Away a week ago in the milder climes of Texas I missed the initial skiing bonanza provided us by the Valentine's Day blizzard. I knew you all would be out there and I was some jealous.

But I finally made up the lost ground...

Saturday my good buddy Pete and I faced down a day of brutal winds to carve up the slopes of Sunday River but good.

Sunday River's Spruce Peak was looking good with the big snow.
All photos by Carey Kish

Most all of the double steeps, bereft of snow due to the wind, were a sheet of ice and thus closed. So, much to Pete's relief (he's getting a bit on in age) we were not able to make the double fault line of Shock Wave our first run.

Instead we cranked it up on Jibe, upper Obsession and Monday Mourning--a fine start to the day.

T-2 (still my favorite trail on the mountain) on the right side was fun as always. And next, Right Stuff provided the best snow and overall best run of the day.

I heard folks complaining about the ice, but it was really only the first few turns of the steeper runs. And even at that, you just had to dig the edge in a little more and you were fine.

Risky Business at Sunday River was in fine shape last Saturday.

American Express and Risky Business were in terrific shape and easily worth a number of runs each.

We finished off the day over on Aurora and Jordan with Northern Lights and Airglow (I made a detour down Black Hole which thrashed me good but was fun anyway) and a long sunny cruiser down Lollapalooza.

All good. Damn cold, but all good.

Apres ski thirst led us to the Sunday River Brew Pub, where we joined up with my friend EW and her Puzzle Mountain hiking crew and enjoyed a couple of pints and bowls of chili.

And, bonus! The very lovely Bailey Girls paid us a visit! Now that's my kind of apres ski, I tells ya.

The Bailey Girls entertained us at the Sunday River Brew Pub. And yes, you're right, I don't remember their names!

Sunday: Slept in. Made coffee. Jumped in the car (ski gear was still in there from the day before. Guess I could've made it even easier by sleeping in my ski clothes... Hmmm.) and dashed off to Attitash.

Well, technically I skipped Attitash and went straight to its sister mountain, Bear Peak.

And there, with the help of the Flying Bear Express Super Quad, I logged some 15,000 feet of vertical in just a couple of hours. Under beautiful blue skies and NO WIND. And killer views of the Presidential Range.

Mount Washington and the Presidential Range from the top of Bear Peak at Attitash.

Avenger is the best trail on Bear Peak, and you get a good look at it from the lift on the way up. Double black, varied and relentless, it was a hoot. The right edge, then the ridge between the edge and the bumps, then under the lift through crud and ice and rocks. Three straight blasts down Avenger and I thought I might be through for the day.

Looking at the double black Avenger from the Flying Bear quad, Bear Peak, Attitash.

But I couldn't leave without hitting Illusion, the long westerly cruise of Wandering Skis (including a brief dip in Broken Arrow Glade) and the challenging chute of Kachina Falls. Just below, Kachina's right edge was a treat, but demanded tight turns to avoid launching into the trees.

And so it went, and I nearly lost track of time. Now that's a good day on the skis.

Best snow of the day: Skier's left on Trillium, where I found untouched, glorious corduroy at 2 in the afternoon ( I went back for a second helping!).

Completely satisfied, I knocked off at 3PM, ostensibly the exact hour that the Red Parka Pub opens up down valley in Glen. Karma perhaps? One must wonder.

A couple of Long Trails served up in a mason jar, and an embarrassing amount of peanuts and popcorn later and the day was done. I put the car on auto-pilot and slept most of the drive home (hey, the Honda knows it's way).

How's the big snow been treating you?