iRide
Zaskoda’s Snowboarding Journal

Today was the last day for Cynthia, Roger, and Erin. The day started off with about 5 inches of freshies on the ground. The first half of the day was bright and sunny. Then another storm moved over and continued to dump inches of snow. We couldn’t have asked for a better riding day.

I was really impressed with how well Erin picked up snowboarding. She was cleanly carving down blues on her third day after having been beaten to death by hard pack on the previous two days. It was as if the universe was testing her and finally rewarded her resolve with a day of near perfect conditions.

We spent some time playing in one of the little parks. The fresh powder made the approaches slower and more difficult, but the landings where much softer and easier. Today’s picture is a still frame from one of the videos. It’s hard to see my brown and black clothing in front of the trees. I’m starting to grab the board a little in my jumps now. In this particular shot, it was more like a slap. However, earlier in the day, I got a good grip on the board.

I’ve also spent some time working on some rotations. I can do little 180s on flat surface or small kickers. I tried a 180 off of one of the park jumps, but didn’t get a clean landing. Cynthia started doing some jumping and spinning herself. I better watch out, she’s going to be catching up with me soon.

To finish off the trip, I took everyone to my favorite Pho place around the corner. We talked of our adventures, debated world politics, sipped hot tea, and enjoyed some wonderful soup. Then it was time to head home and get everything ready for the early flight home.

It was a great three days… I’ll miss waking up to Roger in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It was wonderful having the crew up from Dallas.

57 days left…

Today was the answer to life, the universe, and everything - day 42. It was a slow start this morning, but we worked our way out to A-Basin for some morning turns. After some warm ups on the front side, I took Roger and Cynthia to the Montezuma Bowl. The ridge was windy and there was lots of snow blasting us in the face. Once we dropped a couple of hundred feet down the bowl, the wind was gone and the run was awesome.

When the lifts started to shut down, we went down to the Dam Brewery for a snack and some regrouping. Refueled, we headed up to Keystone for some night riding. On the way down, we had to stop in what I think must be the tiniest park on earth. It consists of two tiny boxes and two tiny rails sitting right on the ground with a little baby kicker on the end.

Of course, when we finally decided to head home for the night, the snow set it. We had trouble seeing the road on the way home. We’re hoping it keeps up all night so we can have some freshies on the ground tomorrow morning.

The attached photo was just about the only shot that even came remotely close to showing some of the views we were treated to on the way home. With all the random storms passing over head, we had some remarkable lighting off in different directions creating some breathtaking views. We tried photos and video, but nothing could capture the amazing scenes.

58 days left

Cyn, Roger, and Erin flew up from Dallas last night and tonight we’re hanging out in a condo at some 5-star lodge slopeside at Breckenridge. It’s a fairly snazzy place, especially for the money. The kitchen is fully equipped with modern appliances and there’s a big LCD screen hanging in the living room… We’re about to wander down to one of the many hot tubs and soak off the day.

Cyn and Roger are experienced riders, but this is Erin’s first trip. She took a lot of hard spills, but managed to carve a blue before the end of her first day. She’s definitely got something to brag to her boyfriend about tonight on the phone.

The weather was a tad warm today and the conditions themselves are fairly mooshy. The upside is softer falls, but the downsides include slower conditions and random patches of ice in the shady spots. We did get some fresh snow fall today, but not enough to make a difference. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder, so here’s hoping we get a little bit of fresh snow tonight.

59 days left

Earlier in the week, Joe offered me an opportunity to try out the “Ski Train” that runs from Denver to Winter Park. This morning I drug myself out of bed after a mere 4 hours of sleep and managed to slither down to the train station. I ate a breakfast burrito, juice, and slammed a cup of coffee. I was lucky enough to have two seats to myself. Even after the coffee soaked in, I stretched out and fell straight to sleep. Yes, I was that tired.

The train ride was really wonderful. The times I woke up and looked outside, I was met with breath taking panoramic views all scrolling by. The train was smooth enough that it seemed like we were moving along slowly, but we got there quickly enough. Every once in a while the train would enter a tunnel and the world outside would go black. Those moments seemed so peaceful - especially when you’re as sleepy as I was! Eventually, we pulled into Winter Park and unloaded.

