Early Season Turns
I had a great time on the mountain this morning. I was second in the gondola line with all the other diehards and old-timers, who have to ski every day of the season for bragging rights, and a couple of CMC students skiing before class. I’m not really sure where I fit in — probably a mix between the two groups.
First run was fast and fun. It was the standard first gondola group, when you pretend you aren’t trying to beat everyone else down the mountain for the first run of day. You jockey for position to grab your skis from the gondola, speed walk to the snow, jump into your bindings as fast as you can and skate around the cat track to the top of Heavenly Daze.
The first turns on Heavenly Daze were tasty, with a nice half inch of fresh man-made show on the left side of the run. The top half of Heavenly was surprisingly really soft. I’m always impressed by how quickly the snowmaking team can get the mountain into shape. Snow guns were blazing and provided great coverage in addition to conditioning my face for the return of old man winter.
The bottom half of the mountain was a little icy the first couple of runs. As the sun started hitting it, the snow softened up for some nice corduroy carving. Hardly anyone was on the mountain. You can walk right on to the gondola and Christie lift and pretty much have the entire run to yourself.
It’s a beautiful day today, so get out and enjoy the blue sky and fresh air. And get those legs ready for the good stuff that is just around the corner!
Byron Carney, Alpine skier
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