Double Black and Back

Early this morning (6:20 am), after a long night of partying (Happy 21st, BJ) and about 45 minutes of sleep, I departed for the Sierra Nevadas to ski Bear Mountain in the Big Bear mountain resort. Myself, KC, Jonny Seamon, Aaron Goldstein and his friend Brandon took off for the slopes and after purchasing rentals and lift tickets, took the day's first run at around 10:30.

Overall the day was pretty amazing, but started early with Jonny and I trading jabs over who was the better skier (I've only been on one other ski trip, btw) with him ending up head-over-skis into the powder on the first run of the day! Aaron and KC got their snowboarding legs under them and Brandon tried to master the art of maintaining a moderate speed.

As the day progressed, Brandon became a bit embarrassed at the fact that we kept having to wait for him at the end of the runs and decided to take to his own. The four of us decided to then take the presented opportunity and turn one of the tougher blue runs into a break-neck race to the ski lift located at the bottom.

I started off well, with Jonny only a couple yards ahead of me (damn those extra 8 cm). Half-way down one of the steeper areas on the run, I decided to look back to see where the other two competitors were (Coach Warrick always would get on me for doing that during a track meet). The confidence booster turned into a race loser as taking my eyes off the slope allowed a small mound of snow located just in front of me to thrust me into the air disoriented and bewildered, ending with a crash landing that sent my skis flying in two different directions and allowed KC and Aaron to whiz past me while spraying snow in my face. It then took me another five minutes to walk back up the forty feet or so up the hill (told you I was going fast) to retrieve my skis and put my boots back in the bindings, only to coast to the bottom of the hill with a newfound humility of my skills and respect for the mountain.

Those feeling lasted all of two seconds when we decided to take back up to the mountain for our first black diamond of the day and my first black diamond ever. It was actually relatively easy, with a slightly sharper decline than the blues and a slightly narrower path. We reached the bottom of the hill after enduring snow flurries and thick fog when Jonny and KC decided to get some warmth and relax a bit before finishing the afternoon. Aaron and I still had quite a bit of adrenaline still left in our tanks and decided to head back up to the top for a couple quick runs.

Originally, we were simply going to try to take some fast runs down some of the more challenging blues, but instead, decided to take the ski lift littered with "Expert Skiers Only!!" signs to the DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND run affectionately named 'Geranimo'.

Now, before you become super-impressed with my ski-skills, let me explain something. First of all, this run starts at the highest peak of the entire park, which incidentally, is also the highest lifted peak in all of Southern California and also the sixth highest in all of California at a elevation of 8,805 feet. Secondly, since Aaron and I had rode so high in the sky on the lifts to this summit, the entire run was not only much colder than the rest of the park, but also located entirely in the clouds. That's right, we had climbed into the clouds, effectively reducing visibility to that of about 100 feet. Not a big deal when walking down the street, but quite the different story when flying down the mountain at speeds of 20 mph on a pair of shaped wooden planks or a giant board strapped to your feet. Thirdly, when we reached the peak, I realized that I my sunglasses must have fallen out of my pocket while on the uber steep lift ride to the top. Not a big deal since we were in the clouds and couldn't see the sun anyhow, you might say? I say you don't understand. The $8 glasses helped to protect my fragile, contact-aided eyes from the horizontally traveling snow-sleet and high winds. Needless to say, I was in for the ride of my life. After realizing what I had gotten myself into and that the only way down was on my trusty 160 cm long skis, I sucked it up like a buttercup and attacked the slope like a pro.

Now, you might think that I'm just posturing, like any egocentric male might, but that is where you're wrong. Aaron and I, in all seriousness, handled that double black slope as if it were any other. It was a bit steeper than anything we had ever experienced before (that means more coming from Aaron than from me) and conditions were absolutely terrible (see aforementioned fog problem and lack of glasses/goggles), but we took it like pros and only each fell once. When we did fall, however, we seriously sunk into the virgin snow a good eighteen inches, since it was snow that hadn't yet been defiled, at least since the last snow-fall.

We reached the bottom absolutely ecstatic at our accomplishments and completely relieved that we didn't die. I decided at that point to give Jonny and KC a call to invite them to join us for another run of Geranimo, only to discover that the zipper pocket which housed my phone had somehow come unzipped and that my cell phone was no longer in my pocket!! Needless to say, my moment of exhilaration quickly became my moment of exasperation.

Now, some of you might not think that losing a cell phone is the end of the world, but it's obviously a totally different feeling for me. My two most valuable physical possesions are my cell phone and my computer hard drive(s). My hard drives contains pictures taken over the years, videos of the most memorable events in my (recent) life, important documents (read: tax returns and class notes), and, of course, my entire music collection. My phone respresents my entire social life. Every friend I've made in the past five years, every business contact, all my family members, etc. are contained on that phone and on that phone only. So, when I realized that I had lost my phone, I actually made me feel a bit sick. Now that y0u understand, let's get back to the story...

After some random and quite inappropriate four-letter words, I made my way to the security office where the lost and found was located to see if, on the off-chance, someone had turned in my phone. Things did not get any better during the thirty minutes I sat at the office door while waiting for the guard to return from rounds, so I treated myself to a 1/4 pound cookie.

When the office opened, I entered to find some young teens filling out forms of what they lost and where and even wondered if it was worth filling out the paperwork since it was similar to someone finding a needle in a haystack to find my 3" long phone in thousands of acres of fresh snow at the mountain. Since I was already there, I decided to stop being an idiot and talk to the woman. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: How often does a lost item actually turn up?
Lady: Quite often, actually. What did you lose?
Me: My cell phone.
Lady: What does it look like?
Me: Well, it's got black around the screen and silver around the button and on the back. It's a Sony Ericsson phone provided by AT&T. Ummm...it's also dented on the bottom of the battery cover.
Random Security guard that was being nosy: It's just a cell phone.
Lady: It's not the phone, it's the contacts in the phone.
Me: Exactly...
Lady: It's a camera phone?
Me: (Hopes growing...) Yeah!
Lady: When the phone is on, what is the main screen?
Me: A red lantern for the Chinese New Year.
Lady: Here you go...(gives me my phone)

At this point I go insane and don't really remember what I said, but it was undoubtedly very grateful and gave hope to the kid who had just finished filling out the identification form for his missing beanie. I almost requested a hug from the woman, but stopped for fear of looking like a complete (as opposed to a slight) lunatic. After telling Aaron, who was waiting outside with our gear, that I had got my phone back, we headed back to meet up with Jonny and KC to meet Brandon at the car to head home.

I've only been on a ski trip twice in my life, but something tells me that this one will always remain in my memory. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did!