Day One - Big Sky, Montana

Having fallen asleep early, I woke up at 7am (6am PT) eagerly anticipating the day ahead. After a good hot breakfast and preparing my gear, I drove up the mountain arriving at a little before nine. It was cold and got colder as I ascended. 19 degrees at the base. It had also been snowing all night. Six inches at the base and a foot of new powder at the summit where it was a chilly 10 degrees. I had been planning for warmer weather and quickly switched to my arctic gear, not that I am not complaining.

Early in the day, I headed up to Lone Peak in search of some challenging runs and the most powder I could find. The snow was falling fast and furious and the light was super flat making for some of the most challenging skiing I have ever done. Lone Peak opens into a big bowl with the main run, a black diamond, called Never Sweat and a chance to drop into the bowl from Turkey Traverse. It was a lot of fun and I fell a couple times in the steeps with the low vis and flat light. Looking forward to skiing it again when it is clearer. You can also take a tram to the peak but the only outs are shoots that are all double black, something I am not ready for yet (again).

After a quick bite and a beer, I decided to take the afternoon a little easier. I am fighting a cold and had downed a Sudafed to keep the coughing and running nose at bay. This made the beer seem more like a six-pack and made for some not-quite-so-comfortable runs. I was always safe bit a little looped. It wore off in 30 minutes or so. Most of the afternoon I skied Andesite Mountain and discovered the area around the Thunder Wolf lift, especially Elk Park Ridge, a huge and beautiful ridge with lots of powder and interesting terrain. There'll be more new powder tomorrow and I plan to start there.

It was on my second run on Elk Park Ridge that I realized at that moment I was happier than any time I can remember recently. It is not that I have been unhappy; in fact things have been going very well both for and with me. It was more that my life has been marked by an absence of bliss. Indeed, much of my life has been blissless. What was special about that moment? The day was beautiful and the sun had peaked out. My body felt good and I was skiing well. However, I don't believe that this was the cause of my bliss. Instead, it felt like I was truly in the moment. Everything else disappeared and all that was left was the moment and me present in it. The simplicity of this was stunning. Now I want to see whether I can bring that same presence to moments that are more mundane and less pleasant. We will see.