March 7, 2005
ESWA & Getting Spooked
The Eastern Ski Writers March meeting was at Sunday River this weekend. After missing the last two due to prior commitments I made it a point to be in attendance. Dozens of friends & skiers form the corporate and media sides of the industry + awesome accommodations (Jordan Grand) + a weekend loaded with events (races, first tracks, pub crawl, snow tubing, diners, etc…) = Good Times!
ESWA members on Carumba
Conditions at the Resort were especially good, both days this weekend, above all early in the morning when Sunday River’s strong suit played: Perfect Corduroy! A truly enjoyable time, great contrast from the pow turns earlier in the week. As afternoon approached, the crowds and breeze picked up. Not doing the snow surfaces much justice, but there was still plenty on the edges of trails, as the trees filled up on wind blown snow.
Groomies, first tracks
Gents: Pay attention. On the shuttle bus from South Ridge to Jordan I was speaking with a couple from the Westerly, RI. This guy brought his lady up to Sunday River for the weekend, put her in a ski lesson and she was ecstatic! She learned how to ski in one day and they could both proficiently move around the resort areas together on skis. Neither of them could stop smiling!
They also mentioned that all the golf courses down there still got 6” of snow pack on them, so think about the slopes not the fairways. The groundhog was correct a few weeks back when he ran at the site of his shadow.
Snowing in Oz, 3/6 @ 12:27 PM
Spooked: All it took was a split second on run #2 Sunday morning, location Wizard’s Gultch. I was tired, but skiing through it. I had eaten breakfast and stretched out a bit. Just had a strong warm up run and headed into the trees. The run was skiing well, no pow, just bump lines, the type of terrain the Guru is comfortable and familiar with.
I took the situation lightly and it came very close to costing me the remainder of the season, if not worse. At certain ability levels some folks like to refer to skiing as a ‘Series of Linked Recoveries.’ The interpretation implies that one is in control until a recovery is missed or not linked. I missed one and picked up lots of speed quickly. Some air and an attempted hockey stop (that was late and off mark) left me in the back seat heading towards a large mogul. I was no longer in control of my skies on the snow.
Note: I was skiing too fast and aggressively, no one was on the trail downhill from me, and the 3 people I was with were all behind. I have often said I enjoy tree skiing because it is predictable, trees do not move on the trail (like people), but they also do not move if you collide with them (unlike people).
Approximately 8:21 AM, I found myself airborne, heading backwards at a high rate of speed in a glade. Been there before, Not Fun, Very Dangerous. I was still in control of my body. Glancing over the right shoulder I saw what I thought I would…A large hardwood (probably 10” diameter). Somehow I did not get tattooed by that tree, it was a close one. Maybe an instinctive jerk, once the huge adrenaline blast took hold, got me out of the way just enough to escape a dire impact.
Both my skis ejected and ended up on opposite sides of the tree uphill form where I landed. I quickly bounced to my feet once stopped, to relief the group I was with and myself. But the fall spooked me bad. I was awfully fortunate yesterday morning. It was as close a call as I have had in a long time.
I am sharing this because the fall was a harsh reminder to me of how dangerous skiing can be, I will definitely be slowing down for the remainder of the season, which now seems as if it is on borrowed time…
Please Ski Safe!
S.G.
photos: Ethan Binns
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