S is for the summit Snowfields! Friends and I hiked up to the top on Saturday, clicked in, took a breath and let loose. And for a half glorious hour we dodged rocks and stumps and krummolz, thrashed over bumps and down steep pitches of wonderful styrofoam snow, on the way down the backside to the runout. As if that weren't enough, we ducked onto Rip Saw and finished the job of beating the pulp out of ourselves. It was undoubtedly the best run of the weekend!

U is for Unbelievable weather! Two days of beautiful sun, clear blue skies and little or no wind. Maine spring skiing at its finest. How lucky do you feel when you're riding the lift up the big mountain on a day like this and, with a glance to the left you see the snowy shape of our beloved Mount Katahdin, and to the right, Mount Washington and the high peaks of the Presidential Range.

G is for Great snow! You know it can't get a whole lot better when your 3:00 PM run down Narrow Gauge is just as good as your 9:00 AM run was. The snow just got better and better and better. It's been awhile since I've experienced anything like it. This will be the best spring skiing is years.

A is for Ale, Pick Pole Pale Ale, that delicious elixir of the Gods and all-around good-for-what-ails-you beer, served with a smile in the the best apres-ski place on the planet Earth--The Bag.

R is for the unusual and even bizaRRe terms and stories I heard over the weekend, and which I will leave "as is": "Canadian ballet", "monoboob", "tube Scotch" and "pot Jiffy Pop". 'Nuff said. Oh, and R is also for Reggae Fest which is happening in just 18 short days. Ya mon!

L is for Life is good. It really is, and on ski days like this, weekends like this, being outdoors having fun with friends, well, we are some kind of fortunate for all that we have. My eyes are sure open.

O is for the big "O", that feeling of pure ecstasy when you point 'em off the crosscut and launch down the steeps of Upper Gondy or White Nitro, and make turn after satisfying turn, so good that, despite the burn in your legs, you just keep going at it harder.

A is is for Ale, Pick Pole Pale Ale! No, I'm not repeating myself here. I'm just having another one, thank you.

F is for Friends! Damn good ones. Lots of them. And I was very happy to share the slopes with them this weekend. We had loads of fun and more than our share of belly laughs, some good heart-to-heart talks, and a few big hugs that only close friends can share.

The Loaf from Oh-My-Gosh Corner late yesterday.

Apres-ski in The Bag with The Joker. (By the way, S is also for "sunburn!")