Video from the first run.
I notice as we make our first run down that there is another lift about 1/4 of the way down from the lift we just got off. This other lift looks like it goes all the way up the mountain. After getting down from the first run we head back onto the lift. This time there were a lot more people. I rode a little bit further on my board then dumped getting off the lift, throughout the day Katie and Renae would be down on the ground in front of me as I got off the lift, because Katie would just stop then fall down when she got off the lift, causing Renae to fall down. So we rode down to this other lift and got on to ride to the top. Now is when the old chair lifts really affect my chair lift performance. This lift is only a two seater with a pole in the middle of each seat. So I'm like I'm riding by myself because this is the first time I've even laid eyes on one of these things. But noooooo some lady with skis on (look I'm already coping a boarder attitude) gets on the lift with me, I'm looking back at Renae while still in line with a paniced look and she shrugs her shoulders. So I manage to get onto the chair lift without killing myself or the ski lady. Did I mention the lifts don't have dangle bars to protect you from sliding off the chair. Because the lady had skis I wasn't able to put my free foot under my board to relieve some of the pressure on my binded foot. So by the time we reached the exit my binded foot was numb. As we approach the exit it looks like you dump off the other side of the mountain, with of course a wooden wall forcing a 75 degree turn. I actually ride the exit and half way down the turn and don't fall. Then I watch as Katie and Renae approach the exit, Renae is telling the lift operator to slow down the lift (he doesn't) Katie stops then dumps, then Renae dumps. The lift operator picks up Katie who then skis down to me and here comes Renae. Getting off the lifts was a truly exciting ordeal at Sunlight. Once we buckle in we ride down to where the trail map is to look at where we should go.
Kaleb, Roby, and Katie at the top of Sunlight.
Katie posing as we start down the green run.
Roby jumping off into a powder section.
So I am laying on the ground looking at the trail map and Renae is taking pictures when I hear behind me "RUNAWAY SLED LOOK OUT". I look up just in time to see this skier jump onto one of the ski patrol's sled that apparently fell down and started down the mountain. This guy and sled came to a stop right at my head. Had he not jumped on it to try to stop it I would probably have been hit by a very fast runaway sled. I looked up at the guy and said "nice catch thanks". And here comes ski patrol walking down to their sled like ho hum this happens every day.
So we decided to go down this green run which starts like this
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So I try to make a few turns on the really steep starting section and then look ahead and see a flat section and then an up section. So I try to pick up speed and flat board the flat section. I make it about 3/4 of the way across the flat section before I stop. So I unstrap and "walk" up the up section. Five minutes later and completely out of breath I'm hunkered over trying to breath. Here is a picture at the top of the up section.
Once I catch my breath and strap back in we are on our way down the hill. Renae and Katie are leading the way. It was really nice up top as they got 24 inches of new powder this last week. So it was deep. Roby and Kaleb were in front of me and Kaleb falls throwing a ski. I stop to help Roby put Kaleb's ski back on when I look up Renae is rolling around in fresh powder (later she said she was watching Katie and fell into the deep stuff). So we head down some more, Katie grows increasingly tired as she didn't eat breakfast that morning. Needless to say we were stopped a lot on the mountain which was hard because Katie would stop on the flat sections, which are killer for boarders to get going again. I think I did more crawling to the middle of the run at sunlight just so I could catch some sort of edge. We finally made it down for lunch around 1:10pm. Renae and I had sent Roby back up to the top so he could get a good run in. I think we were all exhausted when we got down. Renae and I sat the kids down at a table while we went and got the cooler. Renae then went and got us adults a couple of adult beverages. We sat around until 2:15 or so just resting, then Renae, Kaleb and I went up a different lift. Again this lift scarred the ever living shit out of me. Kaleb and Renae loaded before I did. I rode solo and was standing waiting for the chair, when I turned around to look at the chair I realized I was standing in the middle where the bar/pole was so got hit squarely in the back with the pole falling into the chair. In doing so this caused my chair to rock back and forth back and forth with an uneasyness of a faris wheel chair. I grabbed and wrapped my arm around this middle pole and hung on for dear life trying to talk myself out of a panic attack. Until I looked up and realized my chair was being held to the line by a weld, one little weld that I'm pretty sure my grandpa didn't do, causing utter fear. Then my chair hit the first pole, CLANG, then the second pole, CLANG THUD SWING, then here comes the third pole and I'm thinking get me the F--K off of this thing CLANG, THUD SWING. The forth pole is coming but my chair had stopped swinging enough that it had missed the pole this time. 3/4 of the way up I released my grip on the middle pole. We get to the exit and I see Kaleb and Renae off to the side but I dump anyway. The lift guy is like "Uh yeah you need to lean into your board man", I'm thinking shut up youngester and go back to smoking whatever it was you were smoking.
We start down a blue run but there was a catwalk to navigate first. At one point I fell and thought I rebroke my wrist, but hopped back up and caught up with Kaleb and Renae. This blue run was steeper than the blue's I've done at Powderhorn but did fairly well at making my turns. There was only one steep section that I rode the edge of my board down which then dumped into a flat section. I did really good building up speed to make it up the two inclines before downhilling it to the lodge. Kaleb on the other hand still looks at his skis so ended up heading in the wrong direction, so I doubled back around and took his skis off. He carried them part way across the hill towards the lodge.
Picture of me after making a heel side turn on the blue run.
Roby then took Kaleb up while we took Katie back up the green runs (instructing runs). Katie did 100% better going on these runs (we think that she is competing with Kaleb in flying down the hill instead of skiing). She was able to make turns following Renae or I on our boards, she followed hand signals as well as voice commands. And after the first run wanted to go back up. It was like 3 min till 4pm so we got back in the lift line and head up the mountain. I think I am first on this run and crash somewhere near the wall, I see the lift operator praying that my head doesn't hit one of the chair lifts and here come Katie and Renae. We fly down the hill this time only stopping once I think. Here is video of me on my board.
The purple lines are the chair lifts to the runs we took. The Maroon lines are the beginner hills that we went on which include Midway and Loop. The Green line is the top run we took which began with Grizzly (green) and we cut of onto a Blue run called "Beaujolais". The bright pink line is the run where I nearly lept to my death from the chair lift. We started on the "Blue Catwalk" (blue) switched to the "White River" (blue run) which dumped into the 2.5 mile Ute Trail run (Green).
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