Easter Sunday Snowboard Session Turns Ugly

With family away for the Holiday, Easter was a day Donna and I could enjoy snowboarding together at Killington and take advantage of my Season Pass reduced price for her ticket. Besides, it was a wintery beautiful day - cold but bright sunshine and no wind, so what better way to have fun? We packed early and suited up for a cold day on the mountain. The temperature at the top of Killington, after the ride up K-1 Gondola, was 9 above, but absolutely no wind. The snow conditions were hard-packed and fast, some ice, but not where they had groomed -- and they had groomed over 80 trails the night before.

I guided us over to Bear Mountain where the morning sun would be softening up the hard-packed, groomed trails. We followed Great Eastern over which was a good way to warm up and then headed down some blue trails towards the lodge. The crowds were thin, the snow and weather good - it was going to be a great day. We rode the chair up to the top of Skye and started down. I got into making hard, on-my-edge turns and was loving it. Donna was a little nervous about going down this one as it was steeper at the top. So, I started to think about coming to a stop to check on her and all of a sudden - as I transitioned from a heel-side turn to a toe-side turn, the back of my board hit a bump I did not see. I tipped forward as I was coming down on my toe side edge. I did not think it was going to be a big deal, but my front foot and ankle was being jammed forward inside my snug boots with unbelievable pressure. I felt pain on both sides of my ankle and heard crunching noises coming out of my front boot! I rolled over to take the pressure off my ankle and came to a sliding stop on the hill.

Donna rode by me and slowed down. She saw me fall, but it didn't look like anything. I took a few minutes to gather myself, then stood and tested the front foot. Not good. I knew it was going to be bad. I was still in disbelief, though. I made my way down the rest of the run going very carefully, especially on the toe side turns. I didn't say anything to Donna, so we rode back up to the top of Skye. I knew I had to get back over to the car at the base of Killington. We were both cold already, so I said let's go back to the Killington Lodge. We took the runs that got us there, and I was hurting more and more. We went down an icy, ungroomed trail and got to the lodge.

As we walked into the Lodge, I said to Donna - here's the deal: I am done! I explained briefly my problem and she went outside to bring back a baggy of snow and I started to take my boots off. Once the boot was off - which was the most pain I have felt in awhile, I propped the foot up and iced it down while Donna went to get the car. I hobbled into the car and we went straight to the Emergency Room at Rutland Hospital. They are experienced in this sort of thing, and even on Easter Sunday, had my under an X-Ray in about 30 minutes. Nothing broken, so home I went with an Ace Bandage, Ibuprofen and ice.

Did I mention, Ugly! --->

Monday I had to take off for a week of doing talks across the state that would end on Friday near Niagara Falls. Needless to say, it was not easy to keep it Rested Iced Compressed and Elevated. But I did the best I could. Donna and I switched vehicles since I could not depress the clutch of the Subaru.

Today I am making up for the mistreatment of the week and heating and icing as well as resting and elevating. Hopefully, I can get it recovered and still get in another day or two of snowboarding and also get a good start to the biking season. It is killing me today, as conditions up on the mountain are ideal again. We had 8 inches of snow! Also, the conditioning I had gained by training for and riding in California in February will whither away as I recover. Part of the price of getting out there and pushing the limits is having to spend some time recovering.

Deep Snow on Both Coasts

After the bike riding ended on the sunny, but windblown and rainy Big Sur, CA coast, I switched gears and headed for the snow-choked Sierras and returned home to spectacular snowy conditions at Killington.

It has been some time between posts due to hectic riding and working schedules. Friday morning Barry and I dropped off the rental Trek 1600's at the Folsum, CA bike store. He caught a cab to the airport and I headed up I-80 into the Sierras. The forcast was for heavy snow and chains were required for all vehicles except 4-wheel drive with snow tires. I had 4-wheel, but no snow tires or intentions of putting on chains. Off I went to see how far up into the mountains I could go. At about 6000 feet they were pulling people off the road and ticketing those that did not have chains. I-80 was basically hard-packed snow and ice. I decided I had chanced this long enough and got off at the next exit - Soda Springs, CA. I pulled into the first rental shop I saw and could not believe the amount of snow piled along the roads and builings! I asked if there was a good place to snowboard and they directed me just a couple of miles south to Sugar Bowl. Within minutes I was in the parking lot suiting up and buying a lift ticket. I later found out Sugar Bowl averages 41 feet of snow per season! And this was an above average year.

Up the lift I went and down the first run; I could not believe how deep the snow was. Not the light powder snow of the west we dream about, but heavy snot snow. I decided to go into the huge Douglas Fir trees and looked in awe at the 12-foot deep hole in the snow by each tree. These are the holes that have killed Sonny Bono and Kennedy clan skiers. I was looking so intently at them, I lost concentration and fell. The snow was so deep I could not get back up on my board. When you pushed off the snow with your arm, it just sank up to your shoulder. I took my back boot out of the binding, and tried to stand up, but my leg sank down to my hip. The loose, heavy snow was neck high! Finally I took out both feet, got on my board like a sled and paddled my way over to a run where the snow was beaten down by skiers and riders and I could finally get upright enough to get back on the board. Once I stayed on the well-traveled runs, the fun really began.

