Cody, his dog Savvy and I went for a ride in his new snowcat to see how Short Divide launch was looking.
We parked in Clarkston, where the road is snowed in from there to the top.
It was a nice, brisk, mostly sunny day - great for our "reconnaissance mission"!
We made it to the top in fine fashion, and spent a half hour enjoying the view and sunshine, as Savvy ran around wildly with snow chunks in her mouth!
The Snow was about five feet deep where we usually park on launch.
The wind was definitely North/NorthEast, blowing over the back, so it wasn't really launchable. We will watch for a good South wind day to come back and fly soon!
Before we started back down, some local snowmobilers stopped to talk and check out Cody's snowcat.
It was a great day to get out for some fresh "Spring" air.
Landon and I had the opportunity for a "snow-day" - so we jumped all over it! It was a beautiful, mostly sunny day on the mountain. We arrived early and headed for "Marge's Triple" lift and the "Rodeo Grounds" terrain park. It took me a while to adjust to a new board, but once I got my snow-legs back, we had a blast!
There is nothing quite like leaning over the snow on your toe-side, reaching out and dragging your fingertips over the freshly groomed corduroy-snow or powder, as you feel the board carve a sweet arc across the sun-sparkled morning snow :-)
One thing I have learned about snowboarding is that it is largely about commitment and trust! You could just plow down the mountain on your heel-side all day, starting and stopping the whole way down, but what fun is that?! The first time I finally dared to carve a turn on my toe-side, I went flat on my back - because I was afraid to commit, chickened out, and caught my heel-side edge! I finally convinced myself to trust the board edge to hold, fully committed to the turn, and just enjoyed the results.
Landon was steady as ever, showing me up at every turn and jump :-) Suffering from acute airtime deficiency syndrome, I saw every jump as an opportunity for relief. I landed some decent jumps, but also had my share of crashes. By the end of the day I knew I had overdone it a bit, and would probably pay for it the next day with some bumps, bruises and soreness! I made it through the day without any serious damage - but I should probably stick to something a bit safer - like hang gliding!!!
I certainly have a healthy new respect for all of the Shaun Whites and Hannah Teters of the world!
Here's a short video I edited together from the day - thanks again to the Foo Fighters!
