UTAH SKI DAYS

I RAN AWAY FROM THE CORPORATE WORLD TO JOIN THE SKI BUM CIRCUS IN 1983, ARRIVING JUST IN TIME TO CATCH PARK CITY AT ITS TINIEST & MOST CHARMING, ALONG WITH SEVERAL SEASONS OF HEAVY SNOWFALL & FANTASTIC SKIING. UPON ARRIVAL, I SKIED 109 DAYS IN A ROW, TOOK A DAY OFF, THEN SKIED EVERY DAY UNTIL THE RESORT CLOSED. IT TURNS OUT I WAS A NATURAL BORN CLOWN. THESE PHOTOS COVER JUST A TINY FRACTION OF MY SKIING ANTICS OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES, BUT THEY ARE ENOUGH TO GIVE AN IDEA OF HOW FORTUNATE I'VE BEEN TO BE PART OF THE CIRCUS ALL THESE YEARS.

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NORDIC SKI GOD

CHRIS ERICKSON WAS THE TELE MAN AT ALTA BEFORE HE MOVED TO PARK CITY. I SPENT MOST OF MY FIRST SEASON ON TELE GEAR FLAILING IN EVERY WAY I COULD THINK OF. THEN ONE DAY IN THE BACK COUNTRY, MY FRIEND & I RAN INTO CHRIS & HIS PARTY. HE GENEROUSLY INVITED US TO JOIN THEM.

AFTER A BURIED BEACON DRILL, HE LEAD US TO A MODERATELY PITCHED BOWL WITH A BOOT TOP HIGH BLANKET OF LIGHT & DRY. NATURALLY, HE TOOK THE HONOR OF FIRST TRACKS. AND IT WAS A REVELATION.

UNLIKE THE CLASSIC STYLE, CHRIS SKIED FAST WITH HIS FEET UNDER HIM & STAYED VERY COMPACT. LIKE A CANNONBALL ON SKIS, & NOTHING WAS GONNA STOP HIM. HIS MASTERY WAS LEVELS ABOVE ANYTHING I'D SEEN BEFORE.

THE EFFECT ON ME WAS AS THOUGH HE HAD ANOINTED ME WITH HOLY WATER. WHEN MY TURN CAME, I WAS A DIFFERENT SKIER. BY THE TIME I GOT TO THE BOTTOM, I KNEW I WAS BORN TO BE A FREE HEELER. UNRELIABLE SOURCES SAY I TURNED OUT TO BE A PRETTY GOOD ONE.

WHETHER I DID OR I DIDN'T, I CAN'T THANK CHRIS ENOUGH.