2003 year end reflection - Best moment on skis

[powstash]

So, with 2003 coming to an end, thought it'd be cool to sound off about your best 2003 moment on skis.

With this past week, it's hard to remember anything of January-May skiing. I think one of my best memories from this past week, let alone all year, was Christmas day. After opening presents with the Mrs and my boys, I headed to the hill (my annual Christmas afternoon ski) and couldn't really get in the groove. Skied a couple of good shots, lots of untracked pow, etc but still wasn't feeling it.

So I head off the backside of 9990 here at The Canyons, drop toward desolation and then traverse to the saddle to hike Square Top. It's quite cloudy, snowing a bit and visibility is marginal. Just as I'm hiking the last couple of feet and crest to the ridge the most beautiful aqua blue sky is visible across the horizon between the clouds below me and those above me. Just as I catch this view, some guy drops in and skis hanging face, leaving a big smoke trail that just hangs for what seems like a minute. Looked beautiful. I click in and drop the ridge between Square Top and Hanging Face, a line I'd been eyeing for a week or so.

Skied all the way out the nose, knee to waist deep light pow and then back into the clouds below. Cool solitary moment, killer view, and sick pow. It was the start of the most amazing week of skiiing I've ever had and the finish to my most amazing year on skis.

[Blurred Elevens]

I know this thread was your intention for others to sound off on their glory days ripping white smoke, but this year has been injury plagued for me. My best day was at Crested Butte last spring though, until I got jacked up.

Went to compete at the US Extremes there. The day before the competition my friend Alison, (girl on jibij's website) and I met up with Riley Leboe and his dad. Total bluebird day, and about a foot of fresh on the ground. Made a couple of runs down headwall, and all the gnarl below there. It was sooooo sweet. I'd never skied the Butte in good conditions. Later on that day, we were dropping pillows down slot rocks, when my ski pre-released and I got in a very serious fall. I tumbled doing backflips off cliffs and I could not self-arrest. This was the fall that could have ended all, it was scary to say the least. After about 100 feet of tumbling down slot rocks, I hit two trees about 8 feet above their base, and luckily they stopped me from plunging a good 50 feet over some more cliffs....it was fucked up to say the least...people thought I was dead. Alison was crying thinking the worse, Alison Gannett was there as well. (she's a dumb bitch)Ski patrol took about an hour and a half to rope their sled in and used a pulley system to lower me and cart my carcass off.
I jacked my knee up really hard, and walked around on crutches for a couple of weeks. I had abrasions on my face, back and legs. Later on that night at the Extremes welcoming party, Alison Gannet says, "you're not invinsible you know..." Fuck that stupid cunt. My fall was due to equipment failure, she was just pissed cause I was killing it, and made her and her b-friend she was skiing with look like gapers until my pre-release. So much attitude there. Anyway, we all got crazy hammered that night cuz the beer was free. Alison took 2nd in the comp, and Riley took first for the juniors.

Fast-forward to this fall. Nov. 11th, I slammed on my shoulder, shattering my collarbone in 5 places. Emergency surgery, got a metal pin through the length of it. Was planning on competing alot this winter, I can't even risk falling right now....

All in all, 2003 has been a total motherfucker for me, guess that's Karma, but none the less, it has sucked. Fuck 2003, bring 2004!

[Superstar Punani]

Those jumps we did last year in Chamonix....the chute itself wasn't that hairy...it was falling, and falling towards a crevasse...

[TJ.Brk]

Blurred I hope you are healing ok. But just some Elderly advice. Don't call women stupid f-ing c's. That's bad pussy karma there my son. You will always be in the land of "waiting for your turn" by saying things like that.

Last year was a great year for me. Got to ski darn near every day of the season. Made lots of great new friends. Won the Canadian mens softball championship (got the ring today). Got to wake up every morning to enjoy another day in paradise. It was a banner year indeed

[TJ.Brk]

Originally posted by Punani
Those jumps we did last year in Chamonix....the chute itself wasn't that hairy...it was falling, and falling towards a crevasse...

I remember that post. Yikes. So I hear you are planning the special bar tour for the summit. So do we need to bring a stack of ones

[Telekóptero]

"guess that's Karma"

[Dantheman]

Today, OMFG today!

[Blurred Elevens]

Originally posted by TJ.Brk
Blurred I hope you are healing ok. But just some Elderly advice. Don't call women stupid f-ing c's. That's bad pussy karma there my son. You will always be in the land of "waiting for your turn" by saying things like that.

