Breckenridge 02/20/2014 Photo Album

It is hard to imagine that being at a ski area in Colorado on a weekday in February could be anything other than an outrageously fun experience, but I’m going to persuade you otherwise. After spending three great days on the slopes of Beaver Creek the previous week, I was excited to get back to the mountains to hopefully repeat the experience. My friend, John Broadbent, called to let me know he was in Denver the week of February 17, so we made plans to ski on Thursday February 20. Jane had tennis on Tuesday and Wednesday night, so Thursday was the only day when she could be included for a day of skiing.

Once we settled on Thursday as our day, I contacted Fred Young and David Gaige to see if they wished to join us. Fred replied almost immediately that he and his wife Douggie were in, and David Gaige replied a bit later that he and wife Karen would like to join as well. The plan was set. Jane and I would pick up John at his downtown condo and then drive to the Woolly Mammoth parking lot to meet Dave and Karen. We would car pool from there to Breckenridge and meet the Youngs at the Peak 8 base lodge at 9AM.

Unfortunately at the last minute an important project came up at work for Jane, so she was forced to withdraw from the weekday ski adventure, and she was rather upset about the sacrifice. Everything else, however, played out pretty much according to plan; and John, Dave, Karen and I arrived at the Peak 8 base by 9AM. Fred and Douggie called to say they were running late so we changed the meeting time to 9:30 and decided to take one warm up run from the Colorado chair.

John on Rounder’s

The roundtrip of riding up the Colorado chair and then skiing down Springmeier proved to be one of the most challenging ski runs of my life. The air temperature was just above 0 and it was snowing lightly with 20 MPH winds whipping across the mountain. I had on my toe warmers and pulled my hood up over my helmet and turned my face away from the wind, but the small amount of exposed flesh on my face felt like it was being stabbed with a thousand pins. Meanwhile my hands were already aching and beginning to turn numb despite having liner gloves nested inside my mittens. As I skied downward I could feel cold air blowing through my coat, and it is rare that my core is cold.

Fortunately we arranged to meet the Youngs inside the lodge, and that gave me an excuse to use the bathroom and warm my hands under the hand dryer, and once I met up with the group again I borrowed some handwarmers from Dave Gaige. Meanwhile there was a huge line extending from the coffee bar and an equally long queue approaching the small ski shop in the corner of the lodge. I suspect Breckenridge did a brisk business in hand warmers, toe warmers, balaclavas, mittens and hats on the day.

I’d like to report that the conditions improved, but that was not the case. The wind and snow and cold continued unabated until around 2:30 in the afternoon. I somehow managed to make five or six runs before lunch, but as I strode into Vista Haus my feet felt like stumps despite the advantage of toe warmers inside my boots. After lunch we remained on Peak 8 and did another three or four runs before John and I agreed to head back into the lodge and warm up. We found a spot at one of the tables and warmed our bodies while waiting for the Gaiges and Youngs to get their fill of skiing in Arctic conditions.

John and Fred Near Bottom of Peak 8

The highlight of the entire day was stopping at The Lost Cajun in Frisco for an apres ski snack. One of our servers draped a necklace of beads around our necks to celebrate Mardi Gras, and then we enjoyed Louisiana beers, seafood gumbo, and tasty beignets for dessert. I could have spent my entire day in the restaurant and skipped the skiing.

Beaver Creek 02/10/2014 Photo Album

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve skied fresh untracked powder since I began skiing forty years ago, and fresh untracked powder is defined as a minimum of four inches of fresh snow overnight. In order to be able to enjoy this experience roughly four main factors need to merge simultaneously. First, there needs to be heavy overnight snowfall, enough to add four inches to the packed snow already on the ground. Second it needs to be a day when I am not already committed to work or some other activity. Third, the driving conditions cannot be so severe as to preclude driving to the destination ski area, and lastly I need to be lodging close enough to the ski area so that I am able to reach the ski lift before it begins running.

Skiing fresh untracked powder does not include finding out-of-the-way stashes several days after the event in glades or expert terrain or in places where strenuous hikes are required while carrying one’s skis on one’s back.

