The Start to my Perfect Day
The Start To My Perfect Day
Each winter month has its own characteristics that set it apart from the other months. I would have to say that March is one of my favorite months, because it can have a variety of amazing riding conditions that keep you wanting to ride day-after-day. From warm, sunny spring snow while riding just in a hoody, to deep, night-time alpine storms followed by long, cold sunny days; March can have it all.
The start to my perfect day consists of waking up in the morning and jumping into the hot tub with a Baileys and coffee to soak away the aches from the day before. Staring at the sun-tipped mountains as the morning fog dissipates to reveal pure blue skies above, I sit there thinking about the day and what’s to come. With anticipation of new accumulation from the storm the night before, I check the weather, snow report and avalanche conditions to see what Mother Nature has in store. There’s a fresh, cold 50cm dump from last night, along with a stable snowpack and low avalanche conditions in the forecast. A sense of urgency and excitement kicks in as I start to picture my day and the epic adventure that is about to unfold.
Now I’m moving a little faster, with a spring in my step as I head out to warm up the truck and down to the gear room to get suited up. Checking to make sure I’ve got all my essential gear, I grab my airbag and helmet and I’m out the door. Off to the local breakfast joint to meet up with my riding bros and to carb up with a big eggs benny breaky.
After inhaling down my food and slamming another coffee, I’m back in the truck for a short drive to my favourite riding area. Pulling in to the trailhead parking, I can hear the grumble and smell two-stoke fumes through the air, which has the ability to somehow bring my hype level up another notch. I throw the truck in park and crank the tunes so I can hear them over the braaps of the sleds as they are unloaded.
All suited up, my best riding bros and I do a quick beacon check and chat about what we want to hit today. With the sleds fueled, oiled and warmed up, I straddle the seat and attempt a half-assed stretch of my back and legs as I know, no matter what, I’m going to be stiff and sore by the end of this day.
I start off slow out of the parking lot and gain momentum until I realize that this is not necessarily a race to get to the alpine—but I can’t seem to help myself. It just so happened that the groomer did its laps last night and we have a smooth and quick trail up to the alpine where it doesn’t matter if we are the first ones up there, because we have sooo many secret zones that are sure to be untouched. Ripping up the the trail I think to myself, the groomer guy must have been stoned last night—because there is not a bump on this trail, only the slight ripple of the corduroy as we wind our way into the mountains. It doesn’t feel very long until I can see the end of the groomed trial approaching fast and a wall of snow that marks the beginning of the day I will always remember…
To be continued…