7YW

I suspect if one was to conduct a poll on the most despised month of the year March would land near the top. Every year is the same, a continuous tale of surprise and depression in the face of the inevitable shifts in temperature and precipitation. In marked opposition to this negativity, March stands as one of my absolute favorite months. It the time of year when the mountains of Vermont morph into something special. Complete with days drenched in strong sunshine, conditions graced with surprisingly forgiving snow, and energized by legions of snowlovers emerging from their winter cocoons to get in as many days as possible prior to the final melt.

I was able to claim one of these days over the weekend. It started Saturday evening enjoying a warm fire with the wife in celebration of Earth Hour. Sometimes small things, seemingly insignificant experiences, can be enough to re energize you.

After a slow start to Sunday, I made the short roll over the hill to slap the slopes. It truly was a sensationally beautiful day. Not a cloud could be found in the deep blue sky, allowing the sun to keep everyone warm while the snow maintained consistency. The runs were full tilt, pointed and fast. If you were reading at the beginning of the season, you will remember my woes with equipment. Through the course of the winter I slowly picked up pieces to the puzzle, largely due to the generosity of others. Typically when you are a second tier chooch, you end up with tier two junk. Somehow I ended up with both an ideal board and an ideal pair of boots. For a few years I listened to industry trends and allowed them to influence my gear. I am finally back to what works for me, extremely aggressive equipment.

When you have everything in sync, things are just more fun. My day was filled with runs teetering on the edge of catastrophe with short pauses to enjoy the final days of the halfpipe. A few times I came in real hot and could hear, over my headphones, the cheers of the hikers. That is a good feeling. After concluding the day with a few flat-out runs, I settled into the Bobcat for the traditional apres beverage. I do love March.