So you get the most snow seen in two decades, a blitz of spring sunshine, bare roads, and a movement of winter outdoor enthusiasts who have now turned their hand to gardening. What's a fellow to do? Go skiing of course.
Sunshine Resort is at the eastern crest of the Rockies about 1 1/2 hours from Calgary. I haven't skied here much so when the gondola parked itself at the base of a lift, I got out and headed up "Goats Eye". Looking across the valley from "Upper Scapegoat" is breathtaking and can leave one with a feeling of vertigo if unaccustomed to mountainous splendor. After one run, I came to the quick realization that this part of the resort wasn't getting the early morning sun and hence - reloaded and headed up to the main resort area. After a couple of runs on Standish, I became anxious for more vertical and headed up the Continental Divide Chair. My favorite run - the North Divide was wind blown and crusty and would have to wait for another attempt late in the day. Ironically, I met a new friend "Brian" at lunch and he claimed that the chronology of events should be "Wawa, Standish" to begin the day. It looks like "Goats Eye" is best done in the late day with "Angel, Tee Pee Town, and Divide" at mid-day.
Brian is a veteran of the hill and showed me the ropes. This man knows how to live. He skied thirty days this year and claims to have skied 111 resorts in 7 countries. He is an avid wind surfer and scuba diver and enjoys learning the cultures and traditions of "developing nations" wherever he lands his next adventure. Mid mountain snow was soft and we swooshed through a good six or seven runs on a sun baked face.
Took a break and met up with Rick while sunning at the lodge. Brian and I ribbed him about stepping into a new set of skis after an eighteen year hiatus. Didn't surprise me that this modest fellow with long hair, ball cap, and grizzled features was someone that did gene cloning in the microbiology wing at my old university campus. Now he keep our milk clean to drink in the lab of a dairy production company.
We all skied Goats Eye on a Friday afternoon. Brian took off early 'cause of a promise to his girl friend but Rick and I prevailed in that carefully crafted last run putting safety first in the context of some considerable fatigue with a twenty run tally.
