Got a job at Okemo answering phones and making condo reservations
Got WFR certified
Realized working the phones at Okemo was not a life long goal so I applied to another job for the summer.
Got my first paycheck since August, realized work wasn't so bad.
Visited my brother and best friend down in NC.
Got an interview for summer job (wilderness trekking with teens/ community service)
Yesterday was opening day at Okemo. The snowmakers were making snow like crazy the days before. They were even blowing snow at the base with the hopes of having people be able to ski from one life to another to get to the top where the trails were open. But unfortunately the day finally arrived at a foggy 50 degrees at my house, which is pretty much what it is on the mountain. No snow at the base, as I didn't take a run I can't tell you if there was any at the top either, but people were arriving. Now snowmakers can't just make snow at any darn temperature they want, they can't even do it at any darn humidity level they want. It just isn't worth it to make snow and then have it melt 2 hours later. I applaud the snowmakers, it's tough job. They don't get to sit in cushy little cabins and watch snow pile up, no they have to be right out in the thick of it. They are basically cold all the time. They work through the night, and during the day, snow making is a 24 hour a day job. Without them I wouldn't have a job, it's true.
But opening day is another matter. There are only about 4 or 5 trails open, making a loop on the upper part of the mountain, all expert skiing regardless of what the map says, even though it's labeled a green circle (the easiest) it is actually more likely a black diamond, because it's mostly ice. Everyone who has skied or lived near a ski resort knows that opening day is probably the worst day to go skiing, except for the last day. Opening day is for two groups of people, it is for die hard skiers who really just can't wait one more week to get out on the trail, normally these people have purchased a seasons pass already and are only looking to go up a few times, they probably have gone down to the ski shop and gotten their skis freshly sharpened. There are also the people who just happen to be around and think to themselves 'oh hey the mountain is open today for the first time this season it means it must be special lets go!' These people are probably going to rent skis, they may have skied a maximum of 3 times and they just think it would be cool to say 'I was there opening day'. There are unfortunately more of these people than the fanatics, which just adds a whole new level of danger when there are people who really don't know what they're doing out there. It's like driving down the interstate with sleet and freezing rain, and black ice might be involved along with a pot hole every 100 yards and everyone else on the road just got their license that day.
But this is the reality of opening day on any mountain. Everyone I saw coming down only spent about a half day because I'm sure by then the snow was pretty well gone. As I was leaving I heard the snow making generators going and knew that the season had finally begun, my first winter in two years.