Thanks for the update Confucius. And oh yeah, what she said along with her attitude deserves what I said I think. If I'm "waiting for my turn" I'd rather fuck my hand then get like sloppy 19ths...

[hop]

It would have to be Last Sunday at Baker or Monday's ski-resting on Herman complete w/ 70' huck (on tele gear thank you very much). But all of Europe last March was pretty kickass too, as was Silver Star with Kellie and Skoog in May. But there were lots of little moments; a schweet pow turn here, a minute of stunning light there, a stoked chair ride with friends....

[Buster Highmen]

It's been a big year. Lots of highs and lows. A new daughter, lousy 2002/2003 snow year, incredible exploding nose of fun with my son, falling more deeply and scary in love than I thought imaginable. A right knee that won't get better and just hurts, facing up to not being able to jump cliffs anymore and dealing with all the vagaries of aging. But aging as stoopidly as I can. Hellatious job stress, being lied to, jerked around, no ability to plan a strategy for success. Got sick a lot last spring and missed a bunch of super deep days. Nothing like having little germ trawlers to bring funko nuevo into the house.
Highlights included:
Skiing Silverton for a couple of weeks, hanging out, making friends, and two special days there: a 28" day with Mike Barton wher we screamed 6 runs and another day skiing with Aaron and filming waves of white flurf flowing up and over anybody that moved. Things clicked there really well with a lot of people. Aaron and Jen are simply awesome.
Skiing Alpental 3/7 in 26 inches of snow. While unheard of twigs stuck out of the snow up in Edelweiss Bowl, there was run after run of pow blinded railing.

Life has changed a lot. Old friends moved, died or simply faded away. And as cheesy as it is to say, this place and Pmag has provided an amazing venue for meeting and hanging with that rare breed of skiing weirdo I so deeply cherish. You know who you are and I'm grateful for your friendships.

May 2004 bring you love, deep, fresh snow and the satisfaction of seeing an electric sunset over the mountains, surrounded by friends and family.

[Woodsy]

Lot of good days last spring Alta & the "crew" & knowing where to go & hear nothing but my skis on snow. I have missed much of this current cycle, but my best day on skis all year was getting a bummed out Msr frozenwater out of the office & in the untracked deepness of Honeycomb canyon. again & again.

joyous day.

"that kicked ass!"


& BH right back atcha!


c y'all on the snow

[truth]

BH...word.

Best moment for me was in March at Retallack. Riding with freinds and family the guides offered up the goods. 3300 vert of untracked thigh deep with the trees wide and open for super g speed to pillow drops to super G and repeat. The sun was out, the air was cold and the first 1000 feet were covered in the tinkling nirvana that is surface hoar. It was go time. A race you to the cat turn em until ya can't affair. In other words, it was perfect.

[The Reverend Floater]

Great Topic!

Highlights:

--That 48 inch blower day at Jackson last year (featured in Highlife). Happened to roll over there with a good friend, having no idea of the impending storm. Got up on one of two trams that went up that day, and skied waist-deep blower all morning while dropping unseen 15 footers with no problem.

--A solo ascent/descent of Shasta with my dog in June. After a terrific tour with many maggots on Mt. Rose in the Sierras, I headed north and camped on whiskey river. Next morning, I woke up and skinned up to the wilderness boundary (dog prohibited passing it) and just chilled there for a while, taking it all in. Then skied awesome corn through some tight rocks down to a massive appron where I could just open it up. Truly a special moment when you're alone on a spring tour with bomber conditions in such a unique locale.

--The whole South America Junk Show Silver Egg Tour with Cletus, Cornhole, Odin and others. The whole thing was unreal, particularly when they got 3. 5 feet in 2 days. Got to meet and ski with Dude le Skibum, who gave a great tour and nearly led me to death by avalanche. Great people and phenomenol skiing!

--This past weekend, from start to finish. Cletus rolls into town and we get three days of incredible touring with big pow. Weasle into a free yurt trip with just us and a few friends. Then go to Targhee with another friend on Sunday for neck-deep fluff! Doesn't get much better than that!

[Idris]

This one

http://www.braich.demon.co.uk/mtblanc/tompow.jpg

Pre de Rocher 3 times in the morning, Rond top to valley in the afternoon in chest deep with flingle, Splat, Natty and Sherpa

[mr_gyptian]

finally backing up the "If I had snow like that I'd be stomping cliff's all day long" at KW last March.

Here's to having to do this with more frequency in '04.

