Picture a 6 foot tall, 260 pound man wearing a bright red jacket, gladiator style black gloves, strapped to a pair of skis. Now picture a red streak going umpteen thousand miles per hour on skis hitting a jump and flying in the air.
A great friend of mine invited me to the mountains for a day of skiing. He had been given a 3 day pass to one of the mountains with 1 day left on it. He also arranged for me to rent a set of skis, boots and poles at the low low price of 'free' for the day. What a deal. We decided to park at the ski-in & ski-out lot for $15. He's a boarder, I'm a skier
As we were gearing up in the parking lot, we noticed a group of 4 nearby who were peeling off layers. We asked them what the conditions were like on the mountain. The report was, not busy, no lines, groomed slopes, sunny with no clouds, no wind, warm and getting warmer. They had done 1 run and realized it was too hot for the number of layers they were wearing.
My buddy has great knowledge of the mountain on which we were skiing. He planned a route to get us to the deepest depths of the resort. It required a little bit of chair lift and trail strategy, but we made it in 2 runs and 2 lifts. The mountain's trails were long and steep. We like the blue runs mostly. It fits both our skill levels well. The skis I was wearing just didn't seem to be giving me an edge to work with. The snow was groomed and packed pretty good. With the warmth, there was also some packed ice underneath in spots.
The sun was casting warm rays on our faces. The air smelled fresh, clean and clear. You could see for miles and miles and miles. Another ski resort was just off in the distance. Only occasionally could we hear noises of other skiers. Mostly the sounds were of calm and peaceful mountain setting. After our first run it became apparent why those folks were in the parking lot shedding layers. I had broken a sweat not even trying. With the sun on a clear day, it's easy to see the countours of the trail. As opposed to blowing snow or even just an overcast day which makes it impossible to see changes in the terrain.
As we worked our way down our second run we were both getting used to the conditions and me my 'rental' gear. I had my jacket unzipped to help keep me cool. I found the faster I went, the better the ventilation. Back and forth across the mountain. I was practicing some techniques taught to me earlier in the year. I have to be modest and say they were working very well for me despite the uncooperative equipement. Back and forth and back and forth...I wasn't using much of the mountain, just little turns back and forth. Before long, I realized I had picked up a bit of speed. Red Streak.
I decided to try and get my speed under control a bit by using bigger turns and much more of the mountain. I moved to the right edge of the trail near the trees and made my turn back to the left. I hadn't bled off much speed yet. That will be on the next turn back across the mountain. Great form, even if I was fighting the gear. Heading towards the left side of the trail conditions changed. As I approached the left edge of the trail, I realized the trees were casting a pretty good shadow out onto the trail. It was a nice 'overcast' simulation in that it hid the countours of the snow.
Some trails are all flat, others are all moguls. Then we have this hybrid version where some moguls are carved up against the trees of a nice flat trail. I didn't realize before starting my speed bleeding maneuver that this particular trail had these design features. Let alone did I realize they were hidden in the shadows of the edge of the trail where I had planned on getting rid of a few thousand miles per hour. I guess in hindsight, I did get rid of the speed. However it didn't happen in the way I had in mind.
So as I'm approaching this long shadow, I slowly begin to realize what lay ahead. When I say slowly, it's relative. The thought came to me like someone had shot it out of a pistol. You have to realize how much faster I was going than a speeding bullet. I slowly realized there was no way I was going to stay the course. Now picture a child. A toddler who is old enough to walk and talk. Now picture this child just being told he won't be getting what he had so desparately wanted. His chin drops, he puts his hands together in front of his chest, his feet turn in, his knees bend as he squats down a bit before slowly falling to his backside in defeat.
This was the foundation of my new speed reduction program. Although instead of putting my hands in front of me, they splayed out as I fell backwards. Instead of dropping my chin, I pushed my head back and down into the snow as I fell backwards. I clawed the snow like a cat climbing a curtain backwards trying to get away from a dog hot on its tail. I dropped every brake my body could find and I dug in. The snow exploded as I slid across the trail. I was like a baseball player sliding into home plate from left field.
On hitting the first mogul, I became airborn. Everything was still attached. I was in the air. There was no reason to keep trying at this point as what was done was done. Mogul 2 was coming and since I didn't bring my rudder or wings, I had no choice as to how I was going to use it as a landing strip. Come what may, I let my body go limp. The final approach to mogul 2 probably appeared to be an oversized raggedy andy doll shot out of snow cannon. A bright red streak flying out of a cloud of white powder.
It was a small ski gear yard sale explosion on landing. both skis came off and went different directions. The impact had knocked both poles out of my hands and they too went their spearate ways. I slid through a couple more moguls spinning on my back for 15-20 yards or so down the mountain. When I finally came to a resting spot, I heard a couple of people ask me if I was OK. I laughed. Yes, everything was just fine. Ski patrol had stopped on their way down the mountain to help gather a bit of stray gear. Another individual had also helped put my bits and piece back together again.
I gathered my goodies and finished my run down the mountain. The rest of the day I was more careful about what might be lurking in the shadow of broad daylight. We took a few opportunities to take a break and visit over a beer and just enjoy each other's company. We solved a few of the world's problems and got a great workout. Life is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment