2010-2011 ski season coming to a close

Today was my 17th day on skis this season, and a 100% throwback to 4/12/08. I was truly stunned at how good the snow was today. It was almost the exact more-than-happy feeling and satisfaction as it was 3 years ago. Clearly my passion for skiing has not faded... I'm still not the world's best, but it has grown on me way more than I ever expected it to upon first moving to the mountains.

It wasn't just the snow that was good, though. I don't mean to brag, but I skied fantastic today. I don't know if it was the condition of the snow, what I had for breakfast, or some other magical component, but I skied really really well today. I turned when I wanted to, I skied way faster than usual (I'm a slow skier), I skied for longer without tiring, I jumped off of lots of things... it was just easy play. You hear about people in other sports that have days or games where it just feels simple. Jon Diebler's game against Penn State this year where he made 10 3-pointers, he said it was like shooting the ball at the ocean instead of a tiny hoop. Today kinda felt like that for me.

I started off with a quick warm-up lap down low and found some really nice fresh skiers left of straight down the Challenger chair. It's always really nice in there. Then I decided to head a bit higher up, so I headed towards Sunnyside chair and eventually up to the Panoramic Express. It was cloudy with fairly flat light up top, but the Pano chair did not disappoint. I did several laps up there... the terrain isn't very steep so I went faster than usual. At one point I was heading down and found myself charging, full of adrenaline, and going so fast that I realized sharp turns to check my speed would cause a crash, so I rode out the speed through a bit of chop in really wide turns until it fanned out. I stopped to rest my legs when things flattened out only to notice the trees were untracked, so I headed in. Parsenn Bowl was busy but I was alone in the trees with boot deep fresh all to myself. Closing day! I was really happy with the discovery so came back for another lap before heading up Sunnyside again after visibility became too poor to continue all the way up. I headed for the trees between Columbine and Bluebell and found more jackpot there. I wasn't the only one to have spotted the goods, but I was the only one in there on both my laps. I'd never skied in there before but am happy I have a new spot to explore next year. The pitch is nice and the trees are spaced out well... you have to watch out for a few big drops though, so keep your speed low until you are familiar with it. After a couple laps there I decided to head to a section of cliffs/chutes that I'd seen but never been, skiers way left through the trees of Roundhouse on the way to Corona. I found very different snow in there.... and tough navigating through big drops. I also found what may be the biggest tree in all of Mary Jane. The cliffs yield some really nice views to the northeast toward the continental divide. The more you ski in the more solitude you find. Once again, I was all by myself in there. I know it's not very wise, but I seem to enjoy skiing alone more... I don't know why. After two runs there, each of which required a skate all the way back down to the base, I realized it was getting a bit soft and bitey at the bottom, so it was nearing time to call it a day. It was still snowing hard over the whole mountain, but the snow was getting heavier and stickier... I knew either a run to explore more new ground or a Trestle closer was in order.

I remembered closing my Super Pass season with a run down Trestle feeling as fitting as a great Squirming Coil to end a Phish show... Today's last run down I had hopes of finding the mythical Topher's Trees. A friend told me how to get there, which I won't share with you :), but I've seen the plaque and now know the way, so you can be sure I'll be there next year. While I didn't quite make it all the way to Topher's secret stash which is now legendary, I was in completely uncharted territory (in MJ, for me, at least) which turned out to be pure bliss. At one point about half way down from the chair to the car, I stopped to catch my breath and admire the solitude. I mistakenly stopped about 10 feet above a guy apparently doing the same thing. He looked at me with a completely content grin on his face. "Pretty nice, huh?" was all he said. I think we were both beside ourselves. All I could do was nod, "Yup." The trees reminded me almost exactly of a run at Silverton from a month ago.... the same pitch, the same spacing, the same feeling... it was eerie. But fantastic. I truly could not have been happier with the day.

I love how big Mary Jane feels. You see tons of cars in the parking lot but it's easy to get away from everybody on your own track through the trees. I'll go ahead and say now that in hopes of history repeating itself again, you can bet that I'll be at The Jane on Closing Saturday of 2014. From my Topher's exploration, I skied Corona all the way to the Jeep, unclicked as I opened the door, and headed home with another season in the history books.

A breakdown of my days at resorts this season:

• 1 day at Telluride and Powderhorn
• 2 days at Steamboat, Silverton and Loveland
• 4 days at Copper
• 5 days at Winter Park

Silverton deserves a full write-up here as well, but time will tell if I get to that. In closing I'll say this, though. On our run on Rope Dee Dope 2, I was completely filled with a total euphoric feeling of content and satisfaction. I remember audibly thanking God for giving me the physical ability to be able to do what I was doing in the present moment. At the bottom, I looked up and tried to freeze the view into memory by staring up at the run for a long time before heading to the cat track and the bus waiting to take us up on another glorious run. That was, to date, the best and most rewarding run of my life. I really can't forget that feeling and hope I make it to Terrapin Station again real soon.

Inside Job film

I know I'm long overdue on updates here, and have many things to write, but am especially compelled right now to try to tell everybody I can to see the film Inside Job. I try to not use the word "terrorism" lightly, but this film effectively proves that Wall Street is a virus or welcomed terrorist organization to our government and the global economy.

Inside Job is a documentary about the 2008 global economic crisis that was caused by only a few dozen men who today, amazingly, find themselves largely still with the power to cause another identical crisis without repercussion. These coked-out stripper-fanatics find themselves rich beyond belief, in positions of great power, and I would assume with the same mindset that they're too big to fail or can't be blamed for whatever actions they take to gain more power or wealth. They're employed by our government and shaping it to their liking (i.e. rewriting tax laws and deregulating to bend rules). Even today, these douche-bags are speaking out to encourage Congress to allow us to exceed our 14.3 TRILLION dollar debt ceiling... I'm wondering if we shouldn't just call it quits, allow the US to default on its treasury obligations and start the civil war which would inevitably allow Canada to invade (most likely scenario, right?). They have raped the average American citizen of their taxes and income, diluted the ability of this once great nation to educate its youth, pave its streets and prosper. They're still employed on Wall Street and are even heads of America's finest universities. They drove companies into bankruptcy and walked away with millions only to became contracted advisors to those same companies to the tune of one million dollars a month... these are companies which the American taxpayer now sadly owns because they were too big to fail.

Narrated by Matt Damon, the film clearly explains what happened, how, and why... and presents the explanation that this same thing can and will happen again unless major change is brought about. I don't like to think of myself as an alarmist or extremist, but over the last several years I have come to wonder whether the United States isn't destined for implosion in the very near future. Our education system is deplorable. Our national debt is unfathomable. Our collective concern is minimal. It seems more and more that we're heading in that direction. In short, this country is up shit creek. I used to think that apathy and ignorance were the two greatest fatal flaws in this country, but now I wonder if Wall St. greed isn't actually #1 on that short list.

There are popular films about corporate greed such as Fun with Dick and Jane which aren't alarmist or concerning, and there are plenty of documentaries about corporate greed (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is also good) to leave you want for a bomb, a CEO's address, and some spare time, but this has to be the most rational and best one I've seen. I would honestly argue it should be required viewing for all United States citizens and registered voters. I should stop now or risk getting thrown in jail, but for more info you can also check out the NY Times review of the same film: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/movies/08inside.html. Seriously, watch the film.