Artist Link:

I have to remark: I love this guy's art. Check it out, it looks fantastic. Don't let that tiny banner fool you, it's awesome.

Finally, I'm back in town. Once again, I have journeyed out into the wide expanses of the outdoors and experienced what fresh air (+ cigarettes), bright sun (and horrible, horrible wind/snow), and good exercise lead to (legs, arms, etc. burn with unholy fire). Yes, my annual ski trip with my family and friends was at Mammoth Mountain Resorts this year, and once again a great three days were spent snowboarding in the great outdoors despite the terrible snowfall we've had this year.

This year, we stayed at the Timber Ridge condominiums, which claimed to be ski-in-ski-out. In previous years we have had very enjoyable stays at Mountainback condominiums. This year, however, we paid the extra premium for the priveledge of convenience. Of course, that was not exactly true. Not only was the condo smaller than Mountainback's, it was also not nearly as convenient. No towel service, and only a single central location with a jacuzzi/sauna that required five minutes of walking over very slippery surfaces to reach. Still, small price to pay for a ski-in-ski-out place right? Wrong. [More after the break]

The ski-in part was fine. Just take chair 8 up, take Swell to Chickadee, then look for the signs on the right side. The only thing we had to look out for was the fact that there were two seperate entrances that led to opposite sides of the properties. Then it's just an easy slide down to the units (unless you're a snowboarder, then you might need to go a bit faster or chance walking up a few feet of hill).

Ski-out, however, was a nice crock of shit. In order to even get to a trail, you needed to walk up a nice hill. Then, you reach a fork in the road. To the right, was a trail downhill to a flatish area covered with roots. This trail led to Bluejay, a nice black diamond run that, due to the snowfall, had a small forest of tree tips sticking out of it. The snow was great, however the moguls were pretty tricky near the center steep part. To the left was the easy way down, if you could stand the way up. In order to get to Chickadee, you had to walk up another hill to get to the slopeside, after which you'd have to climb up four to five feet to get onto the slope and then put on your gear. Several of our party decided that it was harder and more time consuming to walk up that slope carrying gear than it was to drive down to the lodge, find parking, and walk up stairs to get to the lifts.

Now, speaking of the drive, Timber Ridge is located right next to Canyon Lodge... 500 feet above it. The only way there is a long windy steep and icy road where many a car lost traction. In fact, not only did we have to push our own car up a hill (our chains weren't helping), but we also had to push up another minivan up the hill (stupid idiots who wouldn't take help until it was forced down their throats). All this at 11pm, with the wind blowing and the roads more slippery than a porn star after a bukkake shoot. You know what? Scratch that simale and replace it with one that's safer for your brain. Unless you like bukkake, then use your imagination. So anyway, the drive sucks. Five switchbacks over icy conditions is hell for anyone without four wheel drive.

Still, for all my whining and complaining, it was a great trip. I had some great fun hitting slopes hard. Even Cornice Bowl (the only face run open) had good snow, and the rocks couldn't keep our spirits down (just our wallets from getting our P-tex patched).