Skier Days: Sara(6), Caroline(3), Susan(0), Charles(1)


Yeah, thats right, day numero uno for the 2009/2010 ski season.

Last night the Millers came over for a swim and dinner.   Our friends Quentin, Julie, Brennan and Owen had booked a weekend of skiing for this weekend.  They were clearly hoping that the skiing was going to be as good as it had been last year.   Sadly, the rain of the last week had made the terrain pretty limited and somewhat on the advanced side shall we see (as you saw in the pictures yesterday).   They made the best of it and enjoyed the pool and met up with of our other friends from home that have a place in Andover.   They came by our place around 5 bringing beer and wine :-)  The kids went down to the pool on their own (joy of joys,  they have no passed the age milestone such that I must no more wait in the cold doorway of the locker room while they wait for the one shower at the pool) and the adults hung out and chatted about the day.  Quentin had brought along a bottle of Maudite, which I had just happened to be looking at on Wednesday at Atlas Liquors in Medford on my Thanksgiving packy run.   It was really smooth and we followed that on with a bottle of the Alligash Trippel that I had bought.


 Quentin and I ran down to Bob's "Real Pit" BBQ to pick up a large tray of meat, beans, cold slaw, and cornbread.     So that you can get an idea of what Bob's is all about I snagged the picture on the right from a Google search.  Yes, even Bob's tiny roadside barbecue got a whole slew of hits.   Clearly this picture was taken a bit later in some prior season, but you get the idea... Not only do you get dinner at Bob's, but you invariably get some really interesting chatter and trivia (Who was the starting short stop for the 1967 Dream Team Sox? Reggie Smith).   We also learned the etymology of Hip and Bummer while learning about the fineries of good barbecue.



The night was capped off by the first fireworks of the season viewed form the end of the parking lot.  It was a really great display on a background of white clouds whipping across a waxing moon.   The wind made the fireworks dance and float in a way that I have never seen before,  with the circular spirals collapsing dynamically and other rockets being driven into the trees..  The best part of all was hearing the snow guns up high on the mountain.  


The next morning it was finally sunny, and the wind had died down.   Caroline, Sara and I loaded the back of the Highlander with skis and drove down to Barker.   The girls went directly to the competition center and I found a spot upstairs in the lodge with in range of my cherished number 7 mug.   

The boots were not nearly as painful going on as I anticipated that they might be and my Carhartt's were working pretty well as ski pants.  I climbed up the muddy slope to the Locke Triple and rode up for the first time this year.   It worked out that I rode up with one of Sara's coaches from last year.  Kaz is a really great guy and a former member of the Japanese national team.   We talked about my fancy Carhartt ski pants and the finer points of which set of cheap work gloves make the best ski gloves.  I have learned over the last couple of seasons that this is the way to go for warm rugged ski gloves.  Add some extra water repellent spray and you are good to go.




Looking at the mountain on the ride up it became really clear just how busy the snow makers had been last night.  It was truly amazing what they had been able to accomplish just since sundown the night before.   T2 and Sunday punch were now solidly open and there was snow making all across the top of Locke and even over onto Barker.    I have to hand it to the crew, they have truly saved the day.    


I started down the top of T2 thinking that it would be relatively soft and was kind of sitting back when I came over the first lip and got a goggle full of icy snow gun goodness.  Not being able to see at this point I immediately went into a long skid that took a couple of attempts to get under control.  After this inauspicious start to the ski season I managed to get my ski legs back and after some time waiting in line managed to get in 5 whole runs.  The line time was not even that bad, and I was able to catch up with a bunch of folks and kill some time while waiting.     Sunday Punch had some nice smallish moguls that reassured me that I had not forgotten how to ski them over the summer, so I did 3 runs down that.   The most exciting part was the dangling 10 year old that didn't quite make it onto the chair at the mid station and was being held in a death grip by his Mom.  He was just low enough that the lifties were able to pop off his skis and a few heroic types were able to catch him and bring him down to a safe landing to a rousing cheer from the onlooker from the line.   


I skied the bottom of Sunday Punch to where there was real snow and then walked the rest of the way down.  It was entertaining to watch folks skiing over the barely hidden rocks, then the slush then the dirt and grass as you got further down.   Susan and Maggie had walked over and we met up with Jenny, Rod, Nat, and Drew as well as Adam (Meg's bo).   Rod got himself a mug (apparently there are 37 remaining, so get them while the last) and I gave old number 7 its inaugural.


We went back to the condo and did a bit of cleaning and packing and I ran out and got some water repellent. My plan is to see if I can waterproof my old Carhartt work pants and use those as proper ski pants for the couple of times I am likely to get out this week.  I may be crazy,  but I think it might just work.


At 3pm we went into Bethel as they had an informal reception for the parents and faculty of the winter term.  I am really impressed by the teaching staff.  They are young and enthusiastic and I think that Sara is going to have an fantastic academic, as well as athletic experience.  I am proud of her for wanting this and working for it and proud that Susan was so immediately supportive.   It didn't take me much convincing,  but I am glad things have worked out the way that they have.


Anyways, I just dropped another pile of money at Artech, my favorite online provisioner of ski equipment.  It is time that I wrapped this up and got an early nights sleep as tomorrow it is back to work and school.  Sara has a bit of training in the morning and then orientation in the afternoon with honest to god classes starting on Tuesday.


- C