Amazingly Monday February 10 was a day when the confluence of all of the above factors occurred, and I enjoyed skiing some fresh untracked powder at Beaver Creek in the morning. Five inches of fresh snow piled up Sunday night into Monday morning, and Jane and I were staying at the Timbers at Bachelor Gulch as guests of Jane’s sister Judy and husband Bill. We were in the enviable position of being located in a ski in, ski out condo, so we made plans to get up early enough to be in the lift line before 8;30.

Dave’s Solitary Tracks Through Fresh Powder on Grubstake

We ate a light breakfast and hustled to put on our boots and jumped in our skis and poled over to the Bachelor Gulch express lift and took our positions fourth in line. Sure enough when the lift opened at 8:30 we were on the fourth chair, and we were whisked to the top of the Bachelor Gulch area. It was still snowing quite heavily when we skied off the chairlift, but the snow was easily five inches deep and my heart raced at the prospect of encountering fresh untracked powder. Grubstake was my trail of choice as it was probably the steepest intermediate trail that would get me to the Beaver Creek Express.

Large Powder Covered Moguls at Bottom of Ripsaw

Jane elected a different path that Y’d off to skier left, and I was on my way down Grubstake right below the chair. What fun! I floated on the puffy soft powder and hooted and hollered to my heart’s content as I was by myself with only an occasional occupied chair infringing on my solitary entertainment.

This was really the only pure untracked run of the morning, but Jane and I continued across the ski area to the Rose Bowl and Ripsaw where we found more sparsely tracked powder that added to our euphoria. Once we skied Ripsaw we were at the extreme eastern end of Beaver Creek so we worked our way back across the mountain toward Bachelor Gulch, and by now most of the runs were tracked out as skiers appeared in increasing numbers.

View of Moguls Blanketed with Fresh Snow on Screech Owl

I analyzed the trail map and hypothesized that the last places to get tracked would be the black and double black runs on Grouse Mountain, so I asked Jane if I could make one run there before we returned to the condo. She approved of my plan, but decided that she would bypass the expert venture and remain on Larkspur while I searched for steep powder, and we would meet again at the Larkspur lift.

Off I went up the Grouse Mountain lift and the slopes below did indeed appear to be largely untracked with copious amounts of snow converting the large moguls into small mounds commensurate in size with prairie dog hills. Once I disembarked on the summit of Grouse Mountain I chose Screech Owl as my trail for descent as it plunged immediately off to skier right, and it seemed most of the skiers were heading toward Raven’s Ridge below the chair. It turned out to be a great move as the steep upper portion of Screech Owl was largely unmolested, and I bounced over and through the large moguls topped with soft white stuff in a rare euphoric state that I will label “powderstruck”. First tracks on fresh snow remains an experience to be cherished.

Vail 01/17/2014 Photo Album

Lovers Leap. It is visible from the chair as one ascends the Blue Sky Basin area at Vail, and ever since Blue Sky opened in 2000, it gnaws at my total being when I gaze upon it for the first time each season. It must have something to do with being a man, or perhaps in more recent years it is a test of the aging process. A ridge runs along the top edge of a bowl just beneath the chairlift, and the wind whips across the high flat surface and deposits snow in a fifty yard long cornice. In big snow years such as 2014, the snow curls around the rock ledge that forms a rim on the bowl, and that creates a beautiful curved overhang and beneath the curling lip lies the steep face of the bowl which looks nearly vertical as one gazes over the edge. The best comparison to a cross sectional view of the overgrown 2014 cornice would be the overhang of a muffin top; the type where too much batter was poured into the pan and the top spills over the muffin paper by a half inch or so.

There we stood on Friday, January 17, 2014. Fred Young was with me, and we contemplated taking the plunge. It was a rite of passage each season, but could I generate enough courage to do it again on this my third day of skiing in the new season? We worked our way down along the ridge and bypassed the upper portion where not only is the bowl steep, but also populated with numerous large boulders to make the adventure even more dicey. Fred and I did display a smattering of good judgement as we slowly skied further down along the ridge to a slight trough ahead of where the flat edge rose slightly.

I stopped a couple times before this point, but I couldn’t even look over the edge to inspect the bowl beneath because the cornice was very wide and curved, and I could envision myself breaking off the snowy lip and tumbling down the concave half pipe in a ridiculous display of bad judgement, so I followed Fred to the obvious entry point. There were numerous ski tracks at the low point of the rim, so it was now a matter of summoning the courage to point my skis down and taking the plunge. Fred was just above me, and as is typically the case, he dropped off the lip first and streaked down the bowl while kicking up a plume of snow.

