Novice No More

Yesterday was the next-to-the-last week of ski season. Its been almost three weeks since I went last, and the conditions three weeks ago were so horrible then that Jarom and I left after a couple of runs. Yesterday Jarom and I went up hoping the snow would be skiable, and we had a great day. After warming up on our favorite green runs (the ones with all the terrain parks) we headed over to the East Village where all the blue and black runs are. I've been watching some training videos at home and got some great tips that have really improved my skiing the past couple of times. After a successful first run down one of the blue runs (blue is intermediate), I had Jarom show me where one of the shorter black (expert) runs were. Conditions were perfect and I lead the way. I blasted down that black run at what seemed a million miles an hour in perfect control. When we met at the bottom Jarom said that as he watched me I made him worried I was going so fast. The next run I had a spectacular wipeout where I slid about 50 feet down the moutain skis-down with a spray of snow going everywhere. When I stood up I had snow all the way up under my coat to my armpits, and while sliding the snow had unzipped my pants part way and stuffed snow in my crotch. It was amazing! And I didn't even pop a ski. We did the same run a couple more times, and then all of a sudden it got too warm and the entire mountain turned to slush in about 30 minutes. We did one more run and then called it quits because we didn't want to ruin what had been a perfect day up to then. I had a couple of interesting observations over on the expert runs: (1) you sure get down the moutain faster on the blue/black runs. What takes us 10-15 minutes on the green runs only takes about 7-10 minutes on the blue/blacks and (2) it is a lot more work to ski on steeper slopes. I was really beat after about five runs on the blacks. I'm wondering what I can do during the spring/summer to get in better shape. Next weekend is the last week of ski season. There is some kind of wild life migration in the area and the resort has to close so there aren't people in the area. Its been a great season, with over 20 days of skiing. We are already missing it and can't wait for next season.