No Friends on Powder Days (she said)
by Heather 13 Feb 2011
Knee-Deep Powder
They say, “There are no friends on powder days.” I say, this is a just another myth. Why? Because last Sunday was one of those days that shapes up into a classic Vail Powder Day, and I skied it with my friend, Susan. She could have left me behind, but instead she hauled me to to Vail and guided me around the mountain.
Saturday evening, in the midst of a multi-day storm (it will ultimately deliver over 40 inches of snow, read more about it here), Susan and I make plans to ski first tracks at Beaver Creek the next morning. Both of our husbands will work on the hill that day, and we plan to enjoy the mountain together but stop in to see our hard-working husbands from time to time.
Sunday morning on my way to the bus, Susan calls. Her husband, Greg, has checked the overnight snow and weather reports. “You have to go to Vail,” he tells her, “It’s snowed 19 inches there.” She graciously offers to pick me up (she could drive straight there without me), so I quickly head to my locker, grab my gear, and meet her. Susan doesn’t leave a anybody behind (except sadly, a working husband) on a powder day! In the space of 20 minutes, I find myself on the way to Vail on an “epic day” with my own, personal guide.
Susan, after the Pole Vault
At the top of the mountain, the crowd thins as skiers and boarders stream over the ridges. Susan and I drop into light, knee-deep snow which flows up to our thighs as we descend. Susan even gets a couple of face shots – but she’s much shorter and a whole lot faster than I am. At one point, Susan stops and looks up hill in order to check my progress. Unwisely, she leans back to rest on her poles. Over she goes! The poles nearly disappear in the snow while Susan somersaults over them. I arrive moments later and find her unable to get up, because she is laughing so hard.
Champagne Glades
We start in Game Creek Bowl, drop over Ricky’s Ridge, play in the Back Bowls and finally arrive in the Champagne Glades at Blue Sky Basin. I don’t have much experience tree skiing (read about my first day here), but with all the snow it’s work, but not scary. We ski for 5 hours – all powder, bumps and trees – no breaks. Susan advises me to pick my poles further up, they’re dragging in the snow and messing up my stance! Around 12:30pm, Susan digs a frozen granola bar out of her jacket. We split it, hoping to stave off hunger for a few more runs. Susan subsequently cuts her lip on the rock-hard snack.
Hand-made Sushi!
Unfortunately, we have obligations to meet later in the day. We consider blowing off a planned menu of snacks and ordering pizza rather than cooking the feast Susan has planned for a Superbowl party. In keeping with the day’s theme, we decide to be good friends and head for home around 1pm. The rest of the gang (including the husbands who had been at work all day) anticipate Asian-inspired snacks at the end of their work day. We hit our first groomed run at 1:30pm on our way back to Vail Village.
Latte-revived, we cook up a storm. Greg arrives to make his famous sushi, Kent and Mike bartend, and Anna helps cook up more Asian-inspired appetizers. We feast on sushi, wraps, coconut-lemongrass chowder, other appetizers and enjoy the game.
It’s a very over-used term, but what an epic day!
