Utah Dreaming

My Epic Tahoe Pass allows me to ski in Utah and Colorado for the total of 5 days. I've been watching the weather so that I can get to Utah: I need 5-day window in weather to get to Park City, ski for 2 alternating days and then come back. It is clear this week for 4 days, from Monday to Thursday. Then there is a slight chance of snow on Friday. So, I've been thinking that I could go and then come back on Saturday. I'd sleep at Tesla station in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, ski Park City on Wednesday, rest on Thursday in a motel, ski Friday and then drive back to Winnemucca on Friday night. I would then drive over Donner Pass on Saturday morning on route back home. The thought of driving to Salt Lake City and sleeping in my car there got me all aroused and my fatigue lifted. I was struggling a bit from reinstalling the inverter yesterday morning. 

Then, I decided not to take a chance. The road still could be slippery on Saturday morning, and I didn't want to incur another repair bill. So I gave up on the trip. The fatigue came back, and I was knocked out for a few hours after lunch. 

I'll have to get back on the road. Skiing Tahoe is swell, but the novelty is gone and I'm struggling 4 days after skiing. I should turn myself into a ski bum and travel from resort to resort all winter long rather than making day trips from home. But I can't do that in my slippery Tesla. I'll have to procure an AWD and turn it into a camper. Maybe next year if they come up with a truck or SUV for $30 after the subsidy. If not, I'll get a cheap a used AWD for $10k and retrofit it. I'll then hopping from resort to resort all over the West. Vail, here I come.

Northstar, Skiing #7

It's nothing but blue skies for the next 10 days. I was still under the weather from skiing #6, but I figured dousing my brain with dopamine just might get me out of it. I know, hope springs eternal. It's been more than a month since the season began, and I was struggling after skiing because the novelty wore off. I wasn't going to get enough dopamine from skiing now, I know that. It was just a wishful thinking that more skiing could get me out of the struggle. But I finally got my car back from the shop, so I was anxious to hit the road again anyway. 

I went to Heavenly for the last two times, so it was going to be Northstar or Kirkwood this time. Kirkwood felt dreary for some reason. It was the same process as how I choose my path when I come to a crossroad while on my walk: one path feels better than the other for whatever reason. Maybe it's light. Maybe it's the curb appeal. Or maybe it's just that I haven't been on that block for a while, and it feels new. I look down the streets and take whichever pulls me stronger. Northstar felt better the same way for whatever reason. I also planned to cut down on the intensity and amount of skiing since the high-dopamine period at the beginning of the season is over, so Northstar with more easier slopes was a better choice anyway.

Snow as all packed by now and a bit icy on groomed slopes. The freshness of 10 feet powder was all but gone. Consequently, I stay off the groomed slope in preference to moguls most of the time. As such, I ended up skiing harder that I planned and ended up doing 5 runs of 2 sessions instead of 4 runs.  On my last run, I went to Rapids off Backside Express chair. It turned out to be longer than Gun Barrel in Heavenly and just as steep. So much for the plan for easy skiing. The outcome was that I struggled for 3 days after that. It wasn't a bad struggle though. Mostly I got knocked out in the afternoon and then recover in the evening.

That has been the pattern lately: struggle in the afternoons, in between refreshing mornings and evening recoveries. All my red days has been that way since I returned from the Electric Hobo season 2.  It must a transitory state on the way to full recovery from MECFS. Perhaps the struggle in the afternoon will go away too after the season 3. 

Heavenly, Sking #6

They keep giving me these "upgrades" whenever I rent cars. First, it was a civic when it was supposed to be an economy class. Then it was HR-V AWD. And then finally Optima. I was mighty impressed how fun it is to drive these little cars, I've been thinking about getting one to either replace or supplement my old Tesla Model S.  Tesla Model S is good for interstate cruising, but it is not dopaminergic. It just doesn't connect you to the road -- you don't know that you are drifting when you are in the COVID-induced blur in wee hours. It's no wonder I got into an accident in Taos. So, I went to the dealerships and test-drove a few subcompact CUVs to see if I can find one that is fun to drive and that I can take to the mountains. I need some off-road capability as well since I'm not taking my Tesla off-road anymore. I'm done with trashing it and causing $10k damage.

