Originally Posted by TJ.Brk
There was never any search party. No search party ever found me. You can confirm that with Lindsey or Martin the owners of Valhalla Powdercats. Infact I'm meeting up with Martin in Montreal tomorrow night at the Warren Miller Ski movie showing. Martins hometown is "La Belle" just up the hwy from me.
So here is what happened. After I got towed up on the ropes for my second run of the day.
Everybody wanted to stay around and watch fellow maggots go off of the kickers. I just wanted to ski. Even though it was just the top 600' of Valhalla's terrain that all of us were limited too, it was still skiing freshies and I wanted to ski as much as possible. So I checked with the guide. Asked if it was ok if I skied down alone to the day camp. And take/follow the same tracks made to the day camp from our first runs after we got unloaded from the cat on our very first ride up from the parking lot area.
He said fine. Then he suggested one route that he was going to take people down on after they got done watching maggots go off the kickers, and the next group arrived after being towed up by ropes with the other cat. He suggested this so I could get some fresh turns.
The guide instructed me to go just left of the second kicker they built, but as soon as I hit the trees to keep moving left. And to not go past the third cattrack incase I didn't go left enough. After the second cat track I didn't run into a third. So I thought shit. I fucked up. I didnt' go far enough left. I looked at my watch and I had gone 800+ feet in vertical descent. So I just stopped. I listened hoping to hear the cat. The snow was dumping hard as many can remember, so sound was way muffled.
Luckily I kept my head out the window of the cat on the first ride up. I saw the mtn side that had all the burnt out trees the cat went right next too on the ride up. So that is where I headed after weighing my options.
1. The only one that knows I went this direction to start was the guide. That was about 10 minutes ago. It will be a long time before anybody knows I'm missing. Especially since we were all scattered about the place working on kickers, being towed up, and skiing. So I got out my compass. Shot a directional reading to a land marker about 200m away in the direction of the burnt out mtn that the cat ride up went next too. Be patient and calm. That is the key to finding your way.
Then I notice the 9 sets of ski tracks leading that direction, which had been covered over by the heavy falling snow. I figured with luck I might run into the second load of maggots riding up from the parking lot. If not it was a long hike up.
2. I had about a 2hr window before somebody might notice I'm gone. Best to find a way to get up really fast to not fuck up everybody's day.
So I pushed off and followed my compass reading, and kept a sharp eye on the 4-5 day old ski tracks. I reached the cattrack in about 10 minutes, and heard the cat coming. I was never in any avi zone. You can verify this with the Valhalla guys. They knew the area, and they will tell you this.
The cat bringing up the next load of maggots went by me. Then Lindsey showed up on the sled with another maggot. He wanted me to get on and ride on the sled in threes. It wasn't going to work. I told Lindsey it was my fuckup and it wasn't right to keep the maggot he was taking up waiting, and that I would hike the rest.
Lindsey asked me how the snow was on the terrain I just covered. I told him the conditions. He told me that was great because they had serious rain at this lower elevation 3 days ago and that they weren't going to take any of us down lower than the top because they felt the conditions might be sparse. I told him it was knee deep and saw no stumps or other hazzards and it was just killer. Lindsey said great. Then he took the other maggot up on the sled. I started hiking.
About 30 minutes later Lindsey came back down on the sled and met up with me hiking on the cattrack. I again apologized for my actions. He chewed my butt a bit. He asked me how I made it to where I was. I explained everything. He was relieved that I had my compass and of my training from the military. He then told me that because of my little fuckup that they would be able to expand the terrain the maggots would be skiing because they thought the area I was in wasn't skiable because of the rain/warm temps from days ago. So the maggots got to ski alot of vert in the freshies because of my stupidity.
I asked Lindsey if any search parties were looking for me before I got on his sled. Nobody even knew I was missing is what he told me. And up we went.
Pat later asked me what I was doing on the sled with Lindsey when I got back to the day camp area. I told him about my screw up. Then the lead guide annouced that they would be taking goups for longer runs down the mtn. The guide asked me to join the first group going with him. I pulled him aside and said that I will only ski down at the end of the day. I did something stupid. Besides I got the virgin turns. Another maggot deserved to take my place. And that was good enough for me. So I sat in the camp area the rest of the afternoon as my self imposed punishment. I didn't even do the little cat rope tow to the top and ski the 600'vert like others. I gave my spot away each time.
Yes the maggots benefitted by my stupidity. But it's not something I'm proud of. So I didn't ski again till the end of the day for the run to the bottom.
You all can ask Lindsey or Martin at Valhalla. They will verify this. There was never any search party. And out of strange luck maggots got to ski more terrain than what was going to be opened to them.
And if any of you would like. Valhalla is giving a day of catskiing for 2, 2 days lift tickets at Whitewater, 2 passes to the hot springs spa, 2 nights lodging at the Heritage Inn to help support the ski test and raise money for cads. Tickets are $10 for one, $20 for three. Drawing is Nov 19, 2004 at 8pm.
Have a great season.
I never claimed to be this great skier. Yes I'm not bad now. Before I broke my back I don't even try to think about how I used to ski. But when you break your back and suffer nerve damage in both legs. Not bad is pretty cool.