Knock Knock...

-Who's there?

-Orange.

-Orange Who?

-Orange you glad this is the last post about skiing for a while?

I found this picture recently that someone had taken as we were getting ready to go out and patrol one morning. I like how BAD is capitalized. The look on my face is like, "Do I seriously have to go out in this?" There are some days on the ski patrol that are downright nasty. The worst days are the ones with like -30 windchill and blowing snow, the kind that hurts as it hits your face. Those are the days you hunker down in a warming house and do crossword puzzles and pray there aren't any calls for accidents.

Days like today make up for days like that. Today, it was clear blue sunny sky, still plenty of soft, buttery snow, and temperatures that at least felt like the sixties. There were people skiing in shorts and t-shirts. It was really excellent skiing for the first three or four hours, until it got all cut up and slushy. They were grilling outside, so I got a burger and some chips and sat out on a patio with the other patrollers, watching people ski by. It feels like I got a bit of sunburn. Also, there wasn't a single injured skier.

One of my favorite things on a sunny day with good snow is rocking out to my I-Pod as I go down the hill. At this time of year, most people are done with snow and want to do the warm weather things they haven't been able to do all winter, so crowds are usually small. Most runs are wide open. I stand at the top of the hill fast-forwarding until I find the perfect song, usually one that's fast and bouncy. I tried to keep track of what songs I would put on a skiing mix. Here are a few:

-Built For Speed - Stray Cats
-John Henry - Big Bill Broonzy
-American Music (the middle) - Violent Femmes
-Going In The Right Direction - Robert Randolph
-Do You Right - 311
-Beverly Hills - Weezer
-Greek #3 - They Might Be Giants
-Time Bomb - Old 97's
-Raw-Hide - Link Wray
-Mountain Song - Jane's Addiction
-Professor Booty - Beastie Boys
-All Down The Line - The Rolling Stones