Today I was scheduled to serve as "area director" at the ski club.  As I
turned off of Route 7 onto Roaring Brook Road, I searched for our sign.  It
was buried somewhere in the snow bank.  I decided to leave it wherever it
was.  The town snow plow had not yet cleared Roaring Brook Road, so it was
powder driving.  Just point 'em straight and keep up your speed.  When I
got to the uphill portion of the road, I was relieved to see that our
caretaker had plowed.

I was the first club member to arrive for the day.  Four foot deep snow
blocked the front door of the lodge, so I started shovelling.  Once I got
the door unlocked, Kate, one of our ski patrollers arrived.  She agreed to
start up the wood stoves while I shovelled a path to the tow house.  As
soon as I managed to open the tow house, other club members started
arriving.  We packed the loading area for the big rope tow by sidestepping
on our skis.  The snow depth was three or four feet, the last 8 inches
having arrived last night.  After discussing the possibility of packing the
tow line with the Thiokol, we decided to start up the tow and let our skis
do the packing.  Ski patroller Bill was the first one up the tow.  He
invited me along to help check the safety gates and to help "evaluate" the
skiing conditions.  As I rode up the longest and fastest rope tow in New
England my skis floated to the top of the snow.  This was uphill powder
skiing!

After digging out the safety gates at the top, we were free to ski.  I took
first tracks down KD-53.  It was point 'em straight down the fall line and
keep  up the speed.  Other powdery pursuits included Twisteroo, the Chute,
and Whiffinpoof.

After noon, my wife and 15-year-old son arrived.  My son and I joined a
pack of testosterone-poisoned males plundering powder in the woods.  Both
the Boomerang Glade and the Black & Blue Glade were exceptionally good.  By
3 PM I was bushed and ready for my half-hour sit at the bottom of the rope
tow.  Although we tracked up the central part of the ski club, we left
untracked lines for Sunday's skiers on the eastern and the western slopes.
Overall, 39 folks skied today.

These are the best of times!

Regards,
Jeff Strait
http://MtGreylockSkiClub.com

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