two skier munchkins to clog up the run ahead of me.  When I tried to pass on the side, they'd swing that way and I'd have to slow (and fall) to keep from cleaning them out.  On the bad hip--ouch.  After about 3 of those maneuvers, I burst through and was sailing home.  Little bastards!

Uneventfully returned to my room, packed (after taping my ripped bag), and left for the airport.

This is where today would normally end, but since the day started on Saturday and sped through the night ending on Sunday, I won't post separately for Sunday.  What a trip.

I had paid extra for a reclining exit row seat. When I got to my row I had to smile, being (apparently) between two ladies of indeterminate age, but slight of build.  A few minutes later, I was informed I was on the wrong side of the plane and that my seat was E, not B.  My row companions there were a sizeable man by the window, and a man-mountain in the aisle, who took about 1/3 of my seat with his overhang. Truly Jaba-esque. There ought to be a law!

So, no good sleep for me to Atlanta, and not much of the bad kind either. The flight from Atlanta to Tampa, however, was great. Got a reclining window exit seat at check-in and the middle seat was empty.  I was out at wheels up and not fully awake until time to exit. Glorious. And glad to be home.

Utah - Friday's Children . . . go skiing

Friday...Friday...Friday.  I got to the house on time, and we all left together. Our first run of the day was up Iron Mountain with most of guys and Katherine (Jeremy's better half).  We swung aound and found--thank you Beau--Iron Man, a Black Diamond under the lift line.  Had I seen it before I plunged off, I never would have gone.  Steep wasn't too bad, but nasty morning moguls everywhere.  Katherine was the only smart one and went around. I got half way down and then cut through the woods to the next run over.  Hell of a way to start the day, I'll say.

But then we went over to the Dreamcatcher lift, which is much easier; the guys took a first run down Chimera, a Black Diamond, while Katherine and I skated down a groomed blue run, Alpenglow.  I was not embarrassed at all--it was smooth, wide and lots of fun.  Even found a little powder.  On the second run, the other snowboarder of the group went with us, preferring not to challenge the moguls again.  It seems it is easier to navigate the moguls on skis than on a snowboard...something about speed of making turns. I second that, and they can have 'em.

After a few more runs, the Big Boys (the expert skiers) went to the top where it's all black and mostly Double Diamonds (called the Ninety Nine 90 Express).  They later said it was fun, but one of the best (Jeremy) got dinged up a bit, so I can imagine what would have happened to me and my comrades.  Josh and I stayed with Sarah, her husband Dave, and one of the twins, the Swiss Miss, I think (that's another story). We weren't together long because at the top of the second lift (Day Break) Josh and I went down under the lift onto a  cute little blue run called Dawn (lots of powder) and the rest went home. That run was so much fun, despite some bumpy spots, we took it again 3 or 4 more times. Then I was toast, and we headed for home.

Got some video running down Cascade, but missed Josh's big pileup on the side of the run--literally.  Some skiers were dogging me on the left and I was being funneled right into Josh as he sat on the snow.  A quick jerk on the board and up the hill I went, missing him by about a foot. I have a video from that starting point, but it needs to be trimmed to post (too big).  It's a bit annoying unless you've never seen a snowboarding video before, and maybe even then.

Best run of the day was a tossup between Alpenglow and Dawn, the former being sweet and easy to cruise, and the latter having a generous portion of glorious powder. Worst run? No question it was the first one on Iron Man.

And yet, the worst part of the day was still ahead.  Folks were scurrying about, going down to Park City to try to catch the previous day's lightning in a bottle at some bar.  I hung out at the house for chat and a few beers, then headed back to my hovel to do some laundry.  I had changed out of my snowboad boots and was carrying them in one hand, with my board in the other.  Slow steps down the driveway to the parked car.  One step...another, then boom! Feet went out, I got horizontal somewhere around 24" with nothing for it but to come down on my ass! I had to lie there for a bit to be able to get up, with a bruised left hip, but more importantly, a strained right groin.  Apparently I didn't hit exactly flat and got torqued a bit.  If I hadn't been wearing my backpack...who knows?  Another sign from the universe about getting a helmet?

