More of the same from Jay Peak today with traffic levels taking a toll on snow conditions. Over night snowfall was only an inch or two which was of little benefit. Groomeed trails were getting scraped early and lots of scraping occurred between the bumps. A few nice mogul lines were still to be found on packed powder. The trees took a beating and need a refresher.
My luck ran out today as troubles with the chairlifts continued. Several emergency stops occurred on the Red Chair this morning (a chairlift lurching to a stop is an unnerving sensation, unlike a typical lift stoppage). After what seemed like twice the normal lift time, we finally made it to the unload station and the lift was shut down but was running again by noon.
Due to my main skis being sent to Utah for Warranty replacement, a poor decision was made to break out my Volkl P50 skinny skis. Normally, I would have used my Alpine Touring setup instead, but I wanted to ski on my alpine boots instead of my Garmont G-Rides. It has been more than a year since I last skied my P50s. First impressions on the groomers were great as these skis were meant for groomed trails.
While I was making really nice carves on the groomers, I was ‘off’ on my old boards. These past two years, I have really dialed my technique into a particular type of ski with a particular type of flex and edge initiation. On my 8000s, I really feel like the skis are an extension of my feet… not a foreign object bound to them. Of my turns in the woods, someone once said that “when you need to make a turn, it is always there.” When properly warmed up on a normal day, I feel completely confident in that statement of ability when dialed into my 8000s.
I was not dialed into my P50s today and paid the price. After failing to hit a turn correctly in Kitz Woods, I hooked a ski on a tree. It was a turn that I should have made. After falling, my ski popped off and sent me sliding down the slope sideways at thankfully a low speed, so that the impact of my thighs colliding with a tree seven inches in diameter did not break anything. Actually, it did not even leave a mark or bruising, but did send me packing early. After heading back to the lodge and assessing the damage or lack thereof, I attempted a few additional runs including some moguls on U.N. that were ill advised.
It is funny how things fade from our memory. Or rather; we remember them, but distantly. We acknowledge that every run could be our last but hardly ever do we ski with the thought of potential injury. Once the edge of a previous injury wears away, gradually we begin skiing like it never happened. Until you land yourself into another close call and it brings everything back into perspective. Today I had yet another run in with a tree on an easy pitched, decently spaced glade that is very low on the danger scale. I do not feel like I let my guard down on the easy stuff, skiing trees at any pitch is serious stuff. But it seems like I am most injury prone on the easier side of the trees.
After collecting myself and my gear, I looked up dumb founded at the tree that hooked my ski. It was not a super easy turn, but well within my skill level. I initiated an edge that just did not catch the snow. I never hook trees like that. My skiing style in trees is often arrogant because I do not leave a huge margin of error despite maintaining slow speeds. It never hurts to be knocked back a few ego points. Unfortunately, egos tend to heal just as quickly as injuries.