Old Marry Jane was not in her finest today. We found some slightly deteriorated powder stashes back in the bowl, but most of the runs were packed snow conditions. It’s starting to feel a lot more like spring (because it is), so at least the packed snow has a certain “give” to it. While it’s somewhat soft, it’s also a tad slower. Overall, we had fun conditions - but nothing to write a blog about… Oh wait.. oops…

So we play all day and have a blast. On our last run of the day, I almost get tagged by a girl’s snowboard as she’s flipping over and strapping in. One comment lead to another. I think it went something along the lines of:

- her: “sorry”
- me: “it’s all good, at least you didn’t hit me”
- her: “well, I was trying to and missed, you’re too fast!”
- me: “what?! well bring it on then! I triple dog dare you!”
- her: “watch out…”

At least, that’s the best I can remember… It went something like that, and then she slid by and tried to blow some snow on me. Game on! I took off through the trees and down a drop to cut into the trail she was headed down. I cut her off, went down the trail a little, and shot up into the woods on the high side. From there, I was able to send a couple of snowballs her way before racing down the trail in front of her.

I thought I’d lost her and was waiting on Joe and Christina. My new nemesis was right behind them, snowball in hand and on a mission for a powder spray. We chased each other down the mountain for a while. I finally scooped up a snowball behind me, went for the hook shot, and very irresponsibly shot off over the lip of a black run. I guess I was in “show off” mode because I rode significantly more aggressive and accurate than I had all day. As far as I could tell, she was no where to be found.

I scooped up one more snowball and stalked around near the base where the runs converged, but she never came. When Joe and Christina showed up, I decided to head the rest of the way down with them. For some reason, I didn’t drop my snowball.

Sure enough, not 5 minutes later while conversing at the base, she comes sliding up beside us with a snowball. Good thing I was still packing. I tried to dodge after my throw, but she was on target and we managed to nail each other. Laughing and giggling, we introduced ourselves and had a good hug. After some conversation, I found out that she was late getting down because she’d been hiding behind a pole waiting for me to catch up!

I’ll never forget day 40. A special thanks to Becca for the hook up!

60 days left…

I went out to Breckenridge on Saturday (yesterday). I rode with Becky, Jason, and Jayne. We had some good snow fall the night before - around 16 inches I was told. Most of the snow was already tracked down; but, it was still soft enough that falling didn’t hurt. The weather was nice and it was good to get a full day in. I’m still building back up from being sick. The highlight of the day was having a squirrel dart across the run in front of me.

Today I went up to Echo Mountain. I rode solo. I was really nervous most of the day. By the time I was relaxed and confident, I was getting tired. I was happy to see all the brand new Echo Mountain road signs. The little park finally got big enough to get their signage. I really like Echo, it has a fantastic vibe.

So I got sick. Two weeks of no turns. It’s just not right. Finally, last Sunday, I made it out with Velzy. We went up to ABasin for an easy going day. The conditions were hard pack but the weather was great. We slipped on over to the back side and played around in the new Montezuma Bowl area. It’s a really fun area and I’m glad they’re finally servicing it with a lift.

The highlight of the day was a run down the front I’ve never taken. It was a blue run but it was also a bit of a trail crossing. There was an uphill ahead so we were bombing the run trying to get enough speed. Something about the terrain or the lighting was deceiving. Suddenly, the ground sort of dropped out from under me and I felt weightless. It was a rush, but terribly unexpected! Velzy was right behind me, didn’t “see” it either, and hit the same spot at a relatively high speed. We went on about that spot most of the drive home. Good fun!

I got a nice shot of velzy at 13k feet. I thought it was going to be the blog photo until we spotted this modified car on the drive home. Talk about a neat ride! We were legally supposed to turn in front of him, but we waved him on so we could get a snapshot of his rig. Very cool ride.

As a side note… it’s now the middle of March and I’m no where near 100 days. Barring a huge change in my life, I’m obviously not going to make it. Still, I’m going to carry on and see how far I can take this.

63 days left…