Saturday, May 28, 2011

Stem-christie to the rescue!

Yesterday was the first day of the season when ski conditions that were almost spring-like; there was a thin layer of corn snow that allowed everyone to ski the entire expanse of Mineral Basin on that ideal, “creamy” material from 9 am until about 10:30 am, and these same conditions could soon be found again on the opposite, North-facing side of the mountain. After twelve-noon, the magic was gone and the bottom began to break making for challenging if not treacherous conditions outside of the few runs that were groomed.

I kept on skiing out out, in the unkempt snow though, using my good old stem-christie that allowed me to get by in pretending I was “skiing on eggs,” by just staying evenly balanced and featherlight on my two skis while making the least possible “waves” that would have “dug” me in for good. When you want to “tread lightly” on very tricky snows, ski stealthy and don't be ashamed in making liberal use of stem-christie!

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