Urban Turns (Seattle 1/06/04)

[Chronic]

It was a ghost town at work and the snow had been falling most of the day. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and left just before 4:00, mumbling something about not wanting to drive home in the dark. Free from work, I cruised past wide-eyed, white-knuckled drivers hunched over the wheels of their Ford Explorers. Arriving at my house, I tore off my work clothes and pulled on my ski gear faster than Clark Kent in a phone booth. I grabbed my gear and skied out of my driveway for the tour d'Maple Leaf.

Scoffing at the gentler slopes of Roosevelt and 15th, I made my way to the baddest terrain around, 98th St. North - about 200 vertical feet of steep city street. But on my way there, I took a long look at 97th St. 97th is not quite as steep, but it is a more consistent pitch, and was considerably less tracked out from plastic sleds, inner-tubes and the few intrepid cars that had challenged gravity.

I made my decision and ducked around the "closed" sign. Scowling at the VW bug poaching my line, I waited for it to clear and dropped in parallel. My fat skis provided just enough float in the powder along the shoulder to avoid bottoming out... as long as I didn't use any edge whatsoever. I skied down the side of 97th, cut over a block, and finished the run down lower 98th St. Grinning like the kids sledding down the hill, and ignoring my neighbors' quizzical looks, I charged back up the hill for a few more runs. Eventually, the streetlights were the only illumination, and I made my way home. Today, 97th and 98th are sad piles of slush, so I will have to wait for the next "storm of the decade" before challenging the local steeps again.

Anyone else get some urban turns yesterday?

[Superstar Punani]

Ok, which one of you Seattle Minions is this masked man?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2001831250.jpg
A partially-dressed skier is pulled by a truck on 16th Avenue Southwest in Burien yesterday afternoon. The unidentified skier yelled out, "It's summer, isn't it?"

[The AD]

Originally posted by Chronic
Scowling at the VW bug poaching my line, I waited for it to clear and dropped in parallel

Moguls the size of VWs are weak. Now, moguls that are VWs, that's a different story!

[MacDaddy]

Good Post Chron

[KQ]

We've got this amazing bowl up at the Stable (maybe you remember it Chronic - off to the west of the barns). I was thinking about how sweet it would have been (esp. since the stable already had a solid 5 inches of snow from the week before ) but alas it was not to be as I couldn't even make it up the road.

It was a winter wonderland out in Woodinville yesterday.

[Chronic]

Originally posted by Punani
Ok, which one of you Seattle Minions is this masked man?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2001831250.jpg
A partially-dressed skier is pulled by a truck on 16th Avenue Southwest in Burien yesterday afternoon. The unidentified skier yelled out, "It's summer, isn't it?"

That picture tells you all you need to know about Burien.

[Flash]

Originally posted by Chronic
That picture tells you all you need to know about Burien.

I was thinking the same thing about Kent.