"I regret that I have but one life to give to outdoor recreation."
That was my thought earlier this week after I spent the day snowboarding in the knee-deep righteous pow at Crystal Mountain. I guess what I really mean is I regret that I don't have the income required to pursue such fun-ness on a regular basis. Such fun-ness as renting a big mutha Toyota Highlander, blasting through the snow and right on past the cars slip-sliding off the side of I-405 (Monday's Seattle commute was epically bad), and snowboarding the slopes at Crystal where the lift tickets are $58.
But I had an excuse for shelling out the dough. I was working. As it were. Doing a story on Crystal's new Northway Chair which opens up 1,000 acres of steep, deep, formerly backcountry terrain. All the runs were black- and double-black diamonds. For an guy who snowboards once or twice a year these days, it was challenging.
But the snow was incredible. Shin- and knee-deep in parts and most of it untracked. I snowboarded with Sean Bold, head of the ski school and a real nice (not to mention) patient guy. (Former Cat 3 bike racer too, it turns out.) That's him in the pics. I like the one in the middle where he's just a blur of snow and all you see of him is one ski pole.
