Alpental

After another night of cold temperatures and 6 inches of fresh powder, I sampled one of the local mountains just an hour away from the house. With low snow levels the drive was a beautiful winter wonderland cruise up interstate 90. The Subaru was put through her paces as the road became first slushy and then hard packed snow.

I parked, geared up and hopped on the nearest lift. Within minutes I was up high surrounded by spectacular peaks jutting out of the mist as snow continued to fall. Alpental is known for it's steep terrain and after my first run down it wasn't long before the trail was cut to shreds by the many Saturday morning skiiers. What this means is, as a skiier or snowboarder rides down the mountain, he or she takes the same track which creates large moguls (mounds or lumps) of snow. As snowboarding is a free riding sport these moguls become obstacles, inhibiting most snowboarders ability to cruise at leisure. In other words, it was a lot of work, especially when a mogul is in actual fact a rock. I got a couple of good turns in but that was it and took off home after a couple of hours. Still, what a way to spend a Saturday morning!