As I sit down to write this reflecting on the past few days, all I can say is wow! Saturday and Sunday were wonderful sunny days punctuated with some ominous snow clouds rolling through.
Monday brought us some wind but with it, the prospect of snow and now as I type these words, the snow has arrived. I spent the day riding with my buddies George (Big G), George (Little G) and Chase from New York, shreddin' the mountain.
We went everywhere, but mostly the parks and I have to say what an amazing job our park crew has done this year. The terrain park crew keeps it fresh and new in all four of our parks and they are in the process of a Swifty park redesign.
The New Yorkers really know how to wear me out, and numerous runs through the park will certainly do it to these old bones. Luckily I have taken on the role as photographer and videographer so while carrying the gear I can avoid hurting, or more importantly embarrassing myself, on the features.
We started at 9am and took a warm-up on some smooth carvy groomers. Half a run down Ponderosa was enough to loosen the legs of the crew so we quickly headed to Ambush park where Little G and Chase scoped the hits. From there it was a quick trip through the rails and to the Big Kahuna, the huge hit at the bottom of Ambush. We all took turns testing our speed, which as it turns out, is significant, but what a sweet jump.
We moved to Swifty Park for a rail and jump session and then hit Crazy Horse for some fun wall hits and the bobsled run. After lunch at the Pinnacles we hit the Ambush Park again where Little G and Chase honed their skills on the hits and went big.
A decision was made to take a non-park run so we headed to Wardance and found some great snow in the trees on the steep pitch. The New Yorkers killed it. Big G parted ways to do some mogul skiing on Crazy Raven and the rest of us hit the parks again.
As the 3 o'clock hour neared the snow arrived in force and we decided another Rice Bowl to Crazy Horse run was necessary. A park run and a quick break led us to decide on Wounded Knee as the last run of the day, another good choice for some stashes. We finished with knuckle bumps in the base a called it a day.
It’s always super fun when George and his crew come out for a visit and I can't wait until next year when they return for some more action and adventure. What a great way to spend the last few days sun, fun, friends and snow.
See you on the slopes.
Chad
