Day 34 - Monday Feb. 19 - Mill D With Mike S

President's Day could very well be my favorite holiday of the year so far. No offense to Martin Luther King Day or Valentines Day, but President's Day produced a lot better snow than they did. Mike from BD picked me up around 7 this morning and we headed up Big Cottonwood to do some protected tree skiing in the new snow. We parked at the Spruces and walked across the street to begin our ascent up Mill D. I love my new bindings. The Switchback is really performing well. It tours super light and smooth. We skinned up what I believe is called Short Swing or Short Shot or something like that - it is the first skin track to the right after you pass the cabins - but don't let the name fool you. It is not a short shot. It is a lot longer than you would anticipate. I was feeling good and was breaking trail at an alarming rate until we got about half way up there. I had to slow myself down and take a slower pace in order to be able to make it. My first couple turns were different since these were my first real turns in the backcountry on these bindings. I figured it out (they are much more neutral) and the rest of my turns were fairly nice. You really have to navigate your way through those trees, so I was thrown out of sync every now and then, but nothing major. The snow was really nice. It was deep and it was light - just the way I like it. When you drop a knee (like everyone should) snow feels even deeper than it really is. This new snow was hitting my dropped leg at mid-thigh. It was sweet. We passed a few groups of people on our way down - a few of which Mike knew. I was a little late getting to work, but it was worth it.