My heart raced and my breathing quickened. It was now or never. I couldn’t summon the nerve to actually jump and catch air so I simply dropped off the lip and instantly gravity sucked me down the hard-packed and wind-blown surface. It was an exhilarating five seconds as I made a quick series of jump turns and controlled my speed as I zig zagged down the steep slope just above Fred. We continued on our way creating tiny snowball avalanches until we gathered our bodies and senses thirty yards below the rim. I’d done it! Once again the prospect of the thrill and exhilaration overcame the inner fear, and I conquered Lovers Leap.

Jane, Fred and Douggie at Mountain Top

Breckenridge 01/08/2014 Photo Album

The first day of skiing for each season is always a mixture of feelings for me. On the one hand it is reassuring that I am still able to slide down a hill on narrow boards and control my speed. There is something liberating about achieving relatively high speeds on the steep slopes of the Rocky Mountains without the aid of an engine or source of propulsion other than gravity. Of course the clean cold mountain air and the spectacular scenery are additional draws. However each year as I grow older I wonder if the sport of downhill skiing will finally stress my muscles and joints beyond tolerable levels.

December was quite busy with our trip to Argentina and then playing catch up with Christmas preparation and then the last week spent doing fun activities with my family. Once January 1 passed, however, my thoughts began to turn toward the ski slopes. The 2013-14 season in Colorado got off to an encouraging start with reasonable snowfall in the mountains, and the ski areas available to Jane and I on our Epic Colorado pass averaged snow depths of 35-40 inches; quite favorable accumulations for early January.

My son Dan was home for term break and did not return to Fuqua Business School until January 9, so Jane and I planned a ski day for Wednesday January 8. We debated between Vail and Breckenridge as our destination, but finally decided on Breck during our drive west on Interstate 70. The ski application on my phone indicated that Breckenridge received the most new snow in the past 24 hours, five inches, so that pointed toward Peak 8. In addition, Breckenridge represented a shorter drive and a new area, Peak 6, had opened and beckoned us with new terrain to explore.

It turned out to be a good decision as five inches of new snow greeted us, and we managed to glide over some untracked powder during the morning. Even after the fresh snow got tracked out, we discovered a nice soft packed base on all the peaks. Because it was midweek, we did not experience long lift lines, but one negative factor was the frigid temperatures and wind chill. The high temperature for the day probably never reached twenty degrees and the sky was mostly overcast with off and on periods of snow. In order to keep my toes warm I used two packs of toe warmers.

Jane and Dan at Top of Peak 10

In spite of the cold temperatures it was a fun day as I broke in my quad muscles with several mogul runs. Dan branched off on some expert terrain several times while Jane and I stayed mostly on intermediate slopes with a handful of black diamonds to get our hearts pounding. Judging from the soreness of my quadriceps on Thursday, I certainly tested my muscles to the fullest, but I’m already looking forward to another day on the slopes of Colorado.

Folks that do not live in Colorado make the assumption that skiing isn’t very good after the end of March. In fact after the warm March that was experienced in 2012, I’ve talked to out of state skiers who are reluctant to book ski vacations during the last two weeks of March. This is great for Colorado skiers because it keeps the tourists off the slopes and offers uncrowded slopes and small lift lines for those of us who continue to ski late in the season. I’ve lived in Colorado for 23 years and more often than not the ski areas close because of a lack of skiers, not because the snow coverage is too thin.

In addition unlike many skiers, I love the warm conditions that yield slushy snow that is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Occasionally one encounters these sort of conditions in April, but more often the snow is more similar to the middle of February. It is true that there is a higher likelihood of encountering icy crust early in the morning and this is probably the worst type of snow to ski on. The snow softens and thaws in the afternoon during the previous day and then freezes overnight creating hard rock solid crust where skiers pushed snow aside during their turns.

The answer to this downside to April skiing is to sleep in and enjoy a big breakfast. Wait for the sun to move higher in the sky and allow the strong rays to warm and soften the ugly crust. Is this a bad thing; sleeping in and enjoying a leisurely morning? Arrive at the ski lift at 11AM and you will be fortified and rested and eager to ski until the lifts close at 4PM. The late starter will experience the warmest air temperatures and the best snow of the day.

