Girl Gets Board

Sunday was my first day out at Steven’s Pass since mid-December, it had been way too long and I had to head out. Everyone else did too…

The bad news was that I was completely unable to convince any friends to come out riding with me because of the forecast, the good news was that I got to go in the singles line. So, while the wait was long for the lifts, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

I left Seattle in the morning thinking that the snow wasn’t going to be great. I had heard it had been raining the day before. Plus, the last time I went in December it was sheer ice. I was wrong. There was about four inches on top of the base that made it fun to play around in.

The PNW is so temperamental. The weather can change in an instant. It can be rainy, then sunny, then cold, then so hot you can’t even go outside without wanting to die (summer 2009, I’m thinking about you). The snow seems the same way. One day sheer ice, the next rain, the next powder. Still getting used to that.

The crowds on the front side were insane, so I headed to the backside–there was nice snow, not a lot of people, and lots of fog. It was hard to see in some parts and having the ground drop out from underneath you is always a fun time, but it wasn’t nearly as crowded so it was worth it. The lifties were in full force that day too. The backside lift had some awesome soloist belting out tunes while helping load people on the chair and the top Tye Mill lift op had the window open and his neon radio blasting hip hop. Good times.

Riding the lifts with a bunch of people was pretty fun…I got the snow gangsters, giggling jr. high girls, and guys down from Alyeska — I guess the snow is just as bad up there. Since I first heard about it in high school, I always thought of Alyeska as a dreamy snow world, where everything is perfect. Maybe its not? My dreamworld was crushed.

The run next to the Tye Mill lift was midwest snow, which was so fun and easy to ride. I just charged it. I felt like I was back at my hill only the run was longer. I knew exactly what to expect and I had that muscle memory. Maybe this is weird, but I could have ridden that all day. But I rode in the snow with four-inch top layer too. It’s still taking some time to feel comfortable. Learning that I need to bend my knees a lot more and have them be shock absorbers isn’t my automatic riding style, but I think I am getting better.

Even though I have the park pass, I didn’t head over…just because I knew it would be busy. And I chickened out. But, next on the plan is working on those boardslides dang it! I promise!