#19 and last day of the season for me (I really wanted to hit #20, but my soreness and the weather on Sunday told me to get brunch and go home instead)! This day was also probably filled with the hardest skiing of the season for me - it would have been basically impossible with my skill set from January, which is fun to acknowledge! I was early to the mountain since Emma was patrolling. I planned to use my 25% off coupon that I get with my INDY pass, but the ticket guy gave me the employee discount of 50% off, which was super nice. I really wanted to hit the Tram first thing while the skiing was still relatively gentle, so I suited up at the lodge with maybe 3 other people, and off I went!
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway
[0.70 mi; 2:01; 515 ft; 30.0 mph max; 20.8 mph avg]
Run 2: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Queen's Highway
[0.81 mi; 2:37: 482 feet; 30.4 mph max; 18.5 mph avg]
Run 3: Tram - Upper Northway - Goat Run - Boulevard
[1.85 mi; 6:57; 1736 feet; 31.4 mph max; 15.9 mph avg]
Emma was still working on her morning trail check, so I took the Taxi over to Tramside to get ready for the Tram. This was apparently my fastest run on Queen's Highway, which is shocking considering the soft snow. I made it to Tramside around 8:10, so I figured I'd get one lap in on the Metro, which was as slow as I always remembered. I took Perry Merril to Queen's Highway. These two laps were nice to remind my legs how to actually ski, which was needed.
I got in the short line for the Tram around 8:20 and it opened right on time at 8:30! The ride was MUCH more pleasant in the daylight than my Easter ride in pitch blackness! I let everyone go ahead of me, took a few photos on this bluebird morning, and off I went! Upper Northway and Upper Goat Run were absolutely lovely - well groomed and skiable, then... I hit the Lower Goat Run into the shenanigans junction at the top of the Taxi lift... I might have sent it a little too hard, foolishly assuming that the snow quality would be consistent top-to-bottom (I need to remind myself that at the end of the day, this is only my second year skiing and really my first actually skiing), and then next thing I knew I was fighting against spring snow, spun around, somehow landed on my back rolling downhill head-first, and off the slope on the dirt... hello??? I got up, very humbled, and looked around for all my gear. One pole was 15 feet up on the slope, one ski was 20 feet below, and my other pole and ski were nearby - impressive! Horribly, someone on the Taxi saw the fall and asked if I was okay - yes, I was fine, just embarrassed! I gathered myself together and noticed my left brake was bent... again, so I bent it back, and slowly made my way to meet Emma for some runs off the Bonnie and Jet. Thankfully, this would be my only stupid fall of the day (there were many more non-stupid ones to come, though!).
Runs 4-7
Run 4: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Lower Northway - Paradise Meadows
[1.25 mi; 7:21; 1378 ft; 25.2 mph max; 10.2 mph avg]
Run 5: Jet Triple - Jet
[0.69 mi; 3:40; 1142 ft; 26.4 mph max; 11.3 mph avg]
Run 6: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entrepide
[0.77 mi; 5:16; 1178 ft; 21.7 mph max; 8.8 mph avg]
Run 7: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows
[1.20 mi; 5:51; 1138 ft; 23.4 mph max; 12.3 mph avg]
I made it back to the Stateside base, where Emma had just finished her morning trail check. We planned to go to the Jet, but that would involve walking, so we decided to take the Bonnie up and follow Northway to Paradise Meadows down so our skis never had to come off (I like to call this "Advanced Laziness"). This was yet another HUMBLING run. Northway was in good shape - soft, but fine. I was remembering that wide turns help me go slower, which to no surprise, helped! We continued onto Lower Northway (which did have "thin cover" signs, past Purgatory, past Hell's Crossing, and just at the point of no return hit the ungroomed area of Lower Northway which really was a JOURNEY for this baby "intermediate" skier. Bumps galore, bare dirt galore, and many humbling spins. At one point Emma was getting a video of the terrain and found me just lounging on a mogul like "paint me like one of your French girls," not because I was posing, but simply because that's how I landed. I had quite a view spin-a-rounds where I had two skis and two hands on the ground, bent over forward. In hindsight, Emma said it was because I was leaning back too far on my skis, but I was just happy to be alive! Conditions on Paradise Meadows were blegh, but fine. Still better to be skiing than to not!
At this point in the morning I had no dignity left, so when Emma asked if I wanted to try the Jet I said "why not." Visually, terrifying. Physically, not as terrifying BUT NOT GREAT. She pointed out that it was in the best condition it'll likely ever be (especially considering how empty the mountain was), so I took it SLOW and had an okay-but-shaky ride down.
Since I made it down the Jet alive, I decided to revisit my old friend Haynes/Mont l'Entrepide, which was a bit slushier but less terrifying. I actually felt good about this run! Halfway down Emma pulled over to chat with two patroller friends, Jess and Fran, who I introduced myself to as Emma's esteemed date to the ski patrol banquet later that night (they were so nice and Fran said I was "slaying").
At the bottom we met up with Elizabeth and Snowboard Emma - yay friends! We all took the Montrealer to Angel's Wiggle all the way down, which was in varying states of decay. It's nice to have friends in this silly activity I've thrown my life into.
