Another Great Day at Loveland

Another great day at Loveland.  Five inches of snow reported as of 5:00 a.m.  I would guess that they received another two to three inches while I was there.  The mini-terrain park has been relocated to its usual spot on the lower third of Tempest, and today featured a box, a rainbow rail, an incline rail, and a slightly larger kicker  than last week–a medium speed approach will allow you to clear the eight foot flat area immediately following the kicker (see picture).  They briefly opened Waterfall which consisted of alpine terrain with some areas of knee-deep powder.  It was short-lived however (approximately 30 minutes)–I imagine it was only opened to allow a lucky few to pack down the snow a bit.  Overall a good day, although busier than usual.  I saw several ski teams from all over the U.S. and Canada training.  Aside from the amazing powder on Waterfall, I actually had the most fun hitting 180s on the walls alongside Catwalk.  It seems like everyday new terrain is being opened as new snow falls.  In addition to Chair 1 being open, Chair 6 is now open with limited access to Roulette.  More snow is expected over the weekend.  For those of you that are currently following this blog, please, please, please, tell your friends to subscribe.  I am trying to generate more traffic.  Even if your friends are not into snowboarding, the funny stories are worth reading, right?  Also if you are viewing this blog and not a subscriber, why not subscribe?  It’s free. All it takes is a valid email (which is kept private, and I promise no junk email or spam).        

Recap of first early season powder day…

So Wednesday ended up being a blast–there was over twenty inches of fresh snow at Loveland Ski Area by mid-day.  Catwalk, Mambo, Home Run, Spillway and Lower Richard’s Run were all open and active when we arrived just after 9:00 a.m.  By mid day the untouched powder of Upper Richard’s Run was open as well–my buddy Patrick and I were two of the first to attack the knee-deep powder of this short, but fun, portion of the mountain.  Loveland also had a mini-terrain park open to the west side of Mambo featuring a single kicker, two rails, and a box.  Additionally there was a small natural kicker where Mambo turns into Home Run and meets up with Lower Richard’s Run–it provided a good opportunity to practice 180s.  I started the day on last season’s Burton Fix 158, but quickly switched to my Ride DH2 156.  While the board was a little squirrely at high speeds–it turns on a dime–I loved the feel of it while airborne, and its design makes sticking the landing a breeze. 

In addition to great snow and a fun day on the slopes, the special was scalloped potatoes and ham for lunch, and I enjoyed two spicy bloody Mary’s at the Rathskellar Bar. Yum!

Here are a couple still shots of the mini terrain park.  

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I am anxious for my next trip up. Hopefully more snow is on the way!

 

 

Twenty-five inches

Snow begins to fall

The mountains are turning white

Tomorrow I ride

I am so excited for tomorrow that I crafted that nifty little Haiku for you.  Yes tomorrow is the day.  Well technically today–I just noticed that it is after midnight.  A quick look at the weather forecast shows me that by morning Loveland Ski Area is expected to have 10 to 14 inches of fresh snow.  In addition snow is expected to fall all day with total accumulations of up to 25 inches.  Life is good.

Oh and a special thanks to my wife.  Today I bought a new Thule ski/snowboard roof rack.  I spent time in the garage this evening in a state of bliss as I mounted the racks to the top of my SUV.  There is something about a roof rack on an SUV that makes it look more rugged, aggressive, and mean.  After carefully adjusting every nut and bolt, I tested it out by loading my new snowboards up and locking them in place.  I stepped back to admire my mean SUV and I was proud.  Later as I prepared to leave for work, my wife stepped into the garage.  Her keen sense of detail pointed out a minor problem with my studly new roof rack–there was no way it was going to clear the garage door.  So I did what any man would do in this situation.  I took the garage door off its track and used my sledge-hammer to create an extra foot of height.  Okay, Okay.  I took the roof rack off and boxed it up to take back to the store.  Bummer.

Speaking of “bummer,” I inappropriately used this word the other day.  It had been a hectic morning at the hospital and I was the only tech in CT/MRI.  A patient in the ER was being discharged and requested that we put his CT images on a CD, so he could take them with him.  The system that we use to burn CDs for patients was not working, nor was the backup system.  After about 30 minutes and multiple attempts to create a CD for the patient, a nurse from the ER called to ask what was taking so long.  I told her we were having problems with the system.  She said, “Well it would have been nice if someone had told us. The patient has been waiting.”  I responded, “Bummer.”  I ma not sure why I said it–it just sort of slipped out.  The nurse wasn’t very happy with me.  Bummer.

Did I mention that in about 8 hours I will be snowboarding in over a foot of fresh snow?

Zombie-walks and Early Morning Investigations

5:25 am:  The sun seems to be shining through my bedroom window more than usual despite the Levolor blinds and black-out drapes.  Maybe there is a light on outside, maybe I am dreaming.  I am fairly certain however that the urge to pee is real, and I roll out of bed to walk to the bathroom.  I take care of business and zombie-walk back to bed.

6:23:  It has been less than an hour since I was last up, but now the sun overpowers the bedroom window, and Tenley (5 month old daughter)  is awake.  I again have the urge to pee, although it may just be out of habit.  I follow the same course to the bathroom that I took an hour prior, but this time there is something different.  As I step from the carpet of my bedroom to the hard surface of the bathroom floor, my foot nearly drowns in a puddle (read: ocean) of wetness.  We keep a bowl of water near this area for our 7 year-old cocker spaniel to drink from in the middle of the night.  My initial, overly optimistic, assessment of this situation was that the water bowl spilled at some point during the last hour.  After further investigation that centered around paper-towels and my sense of smell I quickly realized that this was no ocean of water.  It was much closer to a kiddie pool.  KIDS PEE IN KIDDIE POOLS!

Where could this pile of pee have come from?  I narrowed it down to one of three possibilities: 1) My 2 and 1/2 year-old may have had an accident in the night.  It is possible that she tried to make it to the bathroom and didn’t quite make it there.  If this were the case she would have woke either me or Carly though.  2)  I did have 3 Margaritas last night at Hooter’s.  I have known people to pee on the floor after consuming large amounts of alcohol.  Perhaps 2 margaritas is my limit.  3)  Buddha, our 4 month-old Rottweiller puppy, somehow got out of his “little area”, came upstairs, and puppy-peed on my floor. 

I finish cleaning the pee.  Carly is awake now and heads downstairs to change Tenley’s diaper and let the dogs outside.  She comes back upstairs a few minutes later with a look on her face that already answers the question I am about to ask her: “Babe, did Buddha get out of his little area?”  Carly responds, “Yes.”

Me: “Did he make a mess?”

Carly: “He pooped……………..Twice.”

Me: “And?”

Carly: “He ate one of our decorative balls.”

Me: “And?”

Carly: “He got Tenley’s diaper bag and emptied everything out of it.”

Apparently Buddha decided to have a party his last night in the house.  Carly and I are in the process of moving and of all the houses that we are looking at very few will allow a Rottweiller.  Today we are meeting with a representative from Rottie Aid, that has found a suitable home for Buddha.  It sucks having to give him away, but it is for the best.  At least he partied like a rock-star his last night with us.

Just checked snow report at Loveland:  2″ overnight…forcast is for 4″-9″ by friday…Looks like Friday might be a powder day for  those who appreciate the relatively short drive to the closest major ski area to Denver.