From Basin to Brighton

Utah: one of the best places on the planet for snowboarding. Snowboarding: the best part of the winter. Winter: the worst part of the year. Ah, life is just full of complexities and incongruities, isn’t it?

I'm getting much better at launching myself off jumps.
I’m getting much better at launching myself off jumps.
We went to Snowbird on Memorial Day, which was their last day of operation for the year. The snow was surprisingly still good and the sun was charming.
We went to Snowbird on Memorial Day, which was their last day of operation for the year. The snow was surprisingly still good and the sun was charming.

I hate winter. It’s a lot like that girl that’s too mean for anyone to get along with but all the boys chase anyway because she smooches like a goddess. Yup, that sounds like winter to me. With strings of days when the temperatures never get above freezing and inversions block out what little warmth the weary sun might offer, winter’s got few charms but that frosty imp lures you in with its sweet, sweet powder and you find yourself longing for its blustery tempests with an eagerness that’s nearly nonsensical. Here are the highlights of our recent sporty encounters with that moody succubus.

One of the first good snowstorms of the season brought out all the boarding rabble.
One of the first good snowstorms of the season brought out all the boarding rabble.
No, that's not lens dust; it's many magnificent flakes of snow.
No, that’s not lens dust; it’s many magnificent flakes of snow.

This year’s snow patterns were a little abnormal. The flurries came late and infrequent until early spring and then storms raged aplenty. Because of that belated precipitation, Jason and I didn’t go boarding as much as usual. We only hit Brighton five times and Snowbasin and Snowbird each once. But don’t let those limited visits fool you; we got it while the getting was good. A few tantalizing blizzards found us in the mountains surrounded by powder so deliciously deep it’d make Charles De Mar weep.

He wants to be?
He wants to be?
What you're seeing here is the clumsy ending to my best jump ever. I got three feet of airborne bliss and one awkward landing.
What you’re seeing here is the clumsy ending to my best jump ever. I got three feet of airborne bliss and one awkward landing.

As for my progression as a boarder, that went quite satisfactory this season. I’m pleased to report that many speed and height advancements came without much conscious effort. My new record for jump air is now approximately 2-3 feet. Not impressed? Remember, previously I was soaring measly inches.

Boarding is one of the many activities that Jason and I go gaga for.
Boarding is one of the many activities that Jason and I go gaga for.

Spring is unabashedly here now. The heavens hint at the hot temperatures to come and the mountains’ once glorious frocks melt into sticky slush. Winter will have no power to persuade us to pursue its luscious slopes for months but, after the heated passions of summer have passed, pursue them we will. What fools we boarders be!

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