R.T.S.

A little known fact about our local hill is that it has the steepest inbounds run in the Northwest: R.T.S. Rumor has it that RTS is somewhere between 53 and 57 degrees. That's steep even by my standards. It's not long--maybe 800 vertical feet, but what it lacks in length is definitely made up by steepness. Note that it commands not one, but two of those black diamonds.

Nobody has been able to tell me what RTS stands for, but here's some possibilities that I just made up:

• Rough, tough, and steep
• Run too steep
• Radical training slope
• Rocks, trees, snow
  
• Run to ski
• Route to sea
  
• Real tough sh*t
  

I could go on, but you get the idea. Here's a perspective on how step 57 degrees is:

Note that Dylan is standing up straight and touching the snow with his hand. It looks like I'm nearly standing on top of him. That's because I'm nearly standing on top of him. I can't even imagine attempting this on a snowboard, but Dylan shredded it.

Here's another perspective.

And yet another.

Dylan and I hit RTS five times today. The cool thing about RTS is that every time you turn, little avalanches of snow fly past you. That, and the fact that if you fall, you'll probably slide the remaining 700' to the bottom. I've seen it many times, but never had the experience personally.

The conditions today weren't great--we got 15" of new snow on Wednesday; then it got warm and crusted the good stuff over. But RTS faces west and didn't get much sun so it was in prime shape. At any rate, what a privilege it is to have some extreme terrain at our local hill. It definitely keeps the skiing interesting.

Remember back in the early 90's when speed skiing was all the rage? Guys hitting 136 mph on skis--nearly terminal velocity. It must have been around 1992 when the resort carved out the outrun to nowhere at the bottom. Word is the speed record on RTS exceeded 110 mph. That's what dropping down an 800' elevator shaft can do.

The steepness of RTS exceeds anything that I had the opportunity to ski during my 25 years in Colorado. Mary Jane had some nice 45 degree pitches, but that pales in comparison to 57 degrees.

It wasn't all fun and games on RTS today. Dylan shows off his new pants and his electric coat on the C-Box. Whoa cowboy.

He got mad air off the kicker.

Log jam!

I spent the morning skiing with ski buddy Mark.

It's good to have a ski buddy. Mark is a good ski buddy. We powder hounds were sniffing out what was left from this week's storm. It was pretty ravaged by the time we got to it.

Who are the hoodlums in the back seat?

Dylan and boarding pal Marty.

Dylan and Diane went up yesterday to see if they could get in on the fun from this week's snow. It got warm before they got there, so the best was already over. I stayed home to drum up money to feed my skiing habit. A man's got to do what he's got to do.

That's all for the last day of February. 32 days and counting until the end of our season.

Yikes, this season is going fast!