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 Marmot Basin's poster child, Meg Gibson (in green) and her good friend, Nicole, celebrate the epic snows on opening day. DOC POW/SnowSeekers |
JASPER, AB — I awoke in a darkened room, heart pounding with the realization that the day had finally arrived.
I turned my head and squinted my eyes at the clock beside my bed, it’s red glow beaming back a blurry 5:30. My head fell back on my pillow with a disgruntled thump; there were still a few hours until the festivities would begin.
The next two hours passed with a painful slowness. My mind raced as I nervously imagined what surprises the day might bring, and whether those surprises would live up to the impossibly high expectations that I’d set for them. The room gradually brightened as the minutes plodded on, and as I looked out the window I could faintly see the beginnings of a gentle snowfall.
An excited pounding on the door jolted me into motion. I hurried to get dressed and bounded out of my room; it was all I could do to stop from running down to where everyone had gathered to celebrate.
I arrived to the hustle and bustle of a half-dozen exhilarated voices, the smell of hot cocoa brewing on the stove, and the sound of packages being ripped to shreds with everyone showing off their new threads. There were boxes and packages chaotically strewn about the floor, and there was a plate of half-eaten cookies on the coffee table.
 SnowSeekers' Tanya Roth, aka Tweety, and Marmot Basin's Brian Rode are all smiles on opening day. DOC POW/SnowSeekers |
But those clothes weren’t socks from Aunt Rose, nor were these gifts from a fat man with breaking and entering issues. Instead, everyone was decked out in their newest gear, the packages containing helmets, boots, and goggles rather than chocolates and Legos.
This wasn’t Christmas, it was opening day at Marmot Basin.
But just like when you were a kid and had the sudden interjection of church put a temporary hold on the morning’s festivities, so, too, did the lines and lines (and lines) of people parking their cars, getting lift tickets, and renting gear. After an agonizing hour of shifting one’s feet, the skis were on, the lifts were turning, and the fun began.
After a run or two of finding my legs again, thoughts of "Can I do this?" quickly turned into "This is %$@*ing awesome!" Jumps were jumped, trees were avoided (narrowly), and the gnar was shredded. It’s a wonder that we all managed to survive from May ’til November.
We all must have done something especially great this off-season, as the ski gods blessed us with the most perfect opening day that one could possibly imagine. The soft powder and sheer wealth of trails available made it seem like it was January.
But even with the epic snow day, nothing compared to the enjoyment of hitting the slopes with half a dozen close friends. These kinds of good times just can't be found off the hill.
Whether it was performing human slaloms down Eagle Ridge, taking group photos at the top of the Canadian Rockies Express chair, or enjoying a few brewskies during apres, the most fun I had all day was seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces.
And as slow as the day was to arrive, it passed all too quickly. Before we knew it, it was our last run down the hill. That last run is always the best, though. Most of the folks have gone, and so it feels like you have the whole mountain to yourself, if even for just a few minutes.
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