Skiing corn? I thought I was supposed to eat it.

Getting "back on the mountain" is both fun and confusing, especially learning all the snow community terms.  Before my sabbatical, I do not remember terms like EPIC and YARD SALE.  Another new term for me is CORN.

The glossary on the community section of SKI.COM defines CORN as:
Snow characterized by its large corn-kernel-sized granules found during the spring.

(Courtesy of snoboy via flikr.com)

As spring skiing approaches this season, I've been reading nothing but upcoming and current corn conditions. Are we farmers or skiers? Skiing the corn seems to be enjoyable but also something to watch out for in regards to difficulties. For instance, I've been sifting through what are some good and bad notes on corn time:

-Don't ski when it's like a rock
-Don't skiing corn conditions in the afternoon when it becomes a melted wet mess
-Do look towards the sun and mountain placement for best conditions (East slopes in morning, South slopes late morning/early afternoon, West slopes in afternoon)
-Do enjoy better corn in the Northwest Sierra's (Tahoe ski resorts like SQUAW VALLEY USA)

Go out and ski some corn!  Then, maybe celebrate more with eating some. Perhaps on the cob.

Corn Snow Spring Skiing Backcountry Photos - Wasatch Mountains, Utah. 

(Courtesy of tahoecam.com)

Holiday Skiing. Just add more alcohol?

Every ski resort seems to have specials most days on and off the slopes. There's even more specials around holiday time, Hallmark holidays included. Of course St. Patrick's Day is no exception with lift tickets and drink specials.  For instance, America's Family Resort of Smugglers' Notch in Vermont is offering discounted lift tickets today. Wear green and adults can ski all day for $39, kids for $29. Acclaimed Squaw Valley in Tahoe, CA has specials and more importantly, Lenny The Leprechaun rocking the slopes!  If you are lucky to see Lenny, he'll give you a prize out of his gold pot. Now, that may sound suspicious but indeed fun.

Catch that edge, Lenny! (Photo courtesy of Squaw.com)

We all know skiers and snowboarders don't need a holiday to do celebratory damage pre/during/après-ski. Snow enthusiasts have been witnessed drinking beer and doing shots starting at 10AM.  Like something's new for St. Patrick's Day?  Well as the Irish Pubs open at 6AM today, the bars on mountains still open at 10AM (probably a good thing). Regardless, mountain lovers party hard all the time. Is doing car bombs at the Steeps Bar of McCoy Station on Mammoth Mountain different today? Sure, because today they are "lucky" car bombs. Let's just hope everyone remains safe out there and no one turns the lovely white snow into green stains of upchuck. 


But really, keep it safe. You'd think there would be major reports of snow lovers getting overly wasted in high altitudes and causing problems on a day-to-day basis, but au contraire. Are they just used to it?  What about the slopes first-timers? Skiers should teach the sloppy drunks today a lesson.

Another skier lost. No guts, no glory?

Since I'm recently "back on the mountain" this ski season, I've been learning more about the ski world and it's players. Especially the ones who have been lost and severely injured. As I entered the mountain world again, the first was Shane McConkey from Squaw Valley USA who died last year in March when his ski base jump went wrong in the Italian Dolomites (He couldn't release one of his skis, went into a uncontrollable bad spin, and then crashed). Shane was 39 years old. Nothing but goodness has been uttered from anyone who's wrote or spoke of Shane. One word that comes to mind is Bodhisattva. Perhaps more enlightened than "Bodhi" in Point Break. And Swayze's character didn't ski THEN jump and sore like a bird.

Shane McConkey, RIP

Just a few days ago another from Squaw Valley was lost, and this time at Squaw. Only 26 years old, Winter X Games freestyler CR Johnson was skiing off a cliff and fell face first into rocks off of Squaw's famous Headwall. The ski community refers to CR as legendary. Like Shane, CR had a hugh heart and good soul which makes the loss even greater. Unbelievable that in 2005, CR almost died after a head injury that left him in a coma and hospitalized for 34 days.

CR Johnson, RIP

As seen in many ski racing and snowboarding crashes (Kevin Pearce of "Frends"), the reminder of skiing/boarding as a dangerous sport echoes very loud. I have a vintage ski Colorado t-shirt (courtesy of my older brother) that reads the famous line: "No Guts, No Glory." Is it all worth the risk? Must you truly be gutsy to obtain all the glory?