As a passionate skier living in a mountain town, springtime brings happiness for summer desert Jeep adventures ahead, mixed with sadness that we can no longer pop over to the resort for a few runs. In the last weeks, I bid adieu to the Green Monster at Deer Valley with its breathtaking views, and made my final cruise down the pitches and rolls of Crowning Glory at Canyons.
Farewell friends, I’ll see you again in eight months.
On Easter Sunday, from the deck of the Goldminer’s Daughter at Alta, with Alf’s High Rustler presiding overhead, to the sun-soaked beach at Deer Valley’s Silver Lake, skiers paid their final respects.
Monday, I joined my ski buddy Tom Streit for some last laps on Park City Mountain, chasing around from leg-jarring vibrations on frozen corduroy, to buttery spring snow that made you look like a real ski hero.
I feel at least somewhat responsible for Tom’s busy season. Last year I decided mid-winter that it would be a good time to ski my age in days. So I hit the slopes 72 times. My friend Tom turned 80 this year — a loftier goal. But he accepted the challenge. Me? I slacked off with just 50.
All of this pales in comparison to Snowbasin’s Tom Hart, who is chasing the Guinness Book of Records mark for vertical feet skied. So far this year, Hart has over 150 days and is pushing towards 10 million vertical feet by the end of May.
But as Streit points out, record-seeker Tom Hart is a young man at 64.
Now in his 67th season, Streit learned to ski when he was 13 at Mount Spokane in Washington state. He developed a passion for ski racing, became a ski racing parent, and spent many cold and blustery days working gates on the hill. He remains one of the most passionate fans of the U.S. Ski Team, frantically trying to figure out each season how to livestream World Cup races.
Skiing with me, he has a pipeline to the latest intel on Lindsey Vonn or Mikaela Shiffrin as he watches ski racing in the early morning hours from around the globe.
Even at 80, he remains a big-time equipment geek. He labors over which pair of skis to grab out of his garage — his Head Rally Super Shapes, the Bode Miller Peak 88s, or Salomon Blanks.
For the final week of the season, Tom and I started on Monday at Alta, where he proudly claimed his free lift ticket for having turned 80. I provided him with my typical travelogue around the mountain on what was only his second time there. I introduced him to Alf’s High Rustler (we looked, not skied), sweeping cruisers off the high ridgeline of Supreme, and a nicely-groomed finale down the Collins Face.
I had the good sense of mind to stay out of the rain Thursday, but Tom was out there in a downpour for day 78.
Neither of us bothered to check the snow forecast as we headed to Park City Mountain on Friday, expecting a groomer day. We each chose our Peak 88s, and they worked just fine in 6 inches of fresh powder on a chilly 18-degree morning over a darkened layer of glacial ice from the rain the day before.
Saturday I passed up what looked like a wonderful ski day to continue prepping our Jeeps for the desert. But Monday provided a joyous way to cap the season, toasting our friend Tom on his 80th day.
Monday felt like a private thank-you day with a handful of hardcore skiers at Park City Mountain. As we hopscotched the mountain, we gave shout-outs to every liftie and patrol. We carved early turns in the softening snow on Silver Queen, ripped a lap down solid corduroy on Assessment, then capped it off with some sweet showcase turns dropping in on Dynamite. Our final cruise down Treasure Hollow was a bit melancholy, knowing it was the season finale.
As we high-fived in the soft snow at the base of First Time we both agreed it was a fun season!
To my Ridgelines readers, thank you for your comments and well wishes all season long. It’s such a joy for me to hear that you enjoy the words I blend together each week. I’ll see you again in November with Ridgelines. And next week, I’ll be back for the summer with Sunday Drive.