Only the hardy could keep up with these toughened VFTT'r gathering goers!! Taking on the slopes of Sugarloaf with only a few hours shuteye is difficult... only to be further dampened by clouds in your face and icing on your goggles (or glasses if your name is Sherpa). So, if you had no mind left... one would never know!! Skiing technique was replaced with survival techniques oft referred to as "skiing by Braille" - sure, easy for Helen to do. bubba sent out whines for the steep and slippery, and finally saw a glimpse with his fearless tele-skiers guides Dave and Seeker!! How does it go that the "experienced skiers" found their way into a boxed-in slope, roped off --> trudged through the woods only to end up on mid-way down a slope with a ski-race in progress?!?!? Priceless... did I mention that we "hiked" up for access to such slopes?? But we found our way to the lift that services the near-top-of-the mountain and proceeded to lose our way back nearly every time (what's another trip down to the bottom where the snow is heavy and the weather wet?) The best news is that we found the BullWinkle Pub for lunch ...all at the same time and got a chance to refuel with alcohol in preparation for the up and coming bad weather!
Now... this is a toss-up. What's better, clouds and snow you can't see in or 200-foot sight distance and being pelted with ice?? The former... it didn't hurt going uphill!! So goes the rest of the early afternoon. The weather deteriorated quickly, fogged up even worse and made heading in before it really "rained" a good idea.
Some of us just can't get enough of a good thing... yours truly. Back to the warm, dry condo just didn't do it, so I had to take the snowboard out and see what was waiting up top... by the time I got to the second lift the top was totally socked in with clouds/fog that I would have been foolhardy for me to take the upper lift. Besides it was now raining wet snow/rain mix -- who'd want to leave this?? I stayed low and headed over to the high-speed quad so I could really get wet at a faster pace! I met a graduate student from Harvard to ride with for a couple runs... thinking that he must have brains and he was out in this mess... encouraging!! His name was Hobie, and Hobie liked to board fast down Black runs. I followed... who really had brains in this park??
Rather than stay around and enjoy the heavy snow conditions any more, I headed back to the party condo... there were things to do there. Munchies, beer, wine, jigsaw puzzles to conquer and people to joke with!! Besides, if we had any brains left we should have considered building an Ark for Sunday.
Seriously... we had partying to do. This was a ski trip... we didn't have to hike up mountains the next day. Our fearless Captain was sure to join us later that evening and we had to be in form. Dinner out at a great restaurant a second evening was the perfect start. When we returned, the party had started and we just had to fall in place. We tell nothin' about anything here... you should have been there...
Next morning... rain. Pouring rain... rain that moved the earth, rain!! No ski in it rain. We were all able to trade in our package-priced lift tickets for a voucher good for one-year at any American Ski company operation (Sugarloaf, Sunday River, Killington, Pico, Mt. Snow, Attitash, and out west - The Canyons and Steamboat). That's a deal for our small investment.
Naturally, we had great times with new and old friends. For anyone not involved, you can't imagine the skillful planning and execution that Seema provided! It was fantastic. MichaelJ presented Seema with a leather-bound photo scrapbook of her 48th peak -- a delightful gift that we could all enjoy. Sherpa, hardcore partier, provided some excellent photo and video views of Baxter and Seeker had some extreme CD's of tele-skiing. The Doctor was there for a few rounds. I know now to see him before I show up at another gathering.
It was worth 1300 miles to play with my hiking friends. It's about them not skiing!! What rain??
