bonus days

In his constant quest for more ski days, H was able to take some time off and ski both Thursday and Friday.  Thursday he went with several guys from his work - all skiers but none of them able to get out as much as we do.  With blue skies bright above and all sorts of wonderful snow to be had, the corral at Collins was already full when they got up to Alta.  They immediately hopped on Wildcat and did a bunch of laps there.  H later said that the snow was terrific, gullies filled in and rocks well-covered.  He and I haven't skied there together yet this year and he appreciated the reminder of the world-class terrain off that tiny old lift.

Traversing into Devil's Castle

Since H skis at Alta all the time, he ended up leading a bit of a mountain tour.  When ski patrol dropped the rope into Devil's Castle, H and two of the guys joined the long line hiking in.  It was phenomenal - the sun can't get around Sugarloaf Mountain this time of year and so the snow is preserved there longer - so they went back up and did it again, hiking in a little further this time.  After that second lap, the other two's legs were shot and it was time for lunch.  After the break, they went back for more Collins and Sugarloaf skiing, never even making it over to Supreme.  H was on his alpine skis and when the rest of the group cried uncle around 3 p.m., his legs were not yet fatigued due to how much strength he's built on his teles so far this season.

Superior looks glorious with all that snow

He was on his own for Friday, for which the skiers seemed to mostly be regulars, locals/retirees for whom weekday skiing is the thing.  The weather was very nice again - a few high, thin clouds but still warm and sunny.  He was happy to be back on his telemark skis and did runs on all the lifts (Collins, Sugarloaf and Supreme, anyway).  It was busy, and people seemed unusually determined to talk to him, which I found hilarious because of the two of us, I am the one who likes to talk to strangers on the chairlifts and the ski bus.  With these two bonus days, that puts H a solid nine days ahead of me on the total ski days.