They said it was the BEST powder!

They said it was Grand Targhee in Idaho.

I was a hard core skier then. I'd been a ski instructor in college at Alta and Snowbird in Utah. I'd skied Corbit's Coulior in Jackson, just for fun, more times than I could count. I'd skied the trees in Aspen, Alta, Winter Park, Copper, gone off-trail in New Zealand, Colorado and Wyoming....I'd done it all skiing. (Note: I don't ski anymore). I'd skied the steepest and the deepest...we even got our pictures in SKI magazine a couple times (at Alta and Snowbird).

We were just traditional skiers then, not like the crazy adventurists of today with their selfie sticks and Go_Pro cameras. In retrospect, we were probably just amateurs compared to today. BUT, this was all before snowboarding, "shredding" and all that...just pure skiing.

Anyway, I got off this gondola once on the top of Grand Targhee; it was early, maybe around 9am. First run. I skied off the ramp and was knee deep in snow (even on my skis). Soon I was mid thigh deep in champagne powder.

Wow, what an awesome run this would be!! Best run of my life!! The powder was above my knees, as I cut my turns in the snow. I had to adjust my goggles to align things for who the snow was flying. The turns were just AWESOME, plant your pole and there was no bottom, just your skis surfacing up through the snow, then back down. It was incredible!

I dropped about 400 feet vertical when all of a sudden I realized i couldn't see anything...at all. It was "flat" already but I could still see, but all of a sudden I couldn't see a thing...nothing. I knew I was headed into the trees (where I wanted to go), but I couldn't see anything. I was completely blind. I tried to slow, and fell down in the deep powder. Lost a ski. I couldn't see a thing, didn't know what was uphill or downhill. It was crazy. I was completely lost.

With a lost ski, I was up to my chest in snow. I rolled over onto my back, so now I was on top of the snow, sliding downhill. I couldn't see a thing

I figured my ski was lost, I had no idea how far I'd slid from where it was. Then...I heard a snow cat. I was skeered I'd get run over by it because I couldn't see anything. About that same time I heard the snowcat stop...nobody could see. I crawled (sort of) uphill and found my ski, clicked into my bindings and got up.

I side slipped down to the trees which I knew were below me, (sad to be wasting all that great powder). When I found the trees I knew I was safe from the snowcat. I waited about 40 minutes until the storm cleared and skied down through the trees.

Best ski day I ever had!! Too bad it was just me, would have loved to have had someone else with me that day.

I can understand not doing a lot of things, anymore,
like piecing together jalopies, listening to music, or swimming in the
ocean, or at the public pool...but wait there’s more:

testing positive for PED’s, watching “Scarface” repeatedly, sending money to pigs
on craigslist in hopes of finding a few of my favorite things, skitching, responding to a woman’s advance...

So why don’t you ski anymore?

Can you remember your last run?

Was it conceivable it would be the last time, as you did it?

# 1021

Yep normal day of skiing powder. hahaha

Enjoyed the story.

Some of the best days are when you barely make it out alive.

if you don't fall your not trying hard enough.

btw... we probably know some of the same people. I've lived in Utah a while now

a reply to: TheWhiteKnight

Knees, back, risk...frankly...too old (at 55).