I tested Crosstrek and CX-30, two top-rated CUVs. Crosstrek wasn't fun and neither was CX-30. I figured I might as well test a hatchback while I was at the dealership, so I hopped in a Mazda 3. It was fun as expected, but I can't take it off-road without lifting it a couple of inches. So, it appears that I can't have cake and eat it too: I'll have to give up either fun or off-roading. Will that be worth $30k? Maybe not. Maybe I'll stick to my Tesla for a while longer and then replace it with another electric that is capable of off-roading, when they have AWD available for less than $30k after the EV subsidy. Wait for an electric version of Crosstrek, in other words. An electric version will be more fun to drive since EVs have lower center of gravity, not to mention the instantaneous power.

So, I drove an Optima this time, to Heavenly. And, this time, all lifts were open. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with turquois Lake Tahoe below reflecting the blue sky above. I warmed up on Powder Bowl lifts for a while, and then skied Canyon Express before going over to Nevada side via Skyline trail. There, the snow-sprinkled desert of Nevada spread out below. On sunny days, the views from Heavenly is, well, heavenly. I left my phone in the car unfortunately, so I didn't get to take the picture this time.

It's been over a month since the season started and I was running out of dopamine by now. It's the same pattern: a month into the season, I'm less excited and less talkative. I knew days of struggle was coming after the skiing, but I still skied hard. Then, on my way back to California side, I got lost and got into woods: I ended up tree-skiing into a ravine unintentionally. It took a quite a bit out of me. My right knee was cramping on my way back home, I had to pull over and stretch. All that twisting motion to avoid trees must've taken the toll.

So, rotating to different resorts did not extend the novelty effect by much. And the aftermath after skiing #6 was as expected: I struggled for 4 days afterwards. From this point on, I'll have to cut down on both intensity and duration by half. That means 2 sessions of 4 runs on blue slopes. I'm yet to get my moguls down pat though, so the plan may not go as planned. Which means I'll be struggling well into February at least.

Heavenly, Skiing #5

There was a break in the weather for a couple of days and this was my chance to make a dash before the rain resumed. Thursday the 12th was a better day of the two -- rain was to come back in the afternoon of Friday -- but the road would be clearer on Friday morning. I rented the car, drove to Heavenly and made it all the way this time. 

It must've been 20 years since the last time I was here. I didn't come here too often even when I was healthy. It was further away than others and expensive -- Heavenly and Squaw are two biggest resorts and therefore proportionally expensive.  Driving on scenic US-50 was also a pain as it becomes 2 lane highway in the mountains: it's not that fun getting stuck behind a truck or RV when you are in hurry to get to the mountain or get back home. It's no wonder I don't remember much of it except for Gun Barrel and the view of Lake Tahoe from the top. 

I actually was at the resort at 8:30AM. I knew the snow was coming around 1PM, so I started out early so that I can finish early. But the lift didn't open till 9AM so I had to wait for a while. The upper mountain was closed because of the wind, and everybody was crammed into Power Bowl on California side. After spending a couple hours on Power Bowl, I got tired of the long line. I moved to Gun Barrel.

It was exhausting. Gun Barrel was not only steep, but it was also long. I had to make 5 or 6 stops to make it down to the bottom. Do that 3 times, and anybody would run out of gas. I quit and I returned to my car at 12:30. It was only about 3 hours of skiing for the day. But I did it almost nonstop except for a brief lunch break. 

The aftermath followed the same pattern: high for 2 days and then struggle for a day. I was back up and running by the evening of the 3rd day and I did ski exercise for a few minutes. The next day I was bed ridden for about 5 hours in the afternoon. I should've given full 3 days of rest, I guess.

Skiing #5 is usually when the novelty effect wears out and I start to struggle. But I'm still alive and kicking. Rotating to different resort must be extending it. Will it last for the entire season? We'll see.

House-arrested by Bad Weather

It's been raining for 3 weeks in a row. That meant too much of a good thing in the mountains: the snow piles up well over 10 feet and it's been few and far in between clear roads free of chain control. I rented a car and attempted to go up last week, only to be turned around by chain control at near Kyburz, 30 miles before reaching the ski resort.

And that meant I've been house bound, save the failed attempt to get to Heavenly. The occasional walk or jogging ended in the struggle the next day. My exercise tolerance has been shrinking just like it did in 2020 when I was house-arrested by Coronavirus and wildfire.

The storm train is lined up in the Pacific and the rain will continue at least for another week. I'll have to figure out a way to escape. There is a brief break tomorrow. The road may be open on Friday morning, and I might be able to make my dash for it. Cross fingers.