Jane at Start of Day in Vail Village

This is exactly what Jane and I did on Saturday, April 6. We took our time rising and ate a nice breakfast before departing Denver at 9:30AM. With minimal traffic on the interstate and clear weather we arrived at Vail and were in our skis ready to board the Vistabahn gondola by 11AM. Yes it was warm and slushy at the base, but by the time we got to Blue Sky Basin, some clouds blocked the sun and we had some great runs practically to ourselves with snow that approximated early season conditions. We skied in Blue Sky until 1:30PM and then hustled back to Two Elks for lunch since we thought it closed at 2. When we arrived we discovered the lodge did not close at 2PM, and in fact we received a 15% discount on our lunch because we ate after 2PM and had Epic Local passes. There were numerous empty tables to choose from.

Dave at Top of Resolution

After lunch the sky was more cloudy than sunny and we enjoyed some fine runs in the back bowls before navigating our way back down to Vail village. Of course the base was rather soupy by the time we removed our skis at 4PM. We checked the dashboard thermometer as we departed the Vail parking lot and it was 53 degrees. At the top of Vail pass the reading dropped to 38, a 15 degree differential. This explains the nice snow consistency in the Vail back bowls and Blue Sky Basin compared to the soft slush on the lower front side. By the way there was negligible traffic on the drive home with no delay at the small tunnel detour east of Idaho Springs.

I’m looking forward to more April skiing before closing the book on the spring season.

While attending the wedding of Brady Young and Kara Worrell on March 15 in Silverthorne I had a chance to catch up with Brady’s father, Fred, and Dave Gaige, the father of another member of the wedding party. I discovered that Fred and Dave were joining up for skiing during the middle of the week. They invited me to join them on a future day trip, so we exchanged emails and coordinated a ski day on March 20.

Weekday Skiing 03/20/2013 Photo Album

We decided to spend the day at Keystone as it was the closest ski area covered by our Colorado Passes and Fred needed to return for a 5:30 meeting. Fred spent two months renting a condo in Dillon, and joined a 50 and over skiing group on a regular basis at Keystone, so he served as our guide. It was great fun as Fred took us on numerous off the beaten track runs that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. The weather was perfect for skiing with high temperatures probably reaching 40 degrees. It was warm enough that I never felt chilled, but cold enough so that the snow didn’t morph into slush and mashed potato consistency.

Dave Gaige and Fred Young at Keystone

We skied from 8:30 until 3:15PM, and I was exhausted by the end of the day. Part of this stemmed from the length of time skiing, but we also did quite a few runs and all except two or three were mogul runs. This fun experience made me realize how much I enjoy weekday skiing compared to weekends. Skiing on a weekend introduces numerous hassles into an otherwise fun activity. In Colorado one must rise early in the morning to beat the heavy stream of traffic on interstate 70 and even with a 6:30 start, the traffic can be quite dense for much of the ride. If weather is adverse, driving conditions make the drive even more stressful and time consuming.

If one is successful beating the traffic, then an early arrival results, and this typically means starting to ski during the coldest part of the day. Weekend crowds are heavier than weekdays so this naturally entails more waiting in line at lifts and less chance of finding untracked snow. Finding a table for lunch becomes a logistical nightmare, and this detracts from the enjoyment as well. The early start to one’s day means fatigue sets in early, so the Denver skier quits early when the air temperatures are most comfortable and then of course the driver faces the return drive once again typically in heavy traffic.

Weekday skiing removes all these obstacles to having fun. Fred and David and I departed at a civilized hour and took our time over lunch. We quit at 3:15, but we could have easily been the last skiers on the lift without any worry over return trip traffic. I definitely look forward to more weekday ski trips over the remainder of the ski season.

Jane and I took a day off work on Thursday March 7 and used our freedom to visit Vail for a day of skiing. It was a fun day, and I’ll explain why, but it made me realize how much I love the month of March. Certainly September is another great month with the baseball season drawing to a close, NFL and college football kicking in, the NBA pre-season beginning, fall colors moving into full display, and perhaps the best month for fly fishing. Unfortunately I’m also reminded of the impending winter by cooling temperatures and shorter days.

