Again, not really a TR, more of a story:

We just got back from 8 days skiing at the mountain. I haven't posted because we've got no web or phone at our place in North River. It's just a one room camp with a woodstove and recently added plumbing.

On Wednesday (2/14) before heading up I called Roger, our plow guy to let him know we were coming. Our driveway is real steep and I knew there was a chance he wouldn't be able to clear it. I was hoping that he could clear a spot to get our car off the road and out of the way of the plows.

Thanks to some info from Mattchuck and others I knew the roads were basically clear. Our road (Harvey Road) is pretty narrow at the top - one lane after a big dump - so that is another story.

We left on Thurs (2/15) at 1PM from NJ. On the Northway, I called Inside Edge to see if the had the fatty teley skiis I had been dreaming about for two years (K2 - World Piste 120-88-100) No luck. So I called Mountaineer in Keene Valley - ordered em by Fedex for Monday delivery. Kind of a rash move as I was sure the freshies would be packed out by Tuesday when I'd get to ski em, but I was caught up in the excitement of the storm.

We got to the bottom of the driveway at about 7:15 pm Thurs eve. I usually walk up to check it out before I try the run and gun up to the top. To look for blowdown or whatever. It turns out that Roger plowed the first 30 feet - that was as far as he could get. He really tried. I found out later that a neighbor with a front end loader had to rescue him from the ditch with a chain.

I left the car running with my wife CB and Neve our baby inside staying warm. I set out with a headlamp to try to reach the cabin. The snow was over my BELT and it took me 25 minutes to walk 500 feet to the cabin I was exhausted when I got there. Pipes were frozen in the bathroom - I found out later that the power had been out for 6-8 hours and there were people with plumbing issues all over the hill. It took us almost 6 hours to unload the car, and get the buildings warm enough for a baby. We didn't turn out the lights until 1:30 am.

Due to the lateness of everyone's bedtime, I was the only one who made it to the hill on Friday. I took my Adirondack phone book with me so I could try to hook up with a plumber from the Saddle where my cell phone works.

THE SKIING was killer. I'm basically a highly motivated intermediate who is just learning bumps and had never been in the trees, except one time when a ski patroller took me into Tahawus after a dump 5 years ago. Over the next two days I hit Straightbrook, Chati, Mineshaft - basically everything except the Cave and the Dark Side which are now the only places on the map I haven't been. (Never been off the map except for a Gore to Garnet BC ski.) I added Upper Darby to my list. I spent most of my time on Lower Steilhang and the High Pines "Glades" that have to have become my favorite. I was basically teaching myself to do bumps and trees on some pretty narrow 180s (Atomic TM22s - 107-72-90) and lovin it. Each day as the bumps got deeper, especially on High Pines it got a bit tougher but I skied it everyday until this past Friday 2/23. The whole thing was an awesome experience.

My wife was awesome - skiing Chatimac over and over while I was ducking into the SB Glades. Neve was awesome too - hangin in the Bear Cub Den bouncin and smilin with the GREAT ladies in there. Thursday (2/21) we got another 3-4 inches that freshened thing up and got me back in the trees. I kept looking for Jimmer and Mattchuck althought I have NO idea what either guy looks like. I kept looking at older skiers an trying to decide who looked like they were "out there gettin it."

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the hill, I was just havin too much fun. I hope everyone had as great a time as I did. I am officially whipped. 8 days of Tele will do that to ya.

One piece of good news - when I got back I learned that our company I work for has picked up some business in Lake Placid, and I'm supposed to be up there on business 3/5 and 3/6. So I'll head to the cabin this weekend and my company will pick up the gas. ''

Harv