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Post by JB007 on Feb 25, 2006 3:17:48 GMT -5
ASPEN "Please God let my car start" chap 7***Keystone to open Saturday at 9am***That was the annoucement on the radio about the first ski resort in America opening for the season. We heard the message loud and clear Several times on the radio while we were polishing off beers after work Friday evening at the Cooper St Pier. Right away I knew I would be driving the 3 hours to Keystone ski resort very early Saturday morning. Frankly I couldn't wait. ;D No way was I missing the first opening turns of the season. Even if I was only going to be skiing a 10m wide patch of man made snow. My co-workers informed me that was all I would be skiing at any rate. They weren't the least bit excited about the announcement. However, my being a rookie was good jonging entertainment for them. So I took their jokes with good humor. But I was going to be skiing in the Rockies in a few short hours. I couldn't wait to get there and ski. Schit I would have skied an icecube at that point. Kat: TJ, TJ, TttttttJjjjjjjj. Wake up.
Me: Uh, what's going on?
Kat: The alarm went off. It's 6am. Are you nuts?
Me: Oh. Sorry. I'm going skiing.
Kat: You are what?
Me: I'm going skiing at Keystone. They are opening this morning at 9am. I gotta really hurry.
Kat: You don't want to spend the day shopping with me then I take it.
Me: No. Funny. Ha ha. I'm going skiing. I'll be back around 5pm.
Kat: Come back to bed for a while first. Lets start the day off with a bang.Well some priorities override others, so I leaped back into bed with Kat. And left for Keystone after eating fruit and cereal in bed and chit chatting for a bit. To this day I still miss talking to that women. So I ended up arriving at Keystone an hour later than what I thought at 10am. However, during the drive there, when I just got on I70 in Glenwood Springs it was annouced on the radio that Keystone would not be opening untill 11am that day. So I had an hour to kill untill the lift opened when I got there. I pulled into Keystone at 9:45am. It was cloudy with flurries. Right away I went to the ticket office and purchased my lift ticket for the day. I couldn't believe my luck when I read my ticket number. My ticket had the serial number #1 on it. I got the very first lift ticket sold to Keystone that season. So I figured "to hell with driving around the area to kill time". I'm getting in the lift line right now because since I got the first lift ticket sold for the season, well then I want the first chair ride up for the season by God. And I did guarantee myself that first chair ride up because nobody else was in the liftline when I got there. The lifty's were just starting their checks. So there I was standing all by myself in the little snow covered patch-o-maze chomping at the bit to make turns. Nobody was around at all untill the "Road Warrior" arrived at half past the hour. That's when I found out that the reason Keystone would be late opening was because they were supposed to film this guy made up like a charactor out of "Mad Max" skiing the trail early in the morning before it was open to the public. Big problem though. They showed up late. Friggen Hollyweird turds. Well it was 15minutes before the lifts were supposed to open when things got alittle exciting. The hollyweird producer guy was upset because Keystone management was going to open the lift to the public just like they advertised it would be, and not keep it closed for said hollyweird types to film. (Hollyweird producer will now be known as HWP). Well HWP got really pissed off at Keystone managments decision regarding opening the lift to the public before he could film his commercial. Didn't matter to me how pissed off HWP was. I got the first lift ticket and first chair all sewn up. All is golden in the world to me on this glorious day. Then things got crazy pretty fast because HWP at the last second tried to bolt infront of everyone in line, and he actually tried to kick me out of my first chair ride up to start the season. HWP: Excuse me but I'm taking your chair.
Me: The fukk you are.Right away I was pissed off. I've been dying, while patiently waiting to make my first turns of the season. I have the #1 lift ticket on my coat, and I'm going to have the #1 chair too. And no little PeeWeeHerman wannabee is going to stop me. Especially this cocained up excuse for male DNA HWP: Do you know who I am.
Me: Somebody half the size of me. Right away he got the gist of my arguement and calmly stepped back out of the way to the applause of about 50 skiers standing in line dying to make turns just as bad as me. Well finally I started riding up the opened double chair at Keystone for my first turns in the rockies. It was a very nice day. The clouds and flurries were gone. Sun came out, which caused it to warmed up quite a bit. Almost spring skiing temps. And since the chair was moving nice and slow I decided to take a few drags off of one of my "opening day prerolled fun sticks". First day of turns in the rockies = first doobie smoked before making first turns in the rockies. ***Folks in no way am I condoning the use of pot or any other drugs while skiing. I was in my early twenties so take it for what it is.***So while I enjoyed the buzz kicking in I see this kid walking down the lift line way up ahead. He was a lifty that they had been walking down the lift line picking up the discarded trash. I felt sorry for the poor guy. Sweating his asp off picking up trash that ASPHOLES, and I do mean ASPHOLES just throw down trash spoiling our greatest natural resource. Me: Hey man thanks for what you are doing. I appreciate it.
