Vail Snowboarding Lessons

It snowed 9 inches last night!

Today is the first powder day Vail Resorts has seen this year. I’m up early at 7:30am watching the forcast and the morning TV 8 crew as the list off the new trail and lifts opening today. Thirty new trail opens today! Wow, what a difference two days of snow will make. Up til now all that Vail had open was one run, Born Free, and the bunny hill.

As drink my morning coffee and check my emails, the morning talk show team on TV 8 announces a giveaway. Two ticket to the premiere of Warren Millers new Ski & Snowboard video, and some socks and other shawg. Guess who calls and wins? Me.

I’m a winner and I have not even finished my morning coffee, it’s Vail’s first powder day of the season, and … and I’m feeling awesome. This is one heck of a start to an already great Saturday.

My roommates and I hit the mountain. Megan and I have some early morning epic powder runs down Avanti and Challenge to Chair 4. The snow is past my knees! A bit of wind has created drifts and we’re dancing on air while our snowboards bouncing up and out of the snow like dolphin in the sea.

I have to admit, I was really, really excited and in all the excitement did a forward roll in about 3 feet of fresh snow on the way to Challenge from Chair 2, Avanit, just to land on my feet and keep crusing in the single track flats to get to the steep pitch of the trail.

Megan and I continued to tear up the front side of the mountain around Chair 4 and its tree. Whistle Pig, Powerline, Esspresso, Chair 4 cliffs west to flatland and faceplant! Needless to say we were exhausted. So much powder, flexion and extension, get some!

Our buddy Nick got released from Ski School and we rode hard through the trees until our legs felt like anchors and burned like nobodies business. We took a break at Mid Vail, and had a hot drink.

What a day. It’s still snowing snow, and the Colorado Pass folks are blocked out tomorrow too, which mean small crowds and short lift lines. I guess it will be an early morning on the mountain again tomorrow