Ski day 42: Meeting my other boss

Vert: 7,150 m    YTD cum vert: 253,865 m
Runs: 11    YTD cum runs: 550


I got a note on Facebook from Rob, the owner of Powderwatch.com, the other blog I write for at about 7:30 AM today. He was coming to the hill (I suspect because we got 20 cm in the last 24 hrs and 58 cm in the last 3 days). I've never met the man, so I figured we really should ski together at least once so that he knew what I was writing about. 


We did indeed intercept each other. I offered him a warmup run, but he wanted to get straight at it. First run, in the Scapegoat glades, he faceplanted. In this stuff.

In fact, that was supposed to be a shot of him, but I lost him for a few minutes and he skied by without me noticing, so I took that shot of a snowboarder instead.


I took Rob to the two entrances I describe in this post about how to ski the best part of Goat's Eye. We took the Cleavage Traverse to the Goat's Head Soup area. The South Side Chutes were being bombed for avis at the time, so The Fans were closed. I took pains to point out to Rob the avi closure rope with the Red "Closed" signs, and we saw people poaching it. I don't poach lines, but I know where the rope ends. So we skied down to the rope's end, and took the easy route out along the roads (rather than the flat, uphill route past the weather station). And we got stopped by a ski patroller picking off the poachers. I explained we did NOT poach the rope, and that our route was an OK one that went around and below the closure rope. He didn't believe me. Then his radio squawked "Those two are fine. They went below the rope". and he sent us on our way with a sheepish grin.


I was happy to see patrol picking off the poachers, because they were just plain in danger -- and stupid. Patrol finally got fed up of the actions of the idiots and roped off the Cleavage Traverse access for an hour while they completed work, and good for them. However...


It just so happens I know how you can take the Scapegoat Traverse to the lower Fans. Not that its worth it; the ratio of traverse to run isn't good. But it can be done.


I think I will send a note to Patrol and compliment them on their work today.