It was one of my tougher drives, ever, on Friday night and did not reach
Fayston until 1:30AM.  It was astounding to look out of the corner of my
eye seated in my 4WD pickup (re: it is high off of the ground) and see
snowbanks at high level - a true testament to this epic Winter that has
made powder meccas out of unlikely places such as Whaleback and Nashoba
Valley (you laugh, but it's true).
        Snow was heavy and wondblown as I navigated down Partridge and Slalom Hill
for trail check.  I really missed my Volant Power Carves and I had to
readjust my skiing.  Sweet snow in Gazelle Glades and Fall-Dice, though !
        On the Birdland lift, I watched a pinhead make some sweet turns in and out
of the trees along Loon - very deliberate, smooth and highly skilled.  Sure
enough, it was Ben Bloom.
        I hooked up with Gary Crofton and I showed him Ski School Woods which had
all been obliterated until the big snows of this year.
        Lots of crowds, though as it was NATOFest.  I had to "cahaperone" Tom and
our newest Patrol candidate - Cindy from Portsmouth NH - on sweep down
Paradise.  Cindy thought that Paradise meant way over to Paradise Lost, so
she ventured over there until Tom & I fished her out.  Um, I think she's
MRG Patrol material, for sure.
        Fun NATO party in the 3rd floor of The Basebox and we shook the
floorboards and hooted 'n hollered.
        Next day, I was late so I was left with Fox/Vixen and Lark for trail check
- "The Biggies".  Of course, it was fun on thse novice trails.  Great bumps
on Quacky headwall.  I ran into Denis, Jim, Kathleen, Connor and Patrick in
the Basebox.  When I tried to shake Connor's hand, he looked at me, bawled
and hid under the table.  I was gonna' ski with Denis until the radio
crackled on the lift.  After several messages, it became apparent that I
was the closest one via the midstation, so I sadly had to break away.
        Long delayed sweep down Fox/Vixen which gave me time to pause in the
solitude and stare into the woods of the Octopus Garden.
        Sure enough, I scored some slightly used Salomon X-Scream SLC Comp Equipe
SC GT Super-Bomb skis with lips and with bindings that are good in the
trees, good in powder, good in crud, good in the steeps, good in icy
conditions and good in bed all for $450.

Mark

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