Fresh Tracks

On a powder day, after all the fresh snow is gobbled up on the groomed runs, I duck into the trees to find some secret stashes. There’s nothing better than making smooth, light turns in powder, a fine reward for turning around various obstacles like the trees.

I admit that, in the trees, I most enjoy following other people’s tracks. Occasionally, I’ll stray a few trees over and make my own tracks, but I always find comfort to return to a paved path a few turns later. I like knowing that someone else has been there before; their tracks are proof of their survival. I trust that the maker knows the area better than I do, so I follow their route and embark on a great journey.

When I choose my own path, I am challenged to make instant decisions about which way to go, and I run the risk of choosing a path too narrow, running over a log or rock, getting stuck at the bottom of a valley and having to hike out, or ending up on top of an impossible cliff, and I'm the one to blame since I led the way. So, my strategy has always been to find fresh tracks riding alongside another’s predetermined path; If they can do it, so can I.

My friends often scold me for following other people’s tracks. As Jeff says, “Every time you cross my tracks, you owe me a hundred dollars.” Some people have an innate sense of adventure, a desire to seek thrills, take risks and blaze their own trails in the trees (my roommate is one of them). But, for me, this characteristic was not inherent. I have been working hard on it in recent years, building a sense of adventure. I’m now developing the curiosity to explore things unknown and, finally, I’m starting to now make my own tracks...

Amusingly, I encountered a few rocky expeditions to start.

TRY NOW, PAY LATER
After an awesome run from mountain top to bottom through a few of my favorite powder filled trees in Vail, like old Chair 2 line and Do the Dew, my partner in crime and newfound adventurer Jeff and I craved just one more hit. As we approached Lower Born Free, skiers left trees struck a distant chord in my memory as a place other instructors had once dragged me through during my very first season--a time when I was very uncomfortable off groomers. Jeff and I thundered by and quickly inspected a good place to drop in. There were no fresh tracks leading into the aspen grove, only the subtle indication of one previous attempt before the new snow. Regardless, we flew by the seats of our pants and dived in.

I attempted to follow what little of a track I could see, while Jeff charged on in making his own way. The powder was so heavy and deep; a bit sun affected to compare to the dreamy light powder we’d been riding all day. One time, Jeff landed head over heels, catching his heel edge in the snow and landing on his back like an upside-down turtle--I could barely even see him burried in two dozen inches of snow! With hopes to reunite, I took a detour from my chosen route to help Jeff, and of course, I didn’t make it more than a ten feet before my board sunk deep below. 10 minutes huffing and puffing later, we somehow dug our noses out of the snow, and we made our way through a dangerously flat stretch and one-footed a bit too. We barely made it to the next catwalk, and in fear of getting stuck in the flat again, Jeff launched off the lip only to land in another trecherously flat thicket of bushes. At that point, we raised our white flag and hiked back to the trail in true and utter defeat.

WEST VAIL WANDERERS
As this incident did not entirely smother Jeff and my hunger for adventure and trailblazing, a few days later, we tried again. We had this great idea to finish another awesome powder day doing the locally renowned West Vail trees. Neither I, Jeff nor Pavel had done them before, but we knew where West Vail was, we knew where there were trees in West Vail, so we thought we had a general idea of where to go. But, just to be sure, we phoned our friend Kelly just before we set in. Kelly told us to hike over the Chair 26 ridge and follow the ridge as far as we wanted, drop in anywhere we like. So we did. We followed one thin track for what we later learned was about 2 miles long down the ridge, only to find one last snowboard track traverse into a cluster of dense Aspen trees in a large scale falling leaf shape. So, we followed it in, with no other clues of where to go. We hoped this person must have known of a secret stash.

We couldn’t have been more wrong. This dense grove of Aspen trees, beautiful as they were, was shite and too tight for skiing in. “We’re in jail!!!” Jeff kept exclaiming as we traversed in falling leaf fashion across the mountain. It felt as if the trees were so tight and close together, we were behind bars, unable to make a single turn on our own.

We giggled as we continued to follow the track wondering how many thousands of dollars we owed each other for traveling in someone else’s path. Occasionally, we’d reach a difficult spot for me, the sole snowboarder, and I often feared getting stuck in the flat sections. One time, while traversing, I tried to make a toe side turn and somehow got the nose of my board sliced diagonally down into the snow about two feet deep. I was doomed. The snow was so heavy, I couldn’t wiggle my feet or board an inch, but so light that I couldn’t pack down a solid place to push myself up from. I laughed so hard I cried, and with tears nearly in my eyes and strain in my voice, Jeff and Pavel began to panic because I’d fallen, and I could not get up. It was a miracle when I finally did.

As we three plowed our way through what was the worst payoff for an unnecessary hike, we started to realize this person hadn’t the foggiest idea where to go, and we were even sillier for following him. But, it was the easiest way, traveling in someone else’s path helped me keep up my speed in the flat sectionsn and stay afloat.

Over the river and through the woods, we were delighted to hear the cars rushing by on the highway and finally see a few houses on the North facing mountains across from Vail’s front side. We were saved at last! Minus an unexpected big jump over a summer river dam after ducking a fallen tree trunk and nearly landing feet first in an unfrozen section of river water, we hiked onto a road just behind the Streamside Mariott at the West Vail traffic circle! We were so proud to make it all the way to West Vail, though we felt like huge failures as we never found that golden land known as West Vail trees. All we had found was some other idiot’s bleeping track.

Jeff and I are agreed that we are not allowed to go making our own tracks together anymore. We also vowed never to do West Vail trees again without bringing someone who’s done them before!