Day 56 - Friday June 29 - SKI

I know some of you have been skeptics on my plans to ski every month of the year. Oh, ye, of little faith. How canst thou not believe in me? I told you I would do it, and I am going to damn well do it! I met Cody at 6 am this morning at the park n ride at 39th and Wasatch. We then made our way up Little Cottonwood to the Grizzly Gulch parking lot. It had been some time since I had been up there. We strapped our skis and boots to our packs and began our ascent. It was interesting to see all these places that I have been skiing all year. I didn't even know what was below me. In some cases it is grass and flowers, in others it is large boulders or even slanted cliffs. I am not used to carrying gear and the hike was definitely harder on me than I thought it would be. It was beautiful, though. It took us a little while, but we did ultimately reach our destination: Wolverine Cirque. CJ and Cody had been up there on Monday so we knew there was enough snow in Granny's Chute. We climbed down in and put on our gear. I went first and found out quick that it is not easy to stop on this type of snow. I slid out and tried to self arrest to no avail. I ultimately came to the edge of the snow and grabbed onto a rock that would help me stop (I have the wounds to prove it). Now don't be alarmed *Stacy and Mom*. This was not a big deal. It was simply a fall that I slid a little after. Cody then took his turn and did pretty well. I followed him down and let me just say that people who say skiing is skiing no matter where you are or what time of year it is do not know what they are talking about. Don't get me wrong, the skiing was fun today, but there is nothing like hitting this same chute mid-winter in two feet of fresh powder. Ahhhh. As shown in the photos, we were able to ski quite a ways down into the bowl. We did eventually have to remove our gear, do a little rock walking in our ski boots, and eventually get back into our hiking shoes. Cody had a job interview to get to so he was in a bit of a hurry. We made our way back up to Twin Lakes Pass and then all the way down Grizzly Gulch to the car (it was remarkably easier on the way down than on the way up). One bummer about summer skiing is that you can't just ski to the car. When I have skied this very line in the winter I have been able to get to the car in minutes because you can ski all the way there - with some sweet turns on the way. Today, however, was just walking. I did enjoy the walk, though. It really is pretty up there right now. It was all worth it just for the hike... and I got to ski! We made it to the car only a few minutes behind schedule and we hurried home to get Cody to his meeting on time. It was an enjoyable morning. I don't think I will become a "summer skier" anytime soon, but the experience was fun and I look forward to doing this again in July. And to all of you who doubted me... FACE! (just a quick throwback to the third grade for you)