Courduroy

Coming from the East Coast to a West Coast mountain town, there are so many new things. Fish tacos (sounds gross but they grow on you), mountains outside my backdoor, so many mountain biking trails and climbing routes I don't know where to start, and lots and lots of ski-bums. (Not that it's a bad things to be a ski-bum. I'm actually kind of jealous.)

Some things I have done here that I never did in the 3 1/2 years I lived in DC: Attended both a formal and a few semi-formal events. (I now have 5 dresses. This alone is amazing.) Not felt the desire to get out of town for some fun. Everything here is fun. Got the chance to break out things like cross-country skis and snowshoes and tromp around in the snow. And rode the mountain and sat at the beach (of the lake) in the same day. Truly unbeatable.

The one cool thing about being from the East is they very infrequently get reals snow. You tend to get very good at skiing and riding in icy, crappy, fake-snow conditions. So when you get to a real mountain, with real snow, and they have a not-so-good day, you're like SWEET!! Because a bad day in the mountains is better than the best day on the slopes back East. And you ride like a pro. Woohoo!


There's one thing about snow and ski resorts though that seems to be fairly universal. Courduroy. At night when everyone goes home, all the ski areas bring out the groomers to smooth out the bumps and moguls and make all of the trails even and consistent.


Some people would scoff at riding "groomers", the trails that the ski areas have made all smooth and nice. But your average skier pretty much sticks to the designated areas and doesn't ski in the trees or out of bounds.


I'm not saying it's the best, because powder is the best. But if you can't have powder, and you're at the mountain for first chair, one of the coolest things is riding untouched courduroy. You can pick up some speed knowing the snow is consistent and really lay out your turns. It's pretty awesome.

I have seen the light (like a DUI roadblock in the sky)

I have to admit, I've been flying a little differently since I got here. Singing a bit of a different tune. I am completely and totally in love with my new home, and I've noticed a few changes in my demeanor.

I have always considered myself to be a conservative person. Yes, I do some non-conservative things, but I do them safely. Sorta. I'm typically not a risk taker or a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl. I rock climb but I've had to work hard to overcome my fear of heights. I snowboard but always hang back on the safe side of things. And I am definitely not an adrenaline junkie. I feel that rush and I back off. I never liked feeling out of control.

When I went to Colorado over Thanksgiving I spent a week riding the "groomers" because there wasn't really enough snow to be in the trees much. The group I was with would have much preferred the trees and OB if at all possible. I was secretly grateful to be safely on the predictable groomed trails and not deep in the "pow" dodging trees. (For the record, I think "pow" is a ridiculous slang term. I use it purely in the context of the group I was with. Aaannd maybe to make fun of them a bit. The only thing worse is calling basketball "hoop". Seriously, just say basketball. Or ball. That would do. Boys. But I digress.)

I couldn't really understand why you would want to dodge trees risking life and limb (not to mention your lift ticket) when you could cruise like mad on the nice, safe, groomed trails. But yesterday something snapped. I was about half way down the killer tree run I mentioned yesterday and I got a rush of adrenaline. And I liked it! Wow... So this is what they've been talking about. I wanted more. I spent the rest of the day and all day today seeking out every tree, every rock. And I found them. Trees, rocks, and bumps galore. Oh God I've died and gone to heaven.

Maybe it's the laid back new me. Maybe it's the town or the knowledge that the next good stretch of riding won't be until next November. I'm like a fox in a hen house. A redneck at a Nascar race. haha.. I'm as giddy as a school girl. I've never jumped before and suddenly I'm jumping at every opportunity. I've never bombed so many tree runs or mogul fields in my life! I crave speed. Sweet. But seriously, who is this new me and where did she come from?!? I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I was not as adventurous as I thought. Phew... Also, I smile a lot more. Can't imagine why... :)

Go to Heavenly, ride like Hell.