I started on tele because early season snow conditions didn't provide any reason to go on my alpines, but primarily I didn't want to ski another day in my old alpine boots. I still have them, but I made the decision to fork over the cash and move on to try to progress my alpine skiing this season in stiffer boots that actually fit me. I had read and been told that boots are the most important piece of ski gear to get right, and I now have first hand experience with that as well. All last season I was constantly adjusting my boots... tightening to try and stiffen them up to react, and then un-tightening because of lack of blood flow to my feet... and it was horrible. Simply put, my first pair of ski boots didn't fit me well and were too soft for what I was asking of them. My latest pair of boots (so far) could not be further from that situation. They're extremely stiff and responsive, and require almost no adjustment during an entire day on the slopes. Having boots that actually drive my skis is obviously critical, but I don't think I realized what a difference it would make. It has unquestionably improved my skiing. I now, for really the first time, understand how to drive my skis - steering with flexed ankles and knees instead of torso or quad muscles. And it is really wonderful. I feel like I've ranted about that long enough, but honestly, I feel like this year is way ahead of last year already by making a simple equipment change which I probably should have made early last season.
Despite having 3 nice days, I really didn't feel like I was off to a good start, and something was missing. Welcome January. January has been truly outstanding in terms of skiing (I've skied 4 of the last 16 days) and I can't wait to see how the rest of the season turns out. The first of my 4 days this month was a really nice bump day at Mary Jane... a good endurance test, if you will... lap after lap with no breaks and variable snow conditions. The next 2 were great powder days at Copper. This year has really reopened my eyes to what a great mountain Copper is. The first included walking from the cat ski pickup to the top of Tucker Mountain (sounds insane and probably is) when one of the cats was broken down... another great endurance test, but highly rewarding. The 2nd was a Wednesday PTO day that was hands down the nicest snow I've skied in Summit County across all 4 seasons I've been skiing here. Notes to self: Tucker Mountain, everything off the Mountain Chief lift, Union Meadows, Gold digger trees...
The snow this Wednesday, however, was trumped today, by the lighter variety Brian and I found all day long at Loveland. [Based on how great days have been trumped so far this season, I fully expect to be skiing waist deep Steamboat champagne in February. Time will tell. Anyways... ] We really seemed to hit the jackpot. Even the runs that were intended more as traverses yielded some of the most blissful turns of my short skiing career. Loveland being Loveland, it was windy as can be and there were some really variable / rock hard patches, but overall the snow was phenomenal. We had 3 great runs on The Ridge, very nice deep freshies in glades on several runs, and clear blue skies to boot. Today's snow and conditions are exactly why people fall in love with skiing.
I feel like each day out I get a bit more confident, and today helped a lot with that. I think I'm getting better at recognizing snow conditions and adjusting my form for powder, crud, hard pack, etc. I know my cycling over the summer has helped my legs and cardio conditioning, so I must keep up with that this spring/summer/fall. My legs are requiring fewer stops to recover and I'm keeping up with my peers. I'm still not good at jumping cornices or dropping in on steep descents, but I'm working on that. I actually for the first time feel like a fairly solid (not great, but very capable) skier. Long story short, I'm really psyched about how this season has gone, and am excited for the 2nd half.