After composing myself I headed back to the PCPC for dinner--a sandwich this time, and another conversation with Hazel.  Laundry was OOTQ, so I just limped home to tend to my wounds.  Tomorrow is another day...

Utah - The Canyons: Less than Grand

Ah, my first run at the Canyons (formerly known as Park West...much inferior under that name).  I made it to the house by the appointed hour and everyone scattered.  Made a few runs off the nearby Iron Mountain lift, then worked over to the other part of the mountain to meet up with the guys.  Included one snowboarder that I could keep up with and two 3 skiers I couldn't.  But we all stayed together.  This resort has some strange elements.  We came down a steep and icy run, which turned into a run-out, which led to a hill.  An uphill hill! In the middle of the run...WTF?  The best, though not only, way up was to grab onto a rope tow and hold on for dear life (snowboarders, that is, since we always ride sideways); the other option was to walk up--not the preferred choice. Very strange way to run a railroad.  The other peculiarity was the so-called Orange Bubble Express.  This was a regular chairlift with a protective orange plexiglass "bubble" that could be pulled down to shield against the wind and cold.  With the orange goggles I had on, it was surreal.  What wasn't obvious was that there was a midpoint download that was optional.  Of course we took it and came off short of the end.  Upon polling the rest of the group at lunch, it appeared that everyone did the same. Poorly marked and thus Annoying (with a capital A).

After lunch, we met up with a straggler and had all but two of the group together.  That lasted about 15 minutes before several of us got separated again. That happens.  I ended up exploring an area of the mountain that was honeycombed with multi-million dollar homes.  Pretty amazing.  But the runs were either narrow or long, neither of which sat well with my tired, old, post-lunch legs.  Yet I persevered to get back to the transfer lift that ran between a primary staging area (Tombstone lift) and the area where the house was.  Every other lift in areas I have been to in the West, except for high mountain lifts, closes at 4 PM.  Most of the lifts in Park City close at 4.  It seems every lift at the Canyons closes at 3:30.  The lift operator wouldn't let me up when I arrived at 3:45, even though that was the only lift that would get me back to the house.  His "explanation" was lame. Again, WTF? This is an exclusive (and expensive) area.  And, to add insult to injury, they wouldn't even send a courtesy van.  Unconscionable. I should write a letter. Probably won't.  Larry was kind enough to drive over and get me, and there the universe showed its sense of humor.  I had to describe where to come for me...had I not spent 30 minutes the night before erroneously exploring that part of the mountain while trying to find the house, I would have had no clue what to tell him. Makes you go hmmm..

The area is full of rich folks, which makes you wonder if these peons weren't exacting some type of class envy revenge.  The house the gang stayed in was spectacular--we were guessing around 3 or 4 million to buy.  And location...wow.  Look at this.

The runs here are numerous and, unlike Park City, diversified, and the staff is as friendly as members of the Gestapo can be.  (I saw a lift operator cut a little girl's lift ticket off her coat and send the whole family down the hill for a new one because she had a child's ticket and was a year too old--very unyielding, just like my lift operator. Bastards.)  The snow is good, the runs are good (for the most part), and the house is fantastic.  But the short hours and the expensive lift tickets--for a dollar less at Park City you can ski/ride from 8:30 AM to 9 PM--makes this not my favorite place.  The rule-bound mentality is just such a drawback. (I realize this is Utah and rule-bound is their official state state of mind, but c'mon...cutting the ticket off the coat? That would never happen in Colorado.)  I have two more days on my ticket and plan to use it to the max, but will be more careful where I am at the witching hour.

Lunch and dinner with the gang was a hoot.  These are some twisted folks, who have lots of fun together.  This trip, apparently, or ones like it, is a regular occurrence.  Many (or most) of the things said were unrepeatable, either in the sense of I don't know who will be reading this, or more importantly, in order to adhere to "the Code."  Whether it was someone hitting on one or the other of the "twins," a birthday boy downing shots of some strange concoction whenever we sang Happy Birthday, or other outlandish inducements given  to do even more outlandish things, there was no shortage of laughter.  For dinner we ended up at Butcher's Chop House--a bit anticlimatic unfortunately.  I don't recommend it; the food was not bad, but the service was terrible--it took almost 2 hours to eat.

Hopefully it will snow again tonight and keep it up tomorrow!

[Next day: I do not know, but have heard that other outlandish things went on back at the house that night, possibly involving the hottub, but I couldn't really say for sure.  All I know is it was easy to follow the trail of bloody footprints up to the lift the next morning.]

Utah - Damn, Fell off the Horse Again

First, let me say that it is terrible to get old and not be able to do the things you did when you were young(er). I used to go skiing with my Dad and be on the hill every day from when the lifts opened (around 9 ish) until catching the last lift up to the top (ever my goal) at 4. Best of all was to ride the last chair before the lift shut down.  S-w-e-e-e-t.   Now I wake up, groan around a bit, and wonder if it's worth it to buy a half day ticket. S-a-a-d.

I was awakened by a phone call from a business associate and stayed on the phone with him and doing various things until about 11:30. Then came emails. [Sigh] I suppose I could say I was resting my legs for tomorrow when the powder makes everything slower and more exhausting, or that the conditions had been getting thinner each day and it was getting dangerous. (See yesterday's post.) But maybe I have to admit I was just still tired. Whatever…I stayed in, don't judge me.

In the afternoon I wandered over to town and checked out the wonderful local Utah stores, e.g., Sports Authority and WalMart. Got some Duck Tape for my ripped board bag, a Park City shirt, another pair of goggles, and some socks. Oh, the excitement of it all…help me keep from swooning.

It got really thrilling when I went to find the rest of the Jax crew in the fancy subdivision in the Canyons; who would name a residential subdivision "The Colony"? Who lives there, ants? Lepers? You might expect something from M. Night Shyamalan. And yet,…very expensive houses all around. I spent the better part of an hour finding the place, thanks to the SFB in the guard house. He directed me the wrong way twice. That way included 2 trips up a steep road, across a narrow bridge which led to nowhere and tooling around other peoples mansions. The real thrill came from the fact that it had been snowing since the top of the page (Firesign Rules) and the Ford Focus is not a snow-mobile. Steep, slippery roads with falling snow = stressful driving. That jerk. Hmm, what do I recall about fool me once, shame on you, etc? Next time down the hill I took a different route but managed to miss the house all on my own. One more U-turn and I was there.

I had purchased some beer as a house warming gift for the crew, and was dressed quasi-cowboy style in my Broncos coat and gambler's hat. The look on Melissa Nelson's face when she answered the door was priceless. Apparently they were expecting food and not me, and she didn't recognize me (the hat?)--imagine the awkwardness, I didn’t help by saying "Time for a party…." Finally, mercifully, I said my name and was ushered in. A small moment in life to puzzle over. Anyway, the house is fantastic, and that's only the part that I saw. I think there are 9 or 10 inhabitants--I will be another during the day--and it still looked empty. Of course, several were sleeping, but who's quibbling. The fun starts tomorrow at 9 AM when the lifts open. As I do not enjoy being square, I will attempt to be there. Rock on!

Dinner at Park City Pizza Co, tucked away in a small strip mall near the Usual Suspects, was excellent--a gluten-free pizza (whatever that means). May well eat there again.

Here's the link http://www.parkcitypizzaco.com/.

It was accompanied by an excellent Amber Wheat draft (called Hazel, brewed by Uinta, and no, that's not a typo).  


My God, It's Sarah Palin!