Runs 8-9
Run 8: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway
[0.71 mi; 3:22; 515 ft; 22.5 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]
Run 9: Tram - Vermonter - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows
[1.58 mi; 8:56; 1781 ft; 24.6 mph max; 10.6 mph avg]
Tragically, Elizabeth lost her pass somewhere near the Jet, so she went over to the ticket booth and the rest of us took the Taxi to get to Tramside - patrol had just opened the Vermonter off the top, which Emma said I could handle since it's beautiful. Snowboard Emma and I waited in line like peasants while Ski Emma went in the secret entrance (which featured a bench) - classic. The ride up was just beautiful, and we waited at the top for a bit to let everyone else ahead of us go because I knew I would be a mess (I was right). I'm sure the Vermonter was beautiful, but I was too focused on getting down similarly brutal/mogully terrain that I had already experienced on the Lower Northway. It was a day to stay humble, for sure! From there we had a relatively smooth ride down.
Run 10
Run 10: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows
[1.16 mi; 6:34; 1132 ft; 24.2 mph max; 10.6 mph avg]
Once back at the Stateside base, Emma had to go right to the Jet to get ready for her "sit" shift. I was STARVING, so I went inside to get us both chicken tenders that I was somehow going to get up to her... Thankfully Snowboard Emma and Elizabeth saw me and helped me out. They continued riding while Emma and I ate our tendies on the back deck of the patrol hut which had truly a lovely view. The sun felt so good - it was my first time skiing in just a T-shirt! After about 45 minutes of chilling, I decided I needed to get down the mountain (plus, the hotel room was open for check-in!). Montrealer was still in good shape, but Angel's Wiggle to Paradise Meadows was continuing to deteriorate. Plus, there were MANY more people on the mountain, which made for a sketchy time down. I decided I was all done with the upper mountain at this point, and was going to wrap things up but decided to join Snowboard Emma and Elizabeth, who were taking laps in the Rusch park.
Runs 11-17
Run 11: Taxi Quad - Lower Can Am/The Rusch
[0.35 mi; 2:23; 325 ft; 17.9 mph max; 8.8 mph avg]
Run 12: Taxi Quad - Lower Can Am/The Rusch
[0.34 mi; 2:18; 325 ft; 18.2 mph max; 8.8 mph avg]
Run 13: Taxi Quad - Lower Can Am/The Rusch
[0.34 mi; 2:21; 322 ft; 20.5 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]
Run 14: Taxi Quad - Boulevard
[0.36 mi; 2:08; 322 ft; 21.1 mph max; 10.3 mph avg]
Run 15: Taxi Quad - Lower Can Am/The Rusch
[0.29 mi; 2:00; 318 ft; 20.1 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]
Run 16: Taxi Quad - Lower Can Am/The Rusch
[0.37 mi; 2:17; 322 ft; 21.3 mph max; 9.6 mph avg]
Run 17: Taxi Quad - Lower Can Am/The Rusch
[0.38 mi; 2:22; 331 ft; 17.3 mph max; 9.7 mph avg]
The last seven laps were fun and easy- just nice to be with friends. I watched team snowboard make multiple attempts at "BoxZilla" - 90 feet of box, while I SLOWLY went over the one same jump (they took some hysterical wipeouts and were only mildly bruised at the end). I thought my last lap was going to be on the Boulevard, just to get a "normal" run in... and it sucked! Snow was dreadfully slow and gross. To make up for it, I said I'd get one more run in the park done, which then turned into "eh I'll just ski until Emma is off of sit at 1:00pm, which ended up being just two more laps. Honestly, the snow in the park was of pretty good quality so I was not mad to keep lapping it - even if the lifty told us we were "probably ready for The Jet after all these runs."
The rest of our day was truly quite fun and lovely. After our one final run with Emma, we all went over to Snowboard Emma's car for hot dogs and a few drinks, we took a lap around the tailgate party (which was A LOT - so cool though!), and then I left for Tramside to check into our room for the evening at the Hotel Jay! We got a STEEP discount for the patrol banquet, which is not only nice, but also smart considering the drinks that were about to be drunk.
I had truly the BEST nap of my life, went for a walk, and had a nice, long shower before Emma made it to the room. Our mutual college friend Linnea and her patrol friend, another Emma, joined us to get ready, and then we all headed to the banquet. Mingling, three free drinks each, a taco buffet, and lots of dancing led for a really nice night! It was fun on my end to see into this other "culture" that I haven't been to before. Only moment of pause I had was when I realized it was a very "straight" event (similar to St. Patrick's Day), but everyone was super nice and friendly. People REALLY wanted to get into the waterpark after the party, but the doors were very locked. We were all in bed by 1:00am followed by brunch at the JVI in the morning with just me and my Emma. (I was also VERY sore from my morning tumble).
End of Day Stats: 17 runs, 13.15 miles, 13,264 feet, 31.4 mph max, 11.5 mph avg, 5:13:00 elapsed, 1:08:27 skiing.
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