Memorable Runs

[Zand]

I have a few.

My second time ever skiing at Ward Hill. This was back in '01. I had gone the year before at Pine Ridge with a private lesson and I was getting it, but I'd lost it. The day I went to Ward, I didn't take a lesson so I was gonna try to pick up on my rusty skills from the year before. Well, I made my way to the top of the rope tow and skiied down. I gained what seemed like a lot of speed. I forgot how to stop. Now that was a problem! I was heading straight for the wooden fence and parking lot. Luckily I fell, but that was a close one.

Another was my second run of the '02-'03 season up at Wa the day after the Christmas blizzard. I had already taken a successful run down Ralph's Run and was up at the summit. Conifer was closed without warning and 10th was very bumped up. My only choice was Smith. Not the greatest run for second run of the year.

March '03 at Killington. I was headed off the Superstar Quad not knowing where I was headed. I knew the one I was on went to the bottom of the Skyeship, but didn't know what to take. I managed to find Vertigo. LOL, I probably spent 75% of that run rolling.

Sunapee- MLK '03. I was going down the bonanza/Chipmunk duo during a blizzard with temps of -5 degrees. I was feeling sick, so I was taking an easier than normal run down. I started the run out fine, but around Byway, my goggles fogged up big time. I couldn't take them off since the snow was really coming down, so I was screwed. I went down, seeing brown and white objects through my goggles and not much else. Boy did that one suck.

One more: Organgrinder at Sugarbush in January of '04. The day was very foggy and organgrinder was my foggiest run of the day. The run itself was fairly easy, but I was scared because I was expecting something to happen due to the black diamond rating. I couldn't see 5 feet in front of me. I saw no one the whole run. I made it down to Super Bravo where the fog eased up and I was fine.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

First turn of the season, February, 1991 (First year out of college):

The Chute in Tuckerman in a white out. Three turns into it, I hear a "Crack". The three of us re-group on the floor of the ravine and figure it's time to get out of there (Figuring it was ice letting go). A flash of light and another "Crack" and werealize it's lightning.

Now we KNOW it's time to exit

 

[ALLSKIING]

Bump

 

[Zand]

One of mine last year was at about 4 in the morning at Wa's 24 hour skiathon. I was doing a jump in the park and my ski released coming off the lip. I landed on one ski, noticed my other one wasn't there, and THEN fell real hard on my ribs. Knocked the wind out of me big time and I had tender ribs for a few days.

Another one was at the Bush on Steins. I got to where the bumps started. I went into the first trough and the ice shot me across the trail into the woods. Thankfully, it was a nice crusty snow in the woods, so I was able to remove my skis and walk out. It's a good thing it wasn't ice in the woods, or who knows where I'd be now.

 

[ALLSKIING]

One of mine last year was at about 4 in the morning at Wa's 24 hour skiathon..

That sounds like alot of fun!!

 

[riverc0il]

Bump

wow, dave. nice bump! how did this thread get by with so few responses?!?

regarding memorable runs, i have always found that your first runs down great terrain are almost always the most memorable runs. we spend years chasing after the feeling of our first descents down the best trails. sometimes not even powder days can beat that first run, its just special, especially with the right people.

here is one from this season, first run down gulf of slides. great company sure helped make this run special:
http://www.thesnowway.com/ski/2006/gos041406.htm

my first powder day at jay was memorable, for both good and bad reasons.:???:

 

[JPTracker]

My most memorable run was not so much just my experience but everything overall. Several years ago on Thanksgiving weekend Jay got a big dump on Thanksgiving. But Jay usually only has the Jet Open early and rarely the Flyer. Saturday morning they opened the Flyer for the first time with sunny sky’s. Our first run up the Flyer was early but not first tracks. I was surprised to find that they had left that entire section of the mountain ungroomed. We came done Ulr’s Dream and were skiing in two feet of fresh powder. What made it most memorable was watching the other people ski that had no idea the powder would be there or how to ski it. People were loosing skis in the powder in the middle of the trail. Most memorable was this small kid who as I watched let his ski tips sink in, then he went headfirst into the snow and was completely buried. When he stood up he had the biggest smile on his face and just continued to ski.

 

[Razor]

Ovation at Sunday River one weekday morning last winter. Ten inch dump overnight. We got first tracks all the way down to White Heat lift, then rode up lift again and got 2nd tracks on White Heat. On a different note, another memorable run was one I saw. It was a spring day at Mount Snow on the North Face. The run out on River Run had gotten sticky and we knew enough to slow down. Some knucklehead went racing by us at warp speed. When he hit the sticky spot, his skis stopped short but he kept going like he was shot out of a cannon. Luckily he landed in the soft snow on the trail and somersaulted about 8 times. Once we saw he was OK, we laughed our asses off. And yes, we did bring him his skis.

 

[montageskier]

Last season i got lost in the Nothch with four other friends and had a 1 hour hike in waist deep snow.

 

[Greg]

One of my most memorable runs was down White Nitro extension a few years back. It was one of the last runs of Reggae weekend 2004 and the corn set up just perfectly. That run looks wicked steep from the top and the majority of the Loaf's layout extends below you, but once we jumped in and found our groove, totally sweet:

We were lucky enough to be able to replicate it under even better conditions the next year:

 

[Bubbartzky]

Wow....memorable runs.....how about the time I had a really heavy dose of Mexican cooking in a little place in Cancun, the name of which I can't recall now....man, that had me going for quite a while. Or, another time, I had some kind of stomach bug that just attacked me right after dinner - might have been a piece of bad salmon - a couple of years ago. OMG, that one was awful....

Oh...wait...you mean ski runs....never mind..........

 

[thetrailboss]

Wow....memorable runs.....how about the time I had a really heavy dose of Mexican cooking in a little place in Cancun, the name of which I can't recall now....man, that had me going for quite a while. Or, another time, I had some kind of stomach bug that just attacked me right after dinner - might have been a piece of bad salmon - a couple of years ago. OMG, that one was awful....

Oh...wait...you mean ski runs....never mind..........

:lol:

OK, as for ski runs, let's see....I will never forget skiing Cascades at Sunday River in Knee-Deep Powder and I will not forget those nights at the local volunteer run hill making powder eights under the lights and then riding back up the T-Bar. Nor will I forget the last run I made in Zermatt all the way dooooowwwwwwnnnnnnn from the glacier to the tram.

 

[Bubbartzky]

OK...as for ski runs.....

I got caught in a white out at Aspen my first time ever on the hill and I have no idea what I came down, just glad I made it. Also, on that same trip, the Big Burn at Snowmass on a powder day.

Outer Limits here at Killington about 2 years ago when I caught it the morning they dropped the rope, on a weekday after the guns had been going for about 5 days straight and the guns were still going and it was like skiing on silk. It was me and about 2-3 other people on it doing laps for about 2 hours.

Just about any run I did here the day after Christmas 2002 - we had 30" of snow in 18 hours and nobody could get here on Christmas night so the place was empty. Day after Christmas was blue sky, comfortable temperature, no wind and no people. The snow was so deep and so powdery that they had to shovel out lifts to get them running. I couldn't walk at the end of the day but it might qualify as my best ski day in 15 years.

 

[AMAC2233]

The run after I dropped my glove from the lift at Mont Sainte Anne. The temperature was about -15 and I had to ski down the trail beneath the lift with no glove on. It was a miracle I didn't get frostbite.