Then Rebecca and I drove from Crested Butte to salt lake city. I enjoyed the drive, it felt comforting and familiar to drive with rebecca at night. We stopped for dinner in a chinese all-you-can-eat buffet. Pretty tasty I must admit, although I did pass up on the sushi.
In salt lake we stayed in the same extended stay america as before and met up with Adam, Jeff, and Rebecca's friend Chris from her kenya trip (who goes to school at berkeley).
We rode Brighton, the Canyons, and Snowbird. Brighton was probably the best day--nice soft spring conditions with super fun terrain. I practiced my spins a bunch and hucked a lot of rocks. It's a great place for jumping--nice launches, nice landings, and good runouts. Jackson's much too steep for the same casual approach to cliffs.
the canyons was a bust. The mountain is laid out kind of poorly, we did a lot of traversing, and conditions were really slow. Rebecca, Jeff, and I lapped the terrain park at the end of the day, which was fun. Jeff busted himself, hope he's feeling better. Rebecca was hitting jumps way faster than before (props), making the landings on some good size jumps.
Snowbird was a steep mountain. It was a little cloudy so it took longer for conditions to soften. At this point Adam had gone home and Jeff took the day off, so it was just me, Rebecca, and Chris. We had a fun day despite some harder conditions. Great terrain, but very crusty in the shade and on the steeps.
We went bowling a couple of nights (the alley is close to the hotel). One night was disco bowling or whatever you call it. I was sure the flashing lights and music would throw off my game, but I didn't notice a difference. Chris established himself hands down as the fast ball thrower, cranking out mid twenties speed all day. We were also very well entertained by the arcade in the bowling alley.
Rebecca, Jeff, and Chris left Sunday afternoon despite forecasts of snow. Rebecca gave me three Solitude passes (a birthday present) and I stayed in Utah.
After dropping Rebecca and Jeff at the airport I went to a coffee shop. It turned out it was a cyclist themed coffee shop, apparently in a neighborhood filled with cyclists. I felt right at home. Some older hippy chicks (maybe not politically correct term...) told me all about the benefits of raw foods. Apparently when we cook food we kill all the enzymes and our bodies have to make more enzymes which is taxing. By eating raw food you get the enzymes you need, and your body doesnt have to work so hard producing enzymes, making you feel great. I'm not so sure...but I did get a free dinner of vegan raw food stuff. It was delicious, but I was not inclined to stuff myself. Hugs all around, then I was headed for Solitude.
Solitude was a ghost town. Outside the Thirsty Squirrel I met Rich, a 16 year local who works landscaping in the summer and skis in the winter (a common lifestyle). He gave me tips for where to ride if it were to snow a lot (didnt snow enough). He also let me in to his hotel where I was able to bum a hot tub and a shower before sleeping in the truck.
It snowed about 8 inches overnight, which was not nearly enough to cover up the bulletproof sun-crusted hardpack. It was windy, so I was able to hopscotch from wind-loaded patch to wind-loaded patch, and I got some nice turns in. It was very painful to fall, though. Ha I forgot to zip my fly on my first run. I was reminded quickly by snow in my pants.
I met up with two locals Jaseth and Cody. They (also snowboarders) asked me if I wanted to take a fun run. We got fresh tracks in some out of bounds woods that were way fun--different than in Jackson, where woods are tight and steep. These were tight in a different way. Instead of shooting steep chutes between the trees you would shoot tight tunnels of tree branches. There was stuff to drop and stall on all over the place. Fun riding--the only good snow on the mountain. Jaseth and Cody were characters too. Jaseth grew up in Mexico and has been in slc for five years. Cody grew up in slc, and both are doing the ski bum thing at least for a little while. I think they're just a bit older than me, but I'm not sure.
I cooked dinner in my truck (in heavy snow), and hung out at the Squirrel. The folks at Solitude were awesome. It was fine to park overnight, I wasn't hassled, I got free coffee in the morning, and the bartender gave me a free beer and unlocked the pool table so I could play for free. Beers were also 5 bucks, 1/2 strength, and you have to pay 4 bucks to get a membership to the bar (this is what happens when mormons make laws).
Another night in the truck, no snow overnight. I checked the forecast in the morning and the predictions for Solitude and Jackson were both pretty good. Anxious to catch some more good days at Jackson, I packed up, sold the two tickets, and headed North.
On the way back I stopped to fish. The first spot, a picturesque hole on the Salt River, yielded nothing. Didn't see anything, didn't feel anything. Then I stopped on the Snake where I was previously accosted by the warden. Here the fish were going off on the surface despite sub-freezing temperatures. They were taking midges, and I took several fish on a griffith's gnat and on a midge nymph pattern before my ferrules iced too badly and I couldn't use my hands properly. The fish also shut down. Fun stop though.
A good trip! Great to see Jeff, Rebecca, and Adam, and good to meet Chris. Fun to ride different terrain and meet new, fun, friendly people.
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