Slopeside Scare

A quick swim in Big Sky's fabulous indoor/outdoor pool took the sting off of my burning thighs last night. It was exactly what my fatigued body needed after a day of skiing the world's second largest vertical drop. Such a tough life! My ears froze up a bit but the rest of me stayed toasty warm underwater. Hot steam rolled off the pool's surface and drifted into the heavens while Jackson Browne favorites canceled out the sound of the pumps. Brian H., my Trey Anastasio look-a-like cohort (emagazine.com) joined me in the dip. The rest of the press peeps collapsed too soon.

It wasn't easy 'rising and shining' after a relaxing evening like that but day #2 brought gulches, bowls and forks - more hotshot skier lip. I loaded up my camera and tripod hoping for a break in the gray skies. Around 2:30pm I got a taste of Mother Nature's fury in Montana. A freak storm blew in shutting down all the lifts and all the runs and guess who was trapped on top? Well, not exactly on the summit but close enough. I flagged down a safety patrol dude on a snowmobile for a lift back to base camp. "Sorry Miss, there's an injured child on Bone Crusher Ridge that I need to get to."

The wind was blowing so hard I could hardly see my ski poles. Cautiously I braved the descent alone. Not knowing where I was heading I ran into an exposed island of gravel and rock. What to do now? The area was roped off with bright orange flags but certaintly I couldn't climb back up from where I came. I decided to duck under the ropes and take my chances. It paid off - in no time, I was at the triple lift with 3/4 of the way to go.

I could hear crying and wailing in the distance as I got about half way down. A small girl had seperated from her parents and her tears were freezing to her cheeks. She was too scared to move and too upset to listen. I tried calming her but she must have sensed that I was just as scaried as she was. Fortunately a ski instructor showed up at the right time and managed to coax her down.

With only 1/4 way left I realized my life wasn't in jeopardy and stopped to grab some shots of the whipping winds. I had to remove my gloves to adjust the lens and just then an eddy circled me and tour the protection from my hands. My left glove went flying down the mountain. "Oh No!" I yelled. From out of nowhere, a good samaritan appeared and went zooming down in hot pursuit. It only takes minutes in subzero temps for exposed skin to suffer frostbite here so having him there saved me from amputation. He also carried the tripod and saved me from a broken back too. Whew! What an adventure and only in Montana - I don't recall Killington ever beating me down like this.