Winter’s Final Fling

I got my wish to go boarding one more time before the season was over. I went snowboarding with the boys yesterday, my usual boarding posse. We went to Brighton, on what turned out to be their last day of operation for this season.

Although it is nearly May, Brighton still had 118 inches of snow. It’s interesting that the resorts will open in the fall when they only have a sprinkling of snow, but will close in the spring when the snow is still piled 10 feet high. I don’t understand this logic.

We were all excited to get a few more runs down the mountain before we said our final farewells to winter, so excited in fact that many of us went despite various illnesses. Aaron had laryngitis and was barely audible. Jeremy and I were both sick with colds. But we all just couldn’t pass on the last boarding of the season.

We were expecting a nice warm, spring boarding day. However, the odd, surprisingly cold, weather we have been having persisted. So the temperature remained in the thirties and it snowed periodically throughout the day. These cold temps resulted in hard compact snow and my knees, once again, are consequently bruised.  

We were all unaware of this, but apparently it is tradition on the last day of the season at Brighton to wear abnormal attire. We saw people wearing wetsuits, hula skirts, leisure suites, capes, wigs, bear costumes, and every odd colored ski suit you could imagine. These unusually dressed individuals made the day more entertaining.

We enjoyed ourselves and our last opportunity to hit the slopes for a while. Now I will officially say adieu to winter, pack away my boarding clothes, and prepare for mountain biking, hiking, barbecues, gardening, and relentless heat. Welcome back warmth; I have missed you.

For those of you who can not bear the thought of waiting months to board again, never fear, Snowbird Resort is open everyday until May 11, and then every weekend until at least Memorial Day, possibly longer if conditions permit. With their whopping 141 inches of snow, there is still plenty of boarding to be had for those of you who aren’t so enthusiastic about welcoming spring quite yet.