Last week I spent 32 hours straight on the hill. It was the best day of work I think I have ever had in my life. I thought I would share a little about how that day went and what I did. Now it’s no secret that one of the responsibilities of the Snow Reporter is to be one of the first people on the hill every morning. On this day, I rolled into the employee parking lot (Lot G) just after 6am. As I took the long walk to my office in Valley House, the mountain was shrouded in darkness. I could see snow slowly falling through the yellow glow of the streetlights as I shuffled my way uphill through light powder. By 8:30 I had submitted all necessary work, Snow Report check, SnoCountry.com check, Email Subscribers check, Snow Phone check. It was now time to shred and check conditions.
I suited up, clicked into my skis and skated my way over to Gatehouse. As I skidded through the corral at North Lynx I realized I was first in line which prompted a high five with the lift operator as I hopped on the first chair. North Lynx has been my favorite lift all season for early laps. You can always find a bit of everything on these trails from playful bumps to corduroy, and even untouched powder. With the new snow from the night before I dived into Morning Star without hesitation. Later on, it was time to load up for an Allyn’s Lodge dinner photoshoot.
My peers and I began loading the Super Bravo lift with gear for dinner with the Blue Mountain marketing team. After setting up the shoot and skiing down with Ski Patrol, I got ready for dinner with the Sugarbush and Blue Mountain marketing teams. At 5:30 we all loaded into the Cabin Cat excited for the night ahead. We chugged our way up Spring Fling, Snowball and Valley House Traverse until we arrived at Allyn’s Lodge. The evening was filled with a great dinner full of good food, good times, and good people. To make things even sweeter we were treated to a full moon. On the way down we shredded fresh corduroy underneath the moonlight without the need for headlamps. By the time all of the camera and lighting gear was down and packed away it was 12:30am and I was ready for bed. I laid out my sleeping bag in my office and hit the sheets.
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
The following day my alarm sounded off at 5:15am and I instantly sat down at my computer. I feverishly whipped out the morning reports by 6am, threw on my skiing gear and made my way to Gatehouse. By 6:30 Blue Mountain and Sugarbush marketing teams began loading into the Cabin Cat for morning laps on North Lynx. We were greeted by a blazing red sunrise and crispy corduroy. After 4 laps of a lifetime, we made our way back to Gatehouse for mouth-watering breakfast sandwiches and coffee. By 10am I was back in my office and began preparing for meetings later that day. At 2pm after the Snow Plan, I packed up my things and walked to my car. By the time I rolled in for my production meeting I had come off the hill for the first time in 32 hours. As I sat there, I took a moment to reflect on the epic day I just had. I felt a wave of gratitude wash over me as I realized how special the past 32 hours really were. From seared steak at Allyn’s Lodge, night laps down Spring Fling, a beautiful sunrise and the company of great people – I just had the best day of work in my life.