There were many options on this set of mountains. I had a blast carving in the deep, heavy snow on blue and black diamond trails. I tried a few double diamond chutes that were steep yet easily done with all the snow to use to check your speed. The snow kept coming down hard and visiblity was limited. I went at it until late in the afternoon - starting at 10 am, so I was exhausted. As I headed over to the mountain where my car was parked I took a trail marked to take me that way. I soon found out I made an error and was in a double diamond tree area. As I concentrated on missing trees and snow holes I heard someone yell as I went by. He had gotten himself in one of those 12-foot holes and was having trouble getting out and was not sure what to do and where to go even if he could. Well by the time I slowed to comprehend all this, I was now not upright any more and in the same predicament he was in. I had learned what I needed to do from my first run experinece and quickly sat on my board and 'sled paddled' down the hill. He saw what I was doing and where I was going and followed suit. We were both concerned about getting out as it was getting dark, the snow was coming down heavier, this was not a well-traveled area, and we were not sure where we needed to go. If you go off the wrong side of one of these ridges, you can be out there for the night or days, as I saw on an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive."

Well we both got out fine, and I headed for the car. As I was putting away the board I noticed I had broken one of my bindings. Also, the snow was piled up about 12 -15 inches on my car and on the roads. I decided to head back to Sacramento and do lanudry, rest, get my bindings fixed and get ready for my week of work in California. Predictions were for 3 to 5 feet of snow on Saturday night, so I did not want to get stuck up in the mountains when I was supposed to be down in the central valley working. It is bad enough that I have spent 7 out of 12 days playing out here when Cargill paid for the plane fare.

The week of farm visits and talks to customers and prospects went very well. After four days, I was getting back on the plane for the east coast. After a day of recovery at home Donna and I made a trip to Killington. While I was out west, the snow had melted, froze, melted and it had snowed all over again back east. Conditions were very good. We had a great time. Donna has not had the opportunity to snowboard at all this year up to now, so needed time to get back into it. The conditions in the woods were ideal. I played most of the time in Squeeze Play, the blue sqyuare set of woods on Ramshead Mountain. It was great!

Until the weather warms up and the roads dry out, our riding is limited to the routine of Spinning Saturdays together. Sundays Donna plays hockey and I snowboard at Killington. Looking forward to a good spring riding season - I am ready whether it is on the snow or the roads.

Soggy Start in Seaside, CA

Rain returns with a downpour as we watch the teams set up in Seaside, CA for the start of Thursday's stage down the Pacific Coast Highway. Donna asked me to get a picture of George Hincapie and Barry's favorite rider is Jens Voight. As if on cue, as Barry and I stood by the Team High Road bus, George just about runs into Barry as he rides up and dismounts his bike! Then we walk a few feet away to the CSC bus and there is Jens sitting in the passenger seat - Barry walks up next to the window and I snap the classic tourists photo. We were able to get close to and see Levi Leiphiemer, Chris Horner, Tom Boonen, Paulo Bettini, Fabian Cansellera, Bobby Julich and many others. The rain really came down at the start, and we were soaked, but not nearly as bad as the riders as they set off for their 130-mile race down the wind-blown coastal highway.

Barry and I drove around some of Monterey and then headed down Highway 1 to find the Bixby Bridge. We crossed over and pulled over to look at an amazing double rainbow over the bridge. For Barry this was the highlight of the trip - he has had the photo of the peleton crossing the bridge up on his office wall since last November. We drove back six miles and geared up for a short, but cold, windy, scenic, strenuous and memorable 12-mile ride.

As we approached the bays that cut into the coast the off-shore wind comes at you after being whipped around the back of the river canyon that made the bay. The result is an amplified wind and rain mix that can come at you in any direction. Combined with the descent coming into these bays and the climb coming out, both of which could have you in a low gear and standing and holding onto the bars for dear life just to keep forward progress, made for a calorie depleting ride.

Finally we get to the Bixby Bridge. The ride over the span was amazingly wind free. The climb up to the rest area was a wind tunnel experience. We returned with the help of the wind we just pushed so hard against. It was nice to have the propulsion, but it was erratic and you still had to struggle to keep the bike upright.

We took photos at the bridge and then continued back to the car. Fifty-five minutes of riding that seemed like a full day. We did a total of 1900 feet of climbing in just 12 miles! Immagine how much climbing and how hard to battle the wind, rain and cold for 130 miles of racing (not riding). A new respect and awe was created today for the racers we have been watching.