For me, it happens every spring.

It usually hits me just after my leg muscles have softened, that sore spot where my boots pinch my right toe has healed, and I’ve remembered how to traverse solid ground without waddling like a duck.

It can take a couple of weeks, or up to a month, depending on the winter.

Without fail, not long after one ski season ends,  true fanatics start pining away for the next one!

With no less than six long, warm months ahead, we’re forced to satisfy our yearnings by reminiscing. We are inviting you to share the moments YOU won’t forget so we can walk down memory lane together.

Looking back, the snowfall statistics from this Winter won’t be particularly memorable. And while snow conditions were enjoyable overall, we can count the number of ‘epic’ powder days on one hand. Still, there is one thing I will CLEARLY remember about this season, and that is the extraordinarily good times spent with friends.

BEST DAY

Every rider has their ‘best day of the season’. If I had to single out one particular day, it would be Tuesday, January 29th.
I promised myself that I would only use the word ‘epic’ on the blog and snow reports once this season. (Don’t you think it’s overused?).

We got 8 inches of light, fluffy snow on top of 5 inches from the day before and it was blower, champagne pow. My reluctance in dropping the ‘epic’ bomb came because it was only January. With so much season remaining – should I spend my ‘epic’ allowance? We debated on the chairlift between runs (wiping the powder from our grinning faces).

Yes, the snow really was exceptional. But what about those days when it snows an inch an hour all day long? When you get free refills because the powder erases your tracks before you can lap back around to hit your favorite line over and over?

As it turned out, the fact that the storm clouds thinned after sunrise added to the day’s charm. Visibility was great. The snow was unbelievable. Check out these video highlights and let us know what you think:

For me, this day was extra special because my assignment was to gather photos and videos with other members of the Brundage team some of my favorite ski buddies.

Forget ‘no friends on powder days’. I prefer ‘best friends on powder days’. (Perhaps because my friends rip…)

Here are some of the photos we gathered with the help of friend and professional photographer Sam Marvin.

BEST WEEK

As amazing as THAT day was, there’s nothing quite like back-to-back-to-back… (to back?) …powder days. For that, my memory cranks back to the winning streak we had from February 22 – February 28.

Friday, February 22 was the warm-up day. We had 5″ of fresh snow after a long stretch of dry, sunny days. The locals were out in force and I got the chance to Work Hard/Play Hard with some of my newer co-workers.

We had a lot of laughs and pretty darn good snow.

By the next morning, the snow spigot had opened, another 8″ of snow had fallen, and the race was on for the coveted fresh lines. The sun was shining brightly and this day verged on the magical.

We were shocked to find sparse crowds on the mountain by Sunday, February 24th. Where did everyone go?

I got over my alarm quickly after one additional inch of snowfall refreshed our tracked slopes with conditions like this:

Naturally, at Brundage, it doesn’t take much to find amazing untracked powder lines like you see in this video, either:

Storm clouds moved back in the next day, dropping 4″ of fresh snow. We enjoyed a little Monday morning storm riding:

Powder was plentiful for the rest of that week, we had cold temperatures and modest mid-week crowds.

What made this week even more spectacular, for me, was anticipation. I wasn’t sad to see this precious powder getting tracked up in-bounds. Weeks earlier, I had booked a private snow cat with nine of my best powder-loving friends. Each day we got a little more excited, each night we watched a few more inches fall.

By Thursday, the snow in the backcountry was PHENOMENAL. Sharing it with good friends only enhanced the memories.

And having two of my best ski buddies get engaged atop Granite Mountain made that trip EPIC in a whole new way.

 

These moments are what I’ll recall every time I look back on this season. But the real point of all this is that we would love to hear and SEE your most vivid memories. We invite you to send a brief write-up and photos or videos to [email protected]. We’d be happy to share them as all of us reminisce along the long road to Opening Day 2013.

Thanks again for a great season!

– April