Praying to the Snow Gods (July 31st, 2006)

I've been on the slopes four out of my first five days now. On each lift up I've talked to people from New Zealand, Australia, and all over Europe. We happily talk about how much fun we're having and how great the weather is. But it's time to be frank: the conditions are awful.

My first day here was great. The snow was soft, the sun was shining, and I was happy. Each day since then as gotten noticeably worse. Day 2 was on the Remarkables, which I've already mentioned didn't live up to its name. My third day on the mountain was marked by morning winds around 40 mph with gusts to 60 and afternoon rain. Last night it rained we had a downpour, but unfortunately it was all rain on the mountain. When I arrived the base snow level was hovering around 90cm (less than 3 feet) which I thought was low but no one seemed to be complaining. It's now down to about 50cm and that seems generous.

And really, all that's left can't really be called snow, cause it's actually ice. The most heavily boarded areas soften up by the afternoon, but corresponds to about one run per chair. That means each chair has exactly one useable run, the rest of the mountain is unskiable cause it's completely frozen ice. As I mentioned earlier, there are 3 chairs on the mountain: one beginner, one intermediate and one advanced. So that leaves me with two runs to enjoy. All, day, long. Oh, and the advanced run is usually closed in the morning cause it's too windy.

So it's not all vacation down here. This is definitely some of the most challenging terrain I've had to deal with. And the thought of being tested on this stuff is actually kind of frightening. But if I can pull it off here I feel like I should be able to do it anywhere.