First Turns!

2008-10-03 18:24:52.000 – Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer

First Turns of the Season!

I woke up just after noon today, but knowing I was going to be up until 6 AM tomorrow, felt I should get a bit more sleep. I rolled back over, couldn’t seem to fall back to sleep. Around one I decided it was time to get up, so I threw on my snow pants and went up stairs. As depicted in a previous comment, the windows are covered in a solid layer of glaze ice with rime ice building on top of that, so I was unable to see outside. I was soon told however that it had snowed nearly two inches since I had gone to bed and that Mike and Diane were out skiing the parking lots. I hurriedly put on my plastic boots, threw on my outerwear, and grabbed my snowboard to go make my first turns of the season. I knew there was a reason I left the board and boots up here after my last turns made nearly three months ago to the day.

Mike and Diane were both coming in grinning from ear to ear. Mike joked saying I was too late, but I knew that was not true. The wind was blowing hard enough that things would be drifted in in no time. I strapped in and made the first few turns down the hill. The snow on the sides was 2-4″ deep and was a loose granular on top of a glaze and rime base, preventing me from hitting pavement. Although the run lasted only a fraction of a minute, it was worth every second! There really isn’t anything quite like sliding effortlessly downhill. I spent the next hour lapping this little section of the parking lots (riding is prohibited on the Auto Road), thoroughly enjoying every ride down and hike up. I then returned home, beard covered in rime and giddy as could be.

I love winter…time to go deice!

Observer Note: Are you interested in photography, especially that in extreme conditions? Attend the MWO Fall Fundraiser Oct. 18th with speaker Bill Greene. For more information, click here.

Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer