Jay's Report - April 06, 2003

Eaf Hew Keel Meeh Now, Dat Hwould Be Hokay

It's a challenge to convey how good it was this weekend. It snowed consistently during the latter part of the week and continued on Saturday - reaching accumulations of a couple of feet on the deck. There were times on Saturday when it snowed hard, or as curlers might say, "Real Hard!" This resulted in a continuously replenishing blanket of powder. We skied untracked runs under White Pass and, a little while later, skied the exact untracked runs as if we were skiing them for the first time that day. There were two reasons for this. One was the amount of snow falling and the other was there was hardly anyone there to ski it! If it were possible to measure the amount of ski enjoyment in a cup with the rim representing a finite, measurable amount of skiing pleasure, then the cup would have runneth over on Saturday. Puff was amazing. Shakey's Acres was superb. Concussion and Tom's Run were like an erotic dream, far too seductive to pass by to those that fully intended to traverse to Stagleap or Easter. We met a nice lady on the White Pass lift who was obviously of European origin. We joked that we could tell her where our favorite powder stashes were, but then we'd have to kill her. Without hesitation, she quipped,"Eaf hew keel meeh now, dat hwould be hokay!" We understood immediately her way of articulating the magic and perfection of the ski day.

Sunday was even better. There was clear sky, mid-winter powder, mild temperatures and few skiers to lap it up. I was in the Elk "lineup" of ten skiers at 8:45 a.m. First tracks down Cedar Ridge dished out waist deep, over the head powder. Arrrrggggghhhhh. That's the sound of face shots clogging your windpipe. We completed a circuit up Bear Chair just in time to make first tracks in Easter Bowl. Stunning. Friends took me to a chute located between Easter Bowl and Decline that I knew as a different name but they called Cervix. Cervix was, well, orgasmic. As if that wasn't enough, then the Ski Patrol opened Corner Pocket and both Upper and Lower Saddle. I overheard one of the Ski Patrol coming down from opening Corner Pocket declare, "That's heli-skiing man! That's heli-skiing!" If it was any better then my heart couldn't stand it. As it was my legs could hardly stand it, my knees couldn't stand it, and my friends won't be able to stand it when I go on about this weekend for the coming months!

It seems fitting then, that this is my season finale report. I am off to warmer climes for a few months, returning at the end of the summer. I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing. Thanks again to Craig for setting me up on this ride. It's been a blast. Thanks also to my fellow Craig Reporters, Bernie and Heinz. If you think of any ski stories (embarrassing or otherwise) that you might like covered in a future report, send them on to me by email. I'll make good use of them and keep you anonymous if you so choose. See all you folks next year!

At 7:00 p.m. it's plus 5C.

Jay - jay@far.redtree.com