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| On a good day! |
Courmayeur snow sliding, Stevie Haston
I have had a sad, pathetic life for the most part, bereft of true contentment, but one thing is sure, I have had a shit load of powder. Today I had very deep powder, albeit with poor viz, in the end I was the last and only one on the mountain. I tried to enter a couloir near the station and couldn’t get in because of the wind and deep snow, I tried walking to the normal entry down the long stairs and ended paddling on my board and admitted failure when my eyelids froze together. I thought I couldn’t even get back and indeed had no clear idea where back was! After a while swearing at the wind gods I regained the Helbroner steps and hoped over the steps with my board tied to me, just in case it was caught by the wind and decided to imitate a helicopter. I did a thing called the Passerelle gully for the second time that day, this time was different from the first, a tadge fraught. No viz, wind born snow dumping at a rate I have never seen before, and snow sluffing all the time. Some very doggie side slipping, some real uncontrolled slipping, and some extra fast elevate or slides where I didn’t know what was going on. Anyway 350 meters later I hit good snow, did some turns, then had to stop turning where it got deep, cos you just coudnt see ,with the spray.
At the station they said hello and closed, I skied down thru the trees alone, dreamily, lovely creamy stuff to whooptydoo over, yea, it verily was good and just. 