Baldface 2009: The New Old Milwaukee - It Doesn't Get Much Better

Day 2 was when things started clicking. I mounted up the Fish 156, added a little extra lunch to the bag and strapped my balls on a little tighter. Another 10cm of fresh had our tracks from the previous day covered. Oh yeah, we were getting some. With avy school taken care of, we headed straight for the trees.

Jesse Lu is leading a stoked crew

Our new sweeper guide, Karla, ever vigilant

Now for those of you who have any doubt that cat boarding is worth your money, I produce these photos, all of yours truly and taken by Dave Thomas (just like the rest of the photos on this page, lest you thought I learned how to take pictures real quick)...

Add your own whooshing sound

Like a girl with no ass, the pow was bottomless

Sorry, Dave, I still owe you a beer

Face shots for breakfast, pillow pops for lunch and plenty of pow snacks in between. I'm not getting all ballsy with the cliff drops, but my new buddy Martin is going for it and he has me thinking. You see with the powder piling up, a 20-foot cliff cliff feels like jumping on a bed. I'll get that jazz next time, this day was fun enough whipping high-speed slashes and getting that zero-G feeling in the white room. It just kept getting better.

When not contemplating cliff drops, Martin is an ER doc.
Who takes care of him if he lands on that tree?

Dr. Martin exhibiting clinical precision yet again

Day 3 would prove to be my final day riding. And with days like that, I'm not sure it gets any better anyway. I went with the 156 Fish LTD, which felt just like the Fish to me. Great board for the conditions. That woozy feeling was still creeping up in the morning, but once the fresh mountain air and snow hit my face, I was feeling great. Unstoppable really. Best day riding yet. I felt indestructible. I'm sure I didn't hit anything that huge, but the feeling was there. So much time in the white room you'd think I was paying rent. A couple cliffs, a few hits and powdery turns all day long. My legs were holding up surprisingly well for a guy who was just coming off of injury [that damn rib is still in pain, too]. I was on the six Advil a day diet, though.

Just for fun, at the end of the day Karla drove the cat and Kristy was our guide. Karla even had to ask where the windshield wipers were, talk about a newb. Then Kristy got us lost. Maybe they need a little more practice. Speaking of a little more practice, we rode back to the lodge instead of taking the cat and I 'tripped' on the sidewalk by the chalets. Whoops. And that's how I'm going out. The next day at breakfast, the lights went out. I'll talk about that one in the next post.