Vail 03/07/2012 Photo Album

March on the other hand is full of optimism and anticipation with the first day of spring and the change to daylight savings time. The NBA season enters the stretch run and my beloved Nuggets are on a red hot winning streak. March Madness goes into full swing, and I love following the brackets and the everpresent upsets. My favorite team sport, baseball, begins spring training, and I once again hear the crack of the bat and the popping of leather as pitchers showcase their best stuff in hopes of landing a roster spot. I love the anticipation of a new season.

The ice on our Colorado streams begins to melt away and aquatic insects become active and this prompts the trout to shed their dormancy and increase their calorie intake for the upcoming warmer weather. Those first couple fishing outings on area rivers and streams are special especially when I feel the first throb of a fighting fish on the end of my fly rod.

It’s always exciting to spot the first spring bulbs that break through the mulch in our south facing backyard, and raking the raised bed and dropping cold tolerant seeds such as onions, spinach and radishes into shallow rows fills me with anxious anticipation. Seeing these seeds sprout despite the variable temperatures early in the Rocky Mountain spring is very gratifying.

St. Patrick’s Day brings the Runnin’ of the Green and Irish music and a festive atmosphere, and I enjoy this as well. On Sunday I ran the 25th edition of the Runnin’ of the Green with my son Dan and friend Kirk, and it was a great time in spite of the 30 degree temperatures.

Of course Dave’s birthday pops up in the middle of the month, and it’s an excuse to hear from friends and family and do something special. This year we will be in the mountains and I”m planning some cross country skiing and a couple hours of fly fishing and possibly an outdoor cookout in the snow.

Jane Pauses in the Back Bowls

This brings me to my most favorite aspect of the month of March…spring skiing. I love spring skiing. The sun is warm and one doesn’t need to worry as much about staying warm, and instead the emphasis is on having fun. Sure the snow can be a bit slushy, but that just makes it softer for controlling ones speed on steep downhills and moguls. The fear of ice is absent, and that translates to an easy going atmosphere. Skiers abandon their thick parkas for zany outfits and in a few cases bikini tops and shorts.

Dave Starts Down Mogul Run

While our day Thursday wasn’t quite as warm as I just described, it was nonetheless a fine warmer-than-usual ski day. There was minimal traffic on our two hour drive to and from Vail, and that in and of itself raises the enjoyment level. We put on our boots and made the walk through Vail Village to the Vista Bahn gondola, and we were on the slopes skiing by 9:30. The area didn’t have fresh snow from the night before, but quite a bit of fresh snow had fallen during the previous week. Jane and I did some nice warm up runs on the front side in the morning and then broke for lunch at Los Amigos at the base of the Vista Bahn. Because of the light weekday crowds we were able to snag a premium table on the deck overlooking the ski area.

Lovers Leap in Blue Sky Basin

We both enjoyed delectable tacos and corn chips and soaked up the sunshine and then headed back up the gondola to Mountain Top and worked our way over to Blue Sky Basin. By now the air temperature was peaking in the forties, and we were basking in bright sunshine. We discovered Hornsilver, a run off the right side (facing up) of Pete’s chair, and this quickly became my favorite run of the day. Hornsilver sports nice category 2 and low level 1 moguls, and I blasted through them with quite a bit of confidence. Our last run in Blue Sky Basin was Little Ollie, and this served as my most rigorous test of mogul skiing for the season to date.

I can report that I handled the upper stretches in fine fashion, and managed the VW beetle field near the bottom farily well, but I must admit to bailing out a couple times to rest my weary legs. It was still a great day of late season skiing, and I’m anxiously anticipating a few more before March disappears into April. Two thirds of my favorite month still lies ahead.

Up until three or four years ago I wore Salomon rear entry ski boots and was reasonably satisfied with their performance; however, after receiving some good natured teasing from my friends and family, I decided to purchase some new boots. The trusty Salomon’s were obviously dated from a fashion perspective, and they were also somewhat compressed allowing more than desired movement.

02-23-2013 Skiing Photo Album

During the annual T-Rex sale at Colorado Ski and Golf I purchased a new pair of Dalbello boots and while these boots definitely eliminated foot movement, they also presented a setback in warmth and comfort. Midway through the first season I took them to a ski shop in Vail that was connected with Colorado Ski and Golf and had a custom footbed added. This improved the comfort by eliminating hot spots and numbness, but I still experienced cold toes on below average temperature days. In addition I struggled to put the boots on and take them off as the rigid plastic shell pinched around the tongue and dug into the top of my foot.

