First crack at the Orchard

The Orchard was awesome.  Hit Blue tonight expecting long waits in the lift lines but was pleasantly surprised to be riding solo most of the night.  Headed over after dinner ready for a cold night at -13c. Mason was along for the ride for his second trip to the hill this year.    Conditions were great....machine groomed powder that was pretty consistent.

Quest For Powder

On the Hill With Ryan

 Booked the Eve off work being that the kids had a PD day but the only taker was Ryan.   It was great to have a one on one with him ...its been awhile.   I was a little worried about him getting hurt.  Last time I was with him he broke his wrist!!!!     We parked at the top of Southern Comfort and did a few runs at Water Fall before we headed North to the Happy Valley!      Had a great lunch  then Skiied Happy a bit longer before we headed home.... without injury.  

Me today!

Snowy Friday December 13th, 2013

 Mason and I headed to the hill today.   Temps were just as cold as yesterday but the winds were allot less and I had 2 pairs of socks on!    Did a run on Cruiser then headed to the village meeting up with Patrick.   We checked out Happy Valley open for the first time this season.     It was snowing heavily and there was tons of deep powder to be found everywhere.    The main runs were a bit tough with the snow piling up here and there but overall its was pretty good conditions.   Got stuck on the century express for about 10 min ... my feet got really cold.   When we took a lunch break I took the boots off and my feet were quite painful for 10 minutes as they warmed up ... so much for the second layer.    I left  Mason at the Central Cafe ,  he was getting picked up by Amber heading to Wasaga for the weekend.  I headed home because I was working at 4pm.  

Cold Morning

Made it out shortly after 09:00 am today making fresh tracks on "Cruiser".   Parked at the top of the South Chair...less distance to the lift and way less wind.    Found some pretty good lines ,  fresh soft man made snow.  It was -13C but there was a huge wind making it feel more like the mid -20's.   Hands were a bit cold but I could move them around to get warm.   The feet were frozen and there wasn't
much I could do about it.  Next time its 2 layers of socks!  

Day 2 - Monday December 9, 2013

2nd trip of the 2013/2014 season today.   Arrived at 10:00 am ... fresh snow ,  -3C and a huge westerly wind at the top and nothing at the bottom.    The Village Way was open for the first time this season.  Did that run first but didn't find my groove.   Next up was Smart Alec ...found a good line and was doing bit fast wide turns.   The snow was getting clumped up and it was ice underneath with nuggets here and there that made for a ton of chatter.   There were still good lines to Ski...just had to find them.     The Silver Bullet lift was not moving as fast as usual ,  high winds were hampering the operation.  It was fun seeing peoples reaction cresting the hill and getting blasted.    Wore my new Columbia jacket...very pleased!      Last 30 minutes or so were sent on the Village way.   Took the trail across the top of the Mountain heading to the Century Express and started at the very top of the Village Way trail , stayed to the left in fresh snow making lots of new track cutting hard across the top of Graduate then back to the Village!     Heading back to the car it was blowing so hard if I had of set my poles down in the Parking lot they would have blown away!  

December 1,2013 - First Run 2013-2014 Ski Season

Robin, Noah and their friend Landon hit Blue Sunday morning.   I was up at 5:00 am ,  hot tub for an hour then took the boys Tim's for Breakfast.   The drive was a bit tenuous ,  slushy wet heavy snow on the road!  Made it just in time to make first tracks parking at the top of the hill.  Skied down picked up five 5X7's.  Usually we don't ski during the day on Sunday only during the Eve. They were advertising "Snow Go" prices ,  19.75.  It was a pleasant surprise when they knocked $10.00 off for 5X7 holders!   The snow was pretty good ,  stuck mostly to Smart Alec.   Visibility was an issue from time to time with wet snow or dropping through low hanging clouds.... yup goo at the top ,  socked in half way down and clear again at the bottom.   We only stuck around until noon as Robin had to work in the afternoon.  3 hours was enough for the first day!