Monday, October 31, 2005

Stoermer's secret "Smoke Shack" -sleeps 7


Last Saturday I headed up to Arapahoe Basin to renew my season pass, check out the new lodge under construction, and meet up with my buddies Tyler and Stoermer, who were up there skiing/Riding on what is known as the “white strip of death”. This is what they call the only open ski run during the early season…mostly because you have assholes that think they are training for super-G on a touron/gaper packed green. So little room for error makes this time some of the most dangerous on the mountain, not because of the terrain but because of the jerk-offs demonstrating how fast they can slide down an icy, over populated green run.
Anyway, Stoermer wanted to show me a secret shack that he and his buddies have been building on for about five years now. The secret “smoke shack” is stashed away on the Lovelandpass and is surrounded by handmade jumps and jibs. With the forecast calling for small accumulations we planned to crash in the shack and wake up early to rip lines on the fresh powder(pow-pow).The shack was sweet! This is me taking in the canyon views from the deck. Yeah that’s right the deck! Star and moon light through the clear skies (yeah it didn’t snow much) lit up the valley. Last years someone fabricated a really nice wood burning stove in the shack which made for a very comfortable (~55 degrees) night despite the low temperatures on the pass.
More on that and JP’s Blog…with downloadable footage!