Jumping!

Given that we have plenty snow-crazy people, we decided to have an offsite in SLT last weekend. Eight of us went, including three pretty good boarders, and we had a blast!

The snow was not all it was said to be – no 11" on Saturday, for instance, but at most 5" – but who’s complaining? All of us improved our skills, the beginners, intermediate, and advanced snowmen and women, and we had fun with each other.

The three amigos that were not beginners (included me) went down Stagecoach Express on the Nevada side, and found a little ledge on the run, where it turns right and is crossed by a cat track. We tried jumping over it, but there was too much going on. So we decided to go to the small terrain park and try out jumps.

Monday was entirely devoted to jumping. The small park, Groove, is located off the beginner course and sees a lot of action. In particular, some really scary falls. The first lift we took up, we saw at least a dozen falls that looked incapacitating.

Thank goodness the early morning snow was slow, and we wouldn’t pick up any speed. We would jump the first ramp, come down on it, get to the second ramp, still not jump really high, and feel really good about ourselves.

As the day wore on, the snow got more and more compacted, and finally our speed became scary. The first jump was ok, but the second one felt like a catapult, and I really flew far and wide into the abyss beyond it to land on my feet most of the time, shaky and stirred.

Yet, more to come – it was the funnest thing to happen to me in the last many months!