[Blurred Elevens]

Originally posted by Idris
This one

http://www.braich.demon.co.uk/mtblanc/tompow.jpg

Pre de Rocher 3 times in the morning, Rond top to valley in the afternoon in chest deep with flingle, Splat, Natty and Sherpa

Where is this??! Looks unbelievable!! You guys are stokkkeeeddd!!

[Squirrel99]

Have to say the first four bluebirds in Lenas after the surprise September storm that most thought would never come. Waist deep, light Ootah type fluff down Eduardo's, Torrecillas, etc... And with lots of trip cancellations- much extra leg room for more tracks. But those May pow storms at the 'Bird were quite memorable for late season.

[Endlessseason]

Originally posted by Blurred Elevens
Where is this??!

Blurred--That's Cham town. And I'm pretty positive that photo of Tom was taken from one of the switchbacks leading into town after the Mer du Glace/hike thing.
I hope to be back there again before too much time passes...

[Endlessseason]

Well, lemme see here...as good as Schweitzer and Fernie were last March, Purgatory and Silverton were even deeper in February.

The first week of April, back home at the Bird, was a moment, but so was the first week of this month. Then again, so was the 15th of this month. Well......I guess last Saturday topped even that.

There have been so many good ones it's hard to pick just one moment of the year, and it's all so subjective, but, as my best moment on skis for 2003 it is a tie: Saturday December 27th, 2003 at Snowbird at 1:45 on an undisclosed slope [no pictures] and Tuesday March 11th at Kicking Horse, BC. off CPR Ridge--all day long.

I think the fact that we've already had so many over-the-head powder days AND so many canyon-restricted days bodes well for many more this season. My hope is that it will make it almost impossible to choose a best ski moment for 2004...

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ! ! ! !

[Odin]

2003 was a pretty good year for me.

The Chile Trip
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic13395.jpg

Unreal Day #2
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic14006.jpg

Unreal Day #1
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic12340.jpg

[TJ.Brk]

Originally posted by Blurred Elevens
Thanks for the update Confucius. And oh yeah, what she said along with her attitude deserves what I said I think. If I'm "waiting for my turn" I'd rather fuck my hand then get like sloppy 19ths...

Well then I guess you've mastered the "right hand, to left hand, to feet, to the Ron Jeremy mouth technique" without missing a beat by now

I wasn't dissing you. I was being honest.

[TJ.Brk]

Originally posted by Buster Highmen
A right knee that won't get better and just hurts, facing up to not being able to jump cliffs anymore and dealing with all the vagaries of aging.
May 2004 bring you love, deep, fresh snow and the satisfaction of seeing an electric sunset over the mountains, surrounded by friends and family.

Buster. Congrats on the family. Shoot me an email and I'll send you a tube of "Biofreeze". It is prescription PT stuff. It works miracles. Seriously. It's great stuff.

[detroit]

My first time down Superstar where I accually felt like i knew what I was doing.

[powstash]

Originally posted by Squirrel99
But those May pow storms at the 'Bird were quite memorable for late season.

Ah yea, May 9 & 10 were delicious.

[SSSdave]

One finest 2003 moment on skis huh? Supposed to type in here something huge and manly thus glory-like bragger of course...geeez? This may have been relatively mellow to other shit I might post but it twas a bragger & I enjoyed it immensely.

Remember one particular fine deep dump of dry light fluff at KW last year (late February?) where after some singles line vocal aggression, three of us singles with me at end managed to get first chair on backside. Now I could have zipped over to the saddle and bounced down one or two mans chute which is steeper and always deeper. Chair mates were set to race each other thar in fact as we babbled about choices. Been first in thars before and was on my mind. But I admit to being a show off sometimes and must have had some of that nudging mez decision. Below on a lift ride up there is something incredibly exciting about looking at a big expanse of totally smooth untracked extra fluff powder. Under the chair in the huge alpine bowl is a modest upper intermediate variable pitch with 800 feet vert adorned with a scattering of sparse trees. Of course In back of me on the chair were dozens of energized powder maniacs drooling with pent up off the scale excitement. And knowing you bez first chair, first choice spawned some thought. All the way up just looking at that beautiful stuff right below me, imaging bounding down rhythmically over & over, back & forth, left & right, side to side, up & down on & on... Ahhh I loved those thoughts at what I be lookin at. So instead of Saddle, skied area right below the lift line, grinning a mile wide with biggest fall line S bouncers style to generate the most noise from above. -dave