Mark Renson
New member
Vicious winds screeched across the ridgeline and it was much <BR>colder than forecasted. Christian reported to me that the temp was minus 25 with a minus <BR>55 wind chill. It felt much colder than President's Day weekend. Nate would report to <BR>us later that the top temperature recorded at the base all day long was +2F. Another <BR>"solidarity" day for me on the patrol. <BR> I sanded some of the walks which was near futile as the wind blew it away. At the top <BR>of The Double, I wrote wind chill warnings on the whiteboard and "God is trying to get <BR>you". The latter illicited howls of laughter, but then we decided that in order to avoid <BR>offending anyone, I would replace "god" with "Mother Nature". I scooted onto Partridge <BR>and the extremely cold snow kept me from gliding up the slight uphill part. Slalom Hill <BR>had some tricky windblown untracked and some of the groomed was very crisp. The bright <BR>sun would loosen this up a bit as the day went on. <BR> Below the Birdcage had some nasty abrasive crust in spots. <BR> Fall Line was especially nice at around 10:30 and I supect that I was only the 2nd <BR>person down this. I stopped to absorb the solitude and heard some strange screeching <BR>noises and figured out that it was my skis settling on the cold snow. Upper Canyon had <BR>great snow, but I spent a number of runs swinging through Peri/Snail and Birdland as <BR>these areas were seldom visited and I was concerned about any solo skier getting hurt <BR>there in the dangerous cold. We closed the isolated lower Antelope because of the cold - <BR>any lone skier could get into deep doo-doo if they got hurt there as their blood curdling <BR>screams for help would go unheard and freeeeezing to death could be a real possibility. <BR> At the bottom of The Double, the liftie commanded that I get off of the loading area as <BR>I had frostbite which we remedied by putting my bare hands over my nose. I suspect that <BR>I got it again during the day, too, even though I did all I could do to cover my face. <BR> After lunch, I hopped on The Single. It seemed to be getting colder. My torso absorbed <BR>cold from the metal on the lift and my poles chilled my hands. I had to stop in the <BR>Starks Nest just to warm up and get my head back together. <BR> The cold did provide great joy, though. Somehow, when it is extremely cold, everything <BR>visual seems clearer, the snow becomes brighter and bluer in the shadows. I was treated <BR>to many beautiful scenes, sublime sights and much solitude. <BR> Sweep was down Cat-Lynx-Beaver. Cat Bowl had some nasty stretches and the cold snow was <BR>grabby and made some turning difficult. Lynx-Beaver was stellar. <BR> At the bottom when our sweep was completed, I put a blob of Bag Balm (Vermont's great <BR>contribution to medicine) on my nose, grabbed a beer and we all gathered around the <BR>computer to watch former MRG patroller Dylan Crossman's exploits in Crested Butte.
