The Ride Down

The anatomy of ski day is simple: snow and friends. That's it. We wake up around 7:30 and grab a quick breakfast, maybe some cereal and a bagel, maybe some fast eggs. Then we get our gear and stuff two or three granola bars for the hill. We try to be at the lift when it opens, first tracks are lonely and quiet and perfect. After hauling our sticks across the highway, we reach the gates and click in, one of my favorite sounds because you know the feeling not far ahead. That feeling usually lasts until about two or three and then we head back to the house for a beer and lunch part two. Especially with a group our size, not everyone is able to ride together, so there's plenty of late afternoon recap. We'll talk about the four-foot sinkhole Aaron bounced through on the North bowl and the small pine that got a little too unfriendly with my shin - or vice versa - on a powdery tree run on the back side of the mountain. The cut just below my knee won't go forgotten, but we still throw down a trail map and plot the next day's rematch with no less anticipation.

While back in Boulder, we watched a Japanese ski film called 'Signatures' that proved to be a tease in two ways.. One, the snow out there is deep and fluffy; quality we likely wouldn't get on this trip. Two, the soundtrack is incredible, but only works if you can figure out how to ski in slow motion. Despite one and two, I still highly recommend watching it. At the very least, you'll learn, if you didn't know already, that Japan has some serious snow. We found out the easy way, the two women up on the mountain didn't. After taking the 15-minute ride in the snowcat from the lift to the lip of the North bowl, we overheard them talking to a couple of Japanese skiers. "Oh my God.. this looks amazing. Do you guys get snow like this in Japan?" You can't help but smile at the timing.. They were right about the bowls though; between there and the trees we found the closest thing to Hokkaido and milked it.

As for the back end of the day, the music always seems to come in just after you tell everyone you're beat and thinking about turning in. Yes, we did have a DJ come up, though he swears he was really there to ski (you can listen at soundcloud.com/TouchRiot). There were also hot tubs and snow angels, on repeat and at hours all too close to the next morning's lift. There were naps. And finally, some great conversation, ranging anywhere from music, photography, tech, business, travel to just plain catch-up. The mountains provided the backdrop, but in the end it was about the company.

The day after is still the leading vote-getter for worst day of the year. Everyone had dispersed and traveled back to jobs in different parts of the country, and except for the select few who live and work in Colorado, the rest of us were left daydreaming of fresh snow and the mountains on which it would settle. I was in dire need of pick-me-up, so I did the only logical thing after a great trip like that and immediately started planning another one..