ski days (second part)

Saturday was partly/mostly cloudy, with a 20% chance of snow and a spectacular sunrise.  Milton and I stayed home (walked, made chocolate chip cookies, "egg" squares for breakfast sandwiches, soup, etc.).  H got a seat on the bus (what the heck?) and at 9:13 a.m. texted me that it was 35 F at the base of Alta.  Now, I like it warm but that it way too warm for Alta at this time of year and what little snow there is will NOT last long at those temperatures.  H skied until 1:30 and then caught the bus home.

On Sunday, I went too.  We got seats on the bus, and trucked right on up there to Goldminer's Daughter.  It wasn't too crowded so we just grabbed a couple of seats and read our books until it was time to get on the chair.  It was a gorgeous day, warming into the 30s with clear, bright, blue skies and no wind.  It was definitely skiing firm and as the crowds grew - the lift lines popped up around 10:30 but were never horrific - I was nervous because I haven't had my skis tuned in two (or more) years.  I had no edges whatsoever which wasn't an issue for the first three runs, but after that the high traffic areas got skied off and I was skidding a bit.  With how busy it got, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stop suddenly or avoid someone if necessary.  Anxiety aside, I felt much better than I had on my first day on the hill: stronger legs, better hydration.  When we quit around 1:30 p.m., we thought to get a New Year's Eve celebratory beer - the GMD patio was packed, however, and the beer lines were longer than the lift lines.  We caught the bus instead and descended into the crappy valley air.

Trying everything to get a storm 

so the air will clear out

I had selected New Year's Eve to ski over New Year's Day because Monday was supposed to be colder.  I blew it, though, because (1) Monday was a carbon copy of Sunday - sunny, clear, 30s - and (2) there were way fewer people.  H skied right onto the lift all day!  (That would have eased my mind quite a lot as regards my dull edges.)  No new snow so the conditions were duplicated as well.  On the plus side, the other GMD basement locker owners are beginning to recognize H and introduce themselves, so potential new friends are in the offing.