Today the “Summer Shred” at Boreal really did feel like summer. While the previous shred day began with an intense rainstorm and clouds, today’s skies were blue and warm. While the temperatures were only 50° this morning in Truckee, as I climbed Donner Summit the temperatures rose with each passing mile. Standing in the Boreal parking lot I had to have that internal debate about whether or not to just ski in shorts or put on the ski pants. By the time lift was loading, the weather app was reporting a balmy 64° and Boreal was still making snow.
I’m definitely out of practice, having not skied since Alpine Meadows closed in early May. Many people may have mistaken me for Jerry this morning, especially at the moment that I slung my skis over my shoulder and realized that the ski brake was now stuck in my helmet strap. But once I clicked in and stepped up to the lift, it all felt natural again.
Thanks to the use of salt by the Boreal team, the surface started out firm, crunchy and fast for those first few laps. As the crowds increased and that crust was broken, things rapidly got slower and sloppier. There were also some pretty good crowds peaking by 11am, resulting in people stacked up at the lift and at the top of the run, waiting to hit that first jib. While I’m pretty good at dealing with those traffic jams, I took it as a sign it was time to go have lunch.
It felt good to get those ski pants off, as the car reported that the temperature was 80° in the parking lot. It certainly was a day of Boreal magic. Kudos to mountain manager Shaydar Edelman and the rest of the Boreal crew for making it happen.
I won’t be making it to Mammoth in the next two days before they close on the 4th so it’s time to start thinking about a trip to Mount Hood for more summer turns.
