March 04, 2001

Day of the Dummies

Once again there were dummies hurtling down the half pipe and taking ridiculous air before crashing to earth in a heap of misery, but for once we aren't talking about Aussie snowboarders, but rather the Dummy Downhill. This is an annual event where creative constructions are launched on an unguided schuss downhill towards a gigantic jump and almost certain oblivion. There are rules of course concerning weight and size and a key one is that no living creatures can take the ride. This year however a couple of human race crashers did rip down the half pipe and even took respectable, although survivable air off of the jump. To say that these dummies had the minimum of artificial decoration would be something of an understatement though. ;-)

I only managed a couple of runs on the new side before my oh so enthusiastic family was ready for the lockers. The conditions I saw in that limited tour were certainly firm and there was a mogul behind every bush, but at least in the warmth of the afternoon the snow was fairly forgiving and even the pointy bumps in the tight trees were lots of fun. Despite the warm sun, I only saw minor evidence of melting. Scanning for rocks and stumps is still wise however and the patrol has had a sign warning folks off of the sun drenched Currie chutes the last couple of days in deference to the variable conditions caused by spring freeze and thaw.

At twenty to six in the evening it is -1 C at the house under a mainly clear sky with a few high clouds.

For some additional dummy pictures click here.