The call came in at 9:00am on Wednesday January 2. "There's 16 inches of powder on the ground. It's a snow day and we're comin' your way." A few minutes later, Seth, Eric, Kas, and I were 4-wheel cruising to Springs in Eric's new bitchin' ride. We met up with A-Love and hit up the North Face.
We were pretty damn crest fallen when we saw that visibility was nil and, worse, that Springs was blowing a sticky coating of piss-yellow snow over a hundred acres of the sweetest powder Southwestern PA was likely to see this season.
But we made the most of it. First the sun came out. Then we found some decent lines on North Face, and while searching for more we got a little lost. Luck steered us to beautiful 40-yard pitch of untouched steep powder that was closed. As we stopped to check it out, some chode patroller skiied by yelling, "Closed, guys, closed means closed." I turned to Eric and said, "I don't know about you, but I spell 'open' with a 'c.'" It was a sweet 40 yards, but it was over quick, and so we made our way back to the North Face for a few last runs. Just before our last lift ride, Garth (of full moon fame), whispered to us that the new high speed six pack, Gunner Lift, was finally opening for the day and quietly opened the gate.
What ensued was a chaotic bloodthirsty, cut-throat, winner-take-all race to the finish the likes of which Springs had never seen: skiiers tripping over each other, losing eyes to poll-stabbings, clothes-lining their friends, and two snowbaorders died twice each. Any man who fell behind was certainly left behind - that's the powder code.
Our group made the first three chairs, and the we were treated to two runs on some really awesome powder. I have to admit that I face-planted, tripped, tumbled, and otherwise comically ate it many times, but that was my first experience skiing in anything even close to that, and I have to say that I had a blast.
Lou