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What a freaking life changing weekend. We went to Whitegrass with Chili and Ricky Brown for the first time, in what some said were the best conditions in years. D and I have been talking about wanting to change up our winter sports of choice. She gets too cold riding lifts all the time and we both like the idea of going anywhere we like, both up and down. Kinda hard to do that on a snowboard. We've owned XC touring setups for a few years, with seldom ever enough snow to actually use the damn things locally. And we balk at paying so much for a whopping several hundred feet of vert on local ski bumps.


So, all this led to a greater interest in taking XC further, into backcountry, and maybe even tele. Doesn't help when you know this guy and this guy and have to look at pics and hear about it from them all the time. And hearing about it inevitably leads to Whitegrass--a far cry from the what can sometimes feel like a lift-served douche-fest of the baggy-pantsed. Chili and Rick were interested in heading down again, having not been there since at least last year, so we planned our maiden voyage with them.

It got increasingly snowier on our drive down and we pulled into a winter wonderland at WG. D and I opted for a lesson because I readily admitted I could learn a few things. The biggest revelation? The easiest way to get up after falling down on XC gear. It was so appallingly obvious after it was demonstrated to us that I had a head-smacking moment at the simplicity of it. We tooled around near the base of the slope both before and after the lesson, and I know I felt much more relaxed afterwards. D bemoaned the lack of metal edges on our touring skis and missed the edge bite she was used to from her downhill gear. We decided to rent on Saturday.

We stayed at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, a bit up the road from WG, but nice accommodations, good food and brews, and great music on Friday night, with The Whiskey Rebellion. Camp rolled in with O during the first set so we got to hang out for a little bit before calling it a night.
Saturday was cold again, and it snowed even more overnight. Beautiful. We broke our fast and headed for the shed at WG. We were early--apparently they didn't officially open until 9:00--but they took care of us anyway and hooked us up with rentals--BC skis with 3/4 metal edges and NNNBC bindings and boots. The goal that day was Bald Knob--the tippy top of the hill. Almost a 1000 feet of vert. It started well enough, but unfortunately, about half way up, my left boot started eating the arch of my foot. The scenery was awe inspiring and we were tremendously happy to be out in it--I just had to grit my teeth in some sections to keep my inside edge buried and my form right. XC gained a new meaning--Xtra Cussin'. At the top, we bumped into Tomi, admired the clouds, snow and wind, I checked my foot and applied a bandage and we began the descent. We opted for the easier 3-Mile trail to go down--pretty sedate overall. By the time we got back to the lodge, I was more than ready to lose my boots, sit inside, and drink a frosty beverage or two. D and Rick headed back out to the main slope because Donna wanted to try more downhill turning. If this was typical lift-served, I know there would have been no way she would have headed back out.
I was out of the mix for Sunday and it ended up that everyone else decided not to ski again, too. So, on the bluebird day of the weekend, we loaded up and headed north.

But we'll be back. Oh yes, we'll be back. This clicks so much better than the typisch downhill scene.

We may have downhill gear for sale soon. Anyone interested?