(My First Double Black) Diamond in the Rough

And I mean rough. Today, after skiing the morning with Vanya, I decided to mix it up a bit and went up Blackcomb solo. Over the past month or so my skills have really improved to the point where a) I need some lessons to take me to the next level and b) I am willing to take more risks. My thinking has been if I take care, there is little that I can get into that I can't get out of. That has mostly been the case until today. I took the Glacier Express and instead of doing the normal runs traversed off-piste to what looked like a nice unskied-out bowl. I was heartened that there were a couple of other guys heading that way too. There was a gate the said "double black diamond ahead, expert skiers only." Looking through the gate at the bowl it looked pretty sweet and I went for it. The first part of the run, which I later learned was called 'Big Bang' was steep but not too bad. Piece of cake, right? No. That run ended at abruptly at a cliff which is called 'Couloir Extreme,' which I believe is French for 'you should have read that sign back there.'

I was frightened. There were no outs, just cliffs and bare rock to the left and the right. I pondered my fate. The only way was down. Nothing else to do but go for it. If I told you that I did the whole slope on my skies, I would be lying. I definitely slid some of it on my butt. The good news is that after about 20-30 yards of rocky steep it widened out and while still super steep it was skiable. At the bottom, my friends (the two guys I followed through the gate) were waiting. They had also carefully picked their way down and we took photos of each other to have at least some record of the feat. I was a little shaken and rebuilt some of my confidence by beating up on some unsuspecting blue and single black diamond slopes. I was zooming. In the end, I think my confidence had an overall net improvement. Now I am actively seeking the next challenge and feel like over the next month of so there will be more of these kinds of challenges in my future.

Also, I think I should buy myself a helmet.