Monday, January 5, 2009

Day 239

[click to enlarge]

so high that the town itself is hidden in the valley, there's a ledge and an entire sloping field of powder. i'm 5900 feet up at this point of the mountain looking into the cedar bowl. the lifts have only been open for a few minutes and i'm one of the first ones up here and i stand in quiet admiration of the mountain below and the motionless valley and the one black bird in the air. the trees are white pillars of solid snow and i lean forward. i go.

there's a relationship that develops between the psych of adrenaline and the underlying understanding that you're sliding on a board across snow and ice and powder. momentum isn't a bad thing and it certainly does more than gives speed. it keeps you up. near waist-deep powder flies and parts underneath the board, yet a temporary slip or an overextended weight shift doesn't always mean a huge bail into the white ocean. perfect balance isn't as important as staying loose and moving with the board- moving as one. a magic carpet ride.

later, at 6361 feet up, the bottom of the valley is lost before an endless army of frozen trees. heel side, toe side. carve left, carve right. swoosh.

after over six straight hours of riding, my back quad muscle was sore from bearing the majority of weight on this powder day. there's one run that's three miles long and i made it my last of the day before hitching home. this place is awesome.

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