Lifty: Thanks. The $5.25 an hour really makes it worth while. Is that a cig you are smoking.
Me: No
Lifty: Can I have the roach. I'll give you $2 for it.
Heh. This kid is desperate. He wants to pay me two bucks for a roach. Mannnnnnnnnnn.
Me: Here. You can have half the joint. Thanks for picking up after aspholes man. Catch!!Well the nameless lifty was very much over joyed with my charity. Then it hit me. I'm going to be doing the exact same job real shortly. Hopefully my attempt at positive karma by giving him half a joint will keep me from the garbage detail. Well it was finally time to unload off the chair and make my first turns. I had an old pair of Elan G200's to ski on. The trail was about 2 cats wide of man made snow. I was the first one going down. It was priceless. Especially watching the HWP movie guy fall on his asp after he got off of the chair. Accompanied a round of "golf claps" by everyone in viewing distance of this walking rectal face. Now granted the open trail was narrow. The snow was man made boiler plate, but man it was great skiing. Sun on your face, some very hot women were there. And of course watching the hollyweird people kept the mood light and interesting. However, and there is always a however in life. The one trail open got crowded very fast. By the time I came down for my 4th ride up after three runs the place was a madhouse of Denverites. You couldn't move or breath. You litterly had to stop at some sections of the open trail to wait in line to ski the next section. I bagged it after that. And the hollyweirds did to because all of their trucks were gone. So back in my little ford escort I went for the ride back to Aspen. Completely satisfide with my first skiing adventure in the rockies as a skibum. However, it just so happened to be "TJ double bonus day". How can that be you ask? Well I will tell you. Just before I left to go skiing Kat showed me something special she purchased down at the Glenwood Springs Mall earlier in the week. She was wearing it when I opened the door when I got back home. Kat: TJ. You are not. And I repeat are not skiing tomorrow.
Me: Yes Mam!!!! ;D IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING End of part 7
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Post by JB007 on Feb 27, 2006 0:01:53 GMT -5
"ASPEN" Please God let my car start! part 8 Mom: I don't care. I want his autograph. I think he is sexy.
Me: Mom I'm just bartending his girlfriends book opening. I doubt I even get to talk to the guy.
Mom: I'm your mother. Get it for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well here it is. Opening weekend of Ajax. One more checkmark on the "dreams achieved" skibum journal. It was also ThanksGiving. And for once I was really looking forward to a ThanksGiving holiday. To make a long story short. Because of childhood, and service to my country I've never really got to spend a holiday in my own home. Even to this day at the age of 42 I still haven't had a holiday in my own home as an adult. That ThanksGiving in Aspen with Kat, at her sisters restuarant is the closest I've ever come to having a peaceful TurkeyDay with a women I loved. Now you have to appreciate what I'm about to tell you, along with a funny ironic twist to it. You see that ThanksGiving holiday was being spent with Kat, at her sisters restuarant called "Loretta's Mexican Kitchen". Only it was the standard TG food that was being served. There was Me, Kat, her 2 brothers and their girlfriends, Loretta, and the 2 illegal Salvadorian women that cooked for Loretta. I was incharge of the green beans. Since the Salvadorian women didn't know how to prepare them. Boil green beans on high quickly untill water is about gone, then add 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1lb bacon cut up, 1tsp pepper, 1sp salt, pinch of garlic, pinch of onion powder. Cover and simmer on low for 2hrs adding just a bit of water as needed. Anywho it was a grand memorable day. The mtn opened with 6" of fresh snow on it. I was running the top of the 1A chait, so had to be there early at 6:45am because Ski Patrol took that lift up to start the mtn. So everyday that I worked lifts I met up with Chip (top operator of Chair 8/Ruthies chair) for the skidoo ride to the top of the chair. I got to ski down at the end of the day to the terror of my lift supervisors (alot more on this later). Me: Hey Chip. Happy ThanksGiving
Chip: Hi Teej. Must be a good omen for me. You are on time and don't seem to be hungover.
Me: Excuse me. I'm not drunk. What do you mean?
Chip: Relax. We just don't expect to many lifties being sober on opening day after last nights parties.
Me: Well if it makes you feel better I haven't slept yet, but I have been in a bed .
Chip: And yes I know who was in that bed with you and we are all envious.
Me: Chip don't be. So lets get to workWith that Chip did his "bat-out-of-hell" skidoo driving impersonation to the top of 1A lift shack. And his "bat-out-of-hell" driving didn't change during the entire season either. But I have to admit that Chip and I pulled off some crazy accents riding the mtn up to our lift shacks each day we worked together that year. So I get settled in the 1A shack, then I went to do my cow-catcher/bullwheel cleaning. Basically you climb on metal piping while brushing off the snow with a broom. When I finished sweaping the snow away I followed the rest of my start up procedures, and called down to the bottom to speak with Ed so we could do our stop checks. RING RING RING Ed: Hello. bottom of 1A
Me: Hey Ed it is TJ at the top. I met you the other day. Ready to do our checks.
Ed: TeeeeeeeeeJaaaaaayyyyyyyy. Hey Carl told me nice things about you. Said you are a good one. Don't let me down. Ok AIRBORNE.
Me: How did you know I have my wings.
Ed: Carl told me. He has his as well. Both of us do. So do you still have your holes.
Me: Yep sure do. You?
Ed: Yes. Let's get this done and then get a beer afterwards. Hey what are you doing for Turkeyday? You could join the Mrs and I in El Jabel.
Me: Thanks for the great offer, but I'm spending it with my girlfriend Kat at her sisters Restuarant.
Ed: Loretta's sister is your girlfriend?
Me: Yes. She is. Why did you ask?
Ed: Because everybody wants to go out with her, or her sister. Let's do the e-stops first. OK
Me: Got itWhen Ed was referring to "holes" it was about when we recieved our Airborne wings. We chose to have blood wings. That is other men in the unit that have thier wings already beat your wings into your chest. It is a luck thing, and it is tradition that they be punched into your chest drawing just a pinch of blood. Hence the mame "bloodwings". buzz buzz buzz
The lifty phone was buzzing and it was Ed.
Ed: Hey Teej we got a celeb coming up. Good guy he wants to say hi to you. Told him you were new and that you were Airborne. And that we know you will be here all year.
Me: Ed I'm not a celeb person. I'm just here to do a good job. Who is she anyway?
Ed: It's a he, and he is not of that type. Airborne I'm doing you a solid here. Be nice to this guy. He is very cool.
So for the next 10 minute, while waiting for chair#47 to hit my loading off ramp I wondered who it was that Ed was telling me about. Then I saw only one guy on the chair riding up. Old blue down coat, dark blue bibs, old knit hat. All I was thinking is that Ed was pulling my leg a bit with my being a rookie on the first day of his job and all. Then the celeb downloaded, took off his skis, walked up, and knocked on my door. I still didn't know who he was at that point.
Star: TtttttttttJjjjjjjjj is it. I'm Jack. damn GLAD TO MEET YA SON. Ed says you were Airborne. Yes?
Me: Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Star: It's ok son. Take a deep breath. I find it relaxing to my soul to breath deeply in times of being flusterd. Here follow me. We will breath together and relax, then we can say our proper "howdy doos".
And with that I was introduced to Jack Nicoleson. He sat their and talked to me for about an hour while I opened the chair lift up.
Jack: So TttttttJjjjjj I understand you've nailed Kat. So how was it my boy. And don't skip the bells and whistles
Me: A gentleman never kisses and tells. It is just not right to do so.
Jack: I couldn't agree more dear boy. That is why I try to be the best lover possible. This way I can remain humble while other women pass the gospel about my very large thingy.
Well that day meeting Jack was more than entertaining. And believe it or not the man is a hardcore skier. He may ski like schit, but everyday he was in town he was skiing. And everyday he would say hello and carry on some small conversation with me. He is the only celebraty that I've ever met that was basically colorfully normal.
Jack would ski everyday wearing the same old blue down coat and pants. His sweater hanging out under his coat covered in snow. Same white turtleneck with this dam ass'd ugly rainbow scarf. His head was completely incased in this OVERSIZED crochet knit hat that looked like it came out of someones dumpster. He never wore his signature glasses when he skied. He always wore goggles. If you didn't know it was him, then he just looked like any other local skibum just out getting some turns. And that is what makes Jack so fukking cool.
Well I got off work and went over to Loretta's restuarant to repair the door molding and put a weather strip on the bottom of the door. Loretta reminded me about the "Jill St John: Aspen Cookbook" dinner on Saturday that I was supposed to bartend for her.
Loretta: TJ. Don't forget. Please do not talk about this dinner party to anybody. It is just for private family, friends, and the publisher.
Me: No worries. It could be the President for all I care. Infact I almost forgot about it. What's