m2colvin: First Tracks

For those of you who don't know me or my work schedule very well, I always work 7 nights (80 hours) in a row, then I get the next 7 days off. Basically, it's a vacation every other week. The tradeoff is that I don't have time to do anything else but eat and sleep when I'm working. Also, I love to ski. That being said, I had the grand idea that since A Basin Ski Resort opened last week I would head up the mountain as soon as I got out of work and lay my first tracks of the 2011-2012 season.

You're probably thinking, "What makes him think that driving over an hour to go skiing immediately after finishing his 7th overnight shift in a row is a good idea?" The answer is nothing. By the end of my work week I'm an idiot incapable of making even simple decisions.

When I got there I was pleased with the lack of people (read: short lift line). You'd be surprised how many people will still show up for far less than optimal snow conditions, only one running chair lift, and only one ski-able run just to say they skied in October. Mostly it's retirees with nothing better to do since they can't golf in the high country anymore and college/high school students playing hooky.

The condition of the snow was actually pretty good for being the man-made variety and there were only a couple icy spots along the run. I was able to hammer out 6 runs in just under 2 hours. My legs were sufficiently Jello-y and I was definitely huffin' and puffin'. Also, I felt like I could sleep on the chairlift if they would let me, so I figured it was time to head home. Mind you that at this point in the day it's barely 11am.

To celebrate my triumphant return to the mountain ski resorts I stopped and got a yoo-hoo from the gas station. My original plan was to buy some highly caffeinated soda to power up for the drive home, but I had only brought $1.50 into the shop and didn't feel like going back to the car to get the extra 10¢. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed.