BE DRUNK  

You have to be always drunk. That’s all there is to it—it’s the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.

But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.

And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again, drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is singing, everything that is speaking … ask what time it is and wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you:

“It is time to be drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk! On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish.”

  — Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), French Poet. Translated by Louis Simpson.

After skiing this past Monday with Mama T. and one of the ferners at the ‘Tude on Monday … today I skied Snowbird (for the first time) with the short one, who was very, very patient with me, because the runs she took me on (with the exception of the first warm-up run) were definitely WAY above my ability.

Took the tram to the top of Hidden Peak, then dropped into Mineral Basin taking the Path to Paradise (blue) along to Junior’s Powder Paradise (blue/black); then taking the Mineral Basin Express back to the top of Hidden Peak, then along the Cirque Traverse to drop into the Upper Cirque (double black), then down Chip’s to Who-Dunnit (both blue) to drop some things back at the car.

My boots were killing me, and I was battling a grumbly tummy, so I hung out at the Plaza while the short one went back up for another attack on the Cirque. We then met up with Tom Boonen, and took the tram back up Hidden Peak, where they bagged the High Baldy Traverse before dropping into the chutes above Peruvian Gulch … I had a long argument with myself at the gate, and since my confidence levels were nigh upon nil, I backtracked, dropped Chip’s Run (blue) to Primrose Path (black) back to Chip’s Run (blue) to Chip’s Face (black) then back to Chip’s to the Plaza.

Lunch at the Forklift, then back up the tram for our last couple of runs (skipping the last run) … I let my compadres talk me into tackling Baldy this time around … hiked along the first part of High Baldy Traverse, then skied the rest of it towards one of the easier drop-offs into the double-black soft stuff. By this point, my legs were jelly, and while I’ve been having problems getting forward enough over my skis anyway, I was really having problems getting down this … rag-dolled once, fell a couple of other times, but ultimately made it down alive, well, and proud of the attempt, even if it wasn’t the prettiest descent in the world.

Jennie … thank you so much for introducing me to your mountain, and while I’m sure you would have had a better ski day without me holding you back, thank you (and thank you too, Todd) for your patience with my various struggles. It may not have always looked it, but all-in-all, I really did have an enjoyable day.

I will be back, albeit probably not until next season, with new, properly fitting boots and some more off-piste technique practice; and anytime you want to ski Solitude, let me know, and I’ll show you what I can do on MY mountain.

No photos today … every time I stopped, I was too busy trying to catch my breath (amazing how much more difficult it is to breathe at 11,000 feet than it is at 10,000 feet) to take the time to haul the D80 out of the bag and shoot some of the incredible views.

“I don’t think people are meant to be by themselves. That’s why if you find someone you actually care about, it’s important to let go of the little things. Even if you can’t let go all the way. Because nothing sucks more than being all alone. No matter how many people are around.”

  — John ‘J.D.’ Dorian (as played by Zach Braff), Scrubs (on CBS).

Part of the Honeycomb Cliffs, shot from above Prince of Wales.

Part of the Honeycomb Cliffs, shot from above Prince of Wales.

Get your minds out of the gutter … I mean a real massage … deep tissue type stuff, to work the stiffness out of my legs, the knots out of my neck and right shoulder, and just to loosen up my low back.

Went skiing today at Solitude, as usual … had a good day; left the pack and camera in the Trooper, and just concentrated on making turns, mostly on the groomers, although I did venture into Honeycomb Canyon, since I always have to get at least one HC run in. Took the traverse out, and dropped through the trees between Black Bess and Voltaire, before taking Woodlawn the rest of the way down to Honeycomb return.

It was a lot colder than I was expecting, considering there’s a storm coming in … the sun never broke out, and the wind was fairly high. I was definitely underdressed for the first few runs, but eventually settled in, and had a good afternoon of it.

Then Wild Oats to pick up some lunch/dinner, then home to laundry … and all to get ready for an epic snow day tomorrow.

… I’ve discovered that it’s possible to have an absolutely shitty day up on the slopes.

From the time I turned up the canyon, until I made it to the parking lot at Solitude almost 90 minutes later, I just had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a great day …

I get on Eagle Express for my first lift ride up to Eagle Ridge, and could barely ski back down the Sunshine Bowl and Last Run to Moonbeam Lodge; my legs just felt like overcooked pasta. Still, I tried to make a go of it …

Took the Moonbeam lift to drop Main Street down towards the Sunrise lift, through the Access to up to take Summit Lift up to the top.

Took one run down Honeycomb Canyon; took some photos, mostly pretty shitty … but did get one interesting cloud formation … so I guess the day wasn’t a total loss.

The back up Honeycomb Return, down Sundancer back to the base, the parking lot, and home.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 120 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV