Past
logs for 2003
(12th calendar year of non-stop skiing) Dec '03, 135th month: Coming off November's strong start, December continued with storm after storm. By the end of the month, the season total had reached more than 290" in Little Cottonwood Canyon, creating a base of almost 100".
I can't even remember the last time we had so many powder days in a row. Skied southwest Wyoming's White Pine and Utah's Nordic Valley for the first time. These smaller ski areas are frequently such a pleasant surprise... December pics Nov 2003: We've had a 5-year drought in the Rockies, and last season's snowfall wasn't anything to brag about. What a difference a year makes. Beginning with a Halloween-night blizzard, November came in like a season that means business. Brighton was the first Utah resort to open on the 6th of November. Snowbird, Park City, and Solitude weren't far behind, opening on the 14th--Snowbird with a 70" season snowfall going into opening day.
November photos Oct 2003, Month 133: 12 years begins...and I barely made it, too. If the end-of-season injury couldn't end the streak, the weather almost did. There was zero snow in Utah and almost no snow in Oregon (see pictures). It was the absolute worst autumn start I have ever witnessed.
133rd Month Photos---> Sep 2003, 132nd Month: It was so fun being on skis in the summer sun with our typically winter group. I braced up my knee (as my doc instructed me) and for a few moments felt the freedom of blending gravity and speed once again. Cooperman made it out for the first time, and Scottie managed a repeat visit. Once more, the weather was perfect. Unfortunately, in these recent warm years, the more perfect the weather, the greater the melt - and the shorter the season. End of eleventh year: Aug '03: It was great to see DINMS and DINMS' dad again this summer. They were more than willing to help out with pics. Not knowing what to expect, the watchword was "caution" as I made the first couple of turns since the surgery. Everything felt so good that I knew within a few feet the streak would continue...
August in a brace- 4th of July,(130th month): Solo trip for me this month.
Lots of time to reflect on the upcoming ACL surgery. We had almost a foot of new snow just 11 days ago but,
as can be seen in the pics, one can't tell the new snow from the old on skis.
Skiing the 4th of July June '03: Skied from the Watson shack down through "Corkscrew" at Alta with buddies Wayne Mineer and Scottie. Really smooth turns all the way--just what the doctor ordered.
I've skied a few times since the accident and can tell that I need
an ACL for the way I ski.
I guess it's surgery. Click here May '03, 128th Month: This first weekend of May started great with a 14" pow day.
We took full advantage of the May bounty. In fact, the first ten days of May
dumped more snow and moisture than all of January! Tore my ACL, broke some ribs,
got another concussion, and pretty much messed up my body on a high-speed fall in the middle of the month. Dang snow snakes...
I'm trying to decide if I want to have surgery or try to get by with a
brace the rest of my life.
Skiing in May April '03: Finally skied Pomerelle in Idaho. It's been on my list for years, and only a couple hours away. Also bagged one of the best (certainly one of the deepest) powder days of the year at Alta.
Got an official radar gun this month and started clocking the speeds we've been reaching on some of these runs.
April Pics Mar '03: Powderhorn in Colorado,
49 Degrees North in Washington, Schweitzer and Silver in Idaho,
Red Mountain, Kicking Horse, and Fernie in Canada...and Beaver in Northern Utah. We hit most of these places during what would turn out to be their best powder of the season.
Click here Feb 2003, 125th Month: Continued this month with a variety of resorts and terrain, ranging from heli-skiing powder in the Wasatch to almost suffocating in Colorado's deep powder in Purgatory and Silverton.
Purgatory Powder and Heli in the Wasatch
Jan, 2003, LATEST LOG:What do Greek Peak, Elk Mountain, Montage, Snowbird, Grand Targhee, Jackson Hole, and Big Sky all have in common? Well, that was my skiing itinerary for the first three weeks of January.
I've been going to Big Sky since the late 80's, and I have to say that Jan 20th was the best powder day I've ever had there. It was Awesome!
January Traveling Picture Show- lots of pics
OTHER YEARS IN REVIEW: See previous log link record pow day at Bridger, whirlwind ski trip to Europe, latest Alta close ever,
and ten-year streak anniversary.
STREAK 2003 
Click here
