I walk back to our cabin , a few beers down , carefully crunching my toes through the sole of my boots . It’s dark , as cold as I’ve ever experienced . Large flakes of snow waft down through the night . Every step is taken with caution , so as not to slip and land on my arse . It’s a winter wonderland at night . Cars covered with snow , large pine trees feathered white , embankments of snow built up chest high , golden light glowing out of log cabins . Every now and again a little gust of wind whistles by , sending a chill right through your bones . Back in bed it’s time to melt away , but just before you sleep a nervous pang shoots through your stomach . That little treadmill in your head starts to whir “ I’ve gotta get my stuff organised, we gotta be up early , I gotta get to the other cabin and dress Leroy , my card , my ID …..,and so on . 4 hours sleep later and it’s time to…oh yeah I just went through that 20 times throughout the night .
We are staying on the Canyons side of Park City . The morning news reports of heavy snowfall . There is an avalanche warning , with some areas closed off to the public . Throughout the next couple of days there will be crews up in the mountains working on reducing the risk of avalanche . Shit , you don’t hear of that too often on the Australian slopes . The butterflies in the tummy are at full flutter . Several trips to the bathroom are required before leaving the cabin . It’s gonna be an exciting day .
We’d been up at the base the day before to hire our equipment . When we arrived again this morning we were in for a rude shock . The lines to get on the lifts were as big as I’d ever seen at any sporting event anywhere . In fact I’d never seen lines to get in any place match these . The early optimism about covid restrictions on numbers on the mountain dissolved immediately . One theory had it that the avalanche danger had closed some resorts and directed people to Canyons , others said it was merely the recent snowfall would offer powder . I think it might’ve been the latter . A 90 minute wait in line to even get on the lifts had me very aware of the need to know where the toilets were and to also know that I wouldn’t be sipping out of my water bottle . Once on the bubble travelling up the mountain I soon realised I’d never been on lifts that travelled so far up .
Finally we exit the bubble . I’m informed by Billy ( one of the dads ) that it was time to clip on the board and grab the next lift up . “ You serious ? We gotta go up further ?”
The lift rolls down to the landing point , fortunately muscle memory kicks in and I glide off without going arse over head . Don’t worry , I’d eventually end on my arse a couple of times coming off the lifts .The thing is you just want to start well and hang on to your dignity early . It’s a weird feeling to be completely covered . No skin is exposed . It’s almost like snorkelling or diving . It’s just your breathing , the googles and the pathway you lock onto . It’s time to descend . The slide , the momentum , the fall …you’ve got to flow with it . I get down 200 meters before I finally catch a rail . It’s a relief to the get the first fall out of the way . It ain’t so bad . Getting down the mountain takes concentration . This ole dawg has to lock-in and find a groove . I fall a couple of times but generally slice my way down the run ok . The fatigue and muscle burn quickly becomes a factor . I ain’t been on runs like this before , they just keep going ..and going .
The kids start there day in snowboard school . We have to have them in their marshalling area by 845am . They are to be picked up by 1130am . It means we have to get in the early morning lines for the lifts ,but it’s worth it as that couple of hours is spent on honing your game and exploring different runs that the kids can be introduced to .Tex on the other hand is a complete daredevil . Most of the trip he’s up in the mountains solo . Occasionally I see him explode by me , spraying powder up into my face and then disappearing into small tracks that take you into the dense Forrest . One afternoon he does nurse me through a couple of tougher runs with the added help of Billy . Tex continually yells at me to go faster and to use my edge more. I tell him to shut up and remember I’m a cruiser now who just happens to be 51 and not 15
Boooom!! There it goes again , the distant sound of explosives . As I slice down the hill enclosed in my equipment it’s easy to imagine you’re in The Hunger Games . Each far away blast by avalanche crews sounds eerily similar to that of the movie the Hunger Games when the next competitor dies . Sometimes the blasts are close enough to vibrate through your body . The next morning the already suffocating lift lines were held back an extra half an hour whilst avalanche crews up in the mountain made sure sure that runs were safe . It gives you a fair idea how much snow had been falling .
3 full days of snowboarding or skiing is plenty of time on the slopes at Park City . It ain’t cheap . When a slice of pizza costs $11.50 , a standard lift ticket $220 and then the hiring and snow school on top you can see that it adds up . We were very lucky to be invited by our good friends Bill , Kim and Cooper . Their prior knowledge , the buddy passes that they offered which saved us a fortune on lift tickets and their generous hosting was super appreciated. There’s no doubt we would never have got to Park City without them .
Park City itself was a few miles from our resort . With the heavy snow fall and the packed days we only managed to drive through it .
Woodward is also a famous American skateboard and adventure park that our kids were super lucky to visit
As an Aussie family that has done a lot in the last 4 years ,the boys and I were super grateful to hit an iconic location whist Emma stayed home and worked . I’m personally very grateful to say I snowboarded Park City .
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