2009, by powderjunky

Skiing through the widest section of trees on Black crater.

As fate would have it, this season is being spent elsewhere from my usual wintering grounds. Like a college coed after the bar has closed, I roam aimlessly in unfamiliar territory seeking the goods, but keep coming up short. Finally a break in weather has us packing the sled and heading up McKenzie Pass in search of snow gratification.

Skiing the tight trees of Black Crater

It's weird being in a new place where, for some reason or another, skiing everyday just isn't feasible. Finally we get out, strap on the skis and begin skinning up Black Crater. The dense trees produce an awkward silence, the kind you find in yoga class when someone breaks wind at the most quiet moment. On the way up we know the snow conditions are worse than President Bush's approval rating. We finally find a mellow tightly treed slope that I probably would have never considered skiing elsewhere, but it was our best option for the day. We skied it with the nervous feeling of decapitation by pine tree nesting in the back of our heads. When we reached the bottom, my wife and I looked at each other and both blurted out, "Wow, that was actually really fun!"

Skinning out to Little Belknap, with Mount Washington in the BG. Only to find not enough coverage.

How is it that the most mediocre slope, with the most mediocre conditions can be so fun? In my post-college years, I have been fortunate to ski everyday there is snow to ski. Where in lies the problem: With so much, I found it is easy to take individual turns for granted. Not this day. I relished every turn, every bump, every near miss, and every ounce of goodness this run could give. And it rewarded me with undefinable stoke.

Then I came to the shocking conclusion that skiing more means savoring the details less. I began to think of all the perfect days that I have skied, but soon became saddened to the fact that so many times, so many individual turns had escaped my memory.

Here is to remembering every turn whether face shot, knee breaking coral reef, or thigh burning breakable crust . It's all skiing, and with the right perspective, the details can reward us with whatever we were out there for in the first place. Here is to no more forgotten turns.