Day One

Yesterday I drove the 3+ hours to Wolf Creek in Colorado to go skiing. And boy was it worth it! While Wolf Creek doesn’t yet have great coverage, most of the mountain was open, and, if you worked for it, you could still large stashes of untracked powder. If they get about another 18 inches they will be in great condition.
My most notable episode was an epic crash I had in the powder. I had climbed up this ridgeline to get to some nice steep tree lined runes with about a foot and a half of powder. It was a super nice day, very hot, and so I wasn’t wearing any gloves. I took off down the run and after about 5 turns I may a spectacular nosedive into the pow. Standing up, I was covered in powder and my hands were freezing cold. I mean really really freezing cold. It was at this moment that I realized that I was dehydrated from both the high altitude and the long climb I had made to reach the stash. Doh. Taking off my glasses was my next smart move. The next few seconds I could feel myself get light headed and thought “Headline: Santa Fe postdoc proves that even with a Ph.D. you can still be a moron.” After a few moments chilling in the sun, however, I recovered and promptly went to buy a Gatorade. Earlier in the morning I had noticed how many people were wearing packs for carrying water. I thought that was kind of funny, but now I think I’m going to go buy one.