When I got to Winter Park/MJ, it was so windy they had just closed all the chair lifts except the lower ones. D'oh! So like it or not, I lapped the Iron Horse lift, which serves black and blue-black bump runs, and merges into the intermediate Mary Jane trail.
It actually worked out pretty well, because I missed the traffic, it was warm when I got there, and things thin out in the afternoon since some locals (like me) head home early.
My shorter day left energy for stuff like this:
The next photo is from about 1/3 of the way down. The group gathered down slope were all skiing the bumps one by one, zipper-line-style, one or two per second.
I was not. I was taking my time, doing a few then pausing on top of a bump, then going on. I don't even really understand some of the lines I saw -- how someone moves their skis to make them -- because the turn/skid didn't come when I'd expect it to. Baffling.
There were snow devils and wind whipping snow across the moguls and up into the sky. It was pretty cool and deposited some snow and kept things a little softer.
So I spent the day making myself go down black moguls, and it ended up being a great day with just the right amount of challenge and fun. I pretty much felt like this:
When I rode the final chair up, the chairs on the other side had the seat flipped up (which they do when whey are closing down the lift), and skiers were scarce. Since the upper lifts had not been operating, almost nobody was around, and it was like I had my own ski area.
Afterwards, new brew pub! The Library opened where Wild Creek brew pub was (I never had the chance to go there). That place was hopping in a town where things are not always so. Didn't eat, but I had a couple of really good black IPAs (one of 4 beers of theirs on tap). I wish them success because I want them to be there when I come back!