I suffered with these problems through several seasons until last year when I looked up a custom boot fitter in Denver and paid him a visit. The individual that I consulted with performed some grinding on the plastic shell and suggested closing only the upper buckles until I was actually ready to ski. He suggested that keeping the bottom buckles loose would allow my foot to move and properly seat, and this would allow my feet to remain warm longer. This consultation took place at the very end of the 2012 season, so I didn’t really get to test the effectiveness until 2013.

A Nice Smile in Rare Sunshine

Jane was fully recovered from her bicycle accident by the end of January and received clearance from the doctor to ski, so we rented a condo in Frisco, CO on the weekend of February 8-10 and decided to ski at Beaver Creek on Saturday. Jane wanted to stick to mild slopes, and we knew we could use free parking at Arrowhead and access Beaver Creek from there. Saturday February 9 was a very cold overcast day with snow falling regularly for most of the afternoon. The high temperature probably never exceeded the mid-teens. In short it was a good day to test putting my boots on and off and evaluate any improvement in the warmth of my feet. I’m disapointed to report that the advice and changes from the Denver boot fitting store were ineffective. The plastic shell continued to dig into the top of my foot resulting in pain, and my toes only lasted two hours maximum before I was forced to visit the Arrowhead base lodge to warm them.

While sitting in the restaurant at Arrowhead I met an elderly individual from Lousiana named Eddie. He was proudly sporting a LSU hat and told me he was a retired veterinarian. Somehow in the course of conversation Eddie informed me that he used “toesies” and his feet remained toasty warm.

After suffering for much of the day on February 9, I decided that I needed to address the ski boot situation before our next scheduled condo rental and ski outing so I called Larry’s boot fitting in Boulder, CO for an appointment. Heather answered the phone and told me that I didn’t need an appointment if I could stop in that very afternoon. I made a hasty exit from work, returned home and picked up my boots, and made the thirty minute drive to Boulder and Larry’s boot fitting. A young man asked me what my problem was and I described the boot shell issue and cold feet. He showed me a technique for entering and removing my boot that involves pulling the tongue at an angle to one side to block the shell and then using the other hand to hold the exposed shell edge while sliding my foot in. As to cold feet, he told me that my boots were the proper size and that I probably needed to put up with it. He said I could get neoprene covers or new liners, but this would probably only make a 20% improvement or perhaps add another .5 hour before I needed to go inside and warm my feet. The best solution was to purchase heating elements that fit inside my boot, but those typically cost $200 – $250.

Jane and Dave After Lunch

I decided to try the toesies recommended by Eddie from Lousiana and the new method of putting on and taking off my boots during our February 23 ski day at Vail before resorting to heating elements. Jane and I got off to an early start on February 22 and arrived in Frisco early enough to take a walk downtown and stopped at the Prost Tavern for a Hofbrau Dunkel and a delicious massive soft pretzel with various mustard dips.

On Saturday morning we made the drive over Vail pass and parked at the Vail Village parking structure. The air temperature was moderately warmer than February 9th so the conditions were not quite as adverse. Step one was putting my boots on in the Vail heated parking garage and the new method worked quite well as I avoided any shell to skin contact. Jane and I began skiing using the Golden Peak lift and when we reached the top of the mountain near Two Elks Lodge we descended China Bowl and headed directly to Blue Sky Basin. We skied from 10:30 until around 11:45 and my toes did not reach the typical numb ice cube state. We chose to go in for lunch because we were hungry, not because my feet were frozen. I could feel warmth coming from the toesies mounted on top of my toes so I’m convinced that they were the source of my improved warmth and comfort.

Dave Discovered Toesies

Afer lunch we continued skiing until 3:15 and then returned to the parking lot to remove our boots. The new method allowed me to remove my right boot without painful contact, but I needed Jane’s help on the left foot as I didn’t have a way to hold the boot on the garage floor while I lifted my foot since both my hands were occupied with holding back the plastic. Once I removed my feet from the boot I touched the toesies, but they were no longer generating any heat. I suspect that they last for around six hours and then lose their effectiveness.

I went to Big Five Sporting Goods this week and picked up four more packs of toesies. Hopefully these devices will improve my comfort level and make skiing a fun activity again.