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One of my classes finished tonight due to the heavy
humidity of the summer hitting them hard and with any
class finishing we sit down for a good hour chatting
about boarding - stories come up of there experiences
on the tiger, through white outs and heather dodging
on cairngorms best they asked the usual technique questions,
practice and kit info then hit to one that I always
love to chat about and that’s the moment you enjoyed
the best from your experience from my time on snow....
Now this is one I had to share as I have one per
winter much like everyone else that makes it all worth
while, where everything is right, beautiful and special
through boarding. hope everyone else takes the opportunity
to pop a mention of there winter's moment following
this as I always love hearing peeps I've taught tell
me what gets them hooked and why they love it ....
So its early march and I am awake at 4:30am at Waterville
on the east coast of the US. I got asked along with
a couple of others to go up at 5:30am as the sun is
rising to do a photo shoot on clean groomed slopes before
anyone else gets up - we make our way up to the mountain's
base lodge freezing our jolly ass's off in New England’s
beautiful -25 morning chill waiting for the photographers
to arrive - they had arranged a cat to take us up to
the top peak where they could catch the first light
rising over the mountain - as they arrive and we get
sorted they realize that they will be knackered walking
up and down for the next two hours so ask that a ski
do can be taken up ahead and used to sort everyone after
each shot.
My obsession with these is at its high at this point
and I jump at the chance, stuff the cat I'm tanking
it up on the skido is all I can think! I jump on and
throw it into its 2nd gear and try to discover how fast
these can go ....... 80mph later WHOOPING and OHHHHHHH
YEAHING can be heard from down at the bottom over the
noise of the cat as I Rip it up to the top of the mountain.
If you think hitting a HUGE kicker is intense, try doing
a roller up hill at 80mph on a ski do
I get to the top and realise those 5 mins of high
speed chaos leave me with 30 mins of sitting and doing
heeehaw till the cat makes it to the top. I park up
beside the top cafe, head to the decking over looking
the valley and sit back and wait as the others make
there long journey up the hill. as I sit in the pre
dawn purple ness you can see each and every color change
as the sun gradually rises behind the mountains at the
other side of the valley - of all the times I have wished
I could take my camera for that perfect photo this is
the one I hate my shortsightedness the most - I sit
back and wait as I watch the most perfect sunrise alone
at the top of the mountain while frost is glistening
in the air and beams of light are piercing from the
far side of the valley to where I am.
The cold is intense but the sight I am witnessing
is so breathtaking that I can’t think of anything else
- so peaceful, so beautiful and I’m the only one up
there. For all the powder days, perfect hits and secret
runs I have done I wouldn’t trade a single one for that
moment where it was simply me with my board at the top
of the mountain during the most perfect sunrise I have
ever seen I think it made everything seem right - I
don’t know if any of you have had a moment on the mountain
that’s so intense that it burns in your memory as strongly
as anything else - but if you haven’t I hope you one
day get to - its worth it
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