Thursday, January 31, 2019

January Skiing 2019

I have been skiing more this year due to it being quite cold so the resorts have been making lots of snow. Additionally, Emmerson is really into it so we are skiing partners which I very much enjoy. Also, I am one of the co-sponsors of the NT ski and snowboard club and we have been out several times this year. On our first outing we had a rather ominous event perhaps foreshadowing and interesting season. One of the boys was trying out snowboarding for the first time and broke his FEMUR. He had the old rod and screws operation the following day and should be back at it soon enough. I finally broke down and bought a new pair of skis - first since my Atomic Arcs I bought in 1982 when I was 16! I started snow boarding a while back once I realized I was going to be based in the Midwest for a bit. I didn't have any ski equipment any more and figured I'll give it a shot. Then a few years ago my friend gave me his skis and boots as he had bought a new kit. I used them for a year or two but blew out of the bindings last year. So this year I purchased a pair of Atomic all mountain skis - Vantage 90's maybe??  It is amazing how much skis have changed from when I skied a lot back in the day. My Atomic Arcs were 200 cm. as to maintain stability at speed. But now with the parabola shapes they can be skied much shorter which enables better turning but still stable. I am skiing 184 cm. and am amazed at the stability and how well they turn. I am very much enjoying putting them on edge for some bi gs turns - good times and glad I made the purchase.


Clown again - has become kind of a thing with Emmerson and I ...


Emmerson somewhere in there behind her gear. She is doing great! So glad that she has picked it up and I have someone to go with. 



My stupid knee is a mess - after a day of skiing. 


We have been in the midst of some rather epic cold weather which I will detail more in the next post. Our first overnight ski trip with the school club just so happened to fall as the arctic front was beginning to make its self known. The forecast for place in Wisconsin, Granite Peak, where we had made arrangements to go was below 0 temperatures for both days. We had to go thru all sorts of rigmarole as to whether we should cancel or not as the parent phone calls started flying in about canceling the trip and refunds and blah. Several kids withdrew but we ended up going with 24 students. We left around 6 am on Saturday morning and ended up skiing a little more than a half day. It was cold and partly cloudy which didn't help with the feeling of the temp. We had the kids check in with us every hour at the lodge to make sure all was OK. It was pretty uncrowded so no lift lines so we all got in plenty of skiing even with the breaks. Snow was OK and the place is decent, especially for the midwest. The kids were troopers and it ended up being a good trip. 


Day 2 - colder than day 1 but sunny which makes a bit of a difference - especially when on the lift.  


Steam from a power plant on the Wisconsin River we passed on the way home. 

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