Back in the Northern Hemisphere for winter after 3 consecutive summers, I've been itching to get back on the snow. After a week or so of fierce storms blasting through the Sierras, the skies cleared and I made an early break for Kirkwood with a little crew for a memorable birthday.
10' of snow over the last week? Check.
4' of snow over the last 2 nights? Check.
Mountain nearly entirely closed the day before? Check.
Cloudless skies, crisp cold air, and no wind? Check.
Itching to kill it after not strapping in for 22 months? Check.
Kyle aka The Captain aka The Hypotenuse was even kind enough to surrender first tracks down a few lines for the birthday boy. Thanks dude!
Ethel's cousin took some photos throughout the day, but I don't know if I'll ever see those; all I've got is a single cellphone camera photo of a special place on the mountain called Once is Enough.
The pilgrimage back to this glorious land of steep, narrow chutes and bottomless pow is complete!
Exhausted from skipping lunch and riding hard 'til 2pm, we limped back to Reno, and Ethel had made dinner and invited friends over for both dinner and an afterparty.
It was an awesome birthday only enhanced by the Fockler boys' late arrival and subsequent perversion of all remotely phallic shapes in our kitchen.
Cheers to everyone who I got to share all or part of the day with; they don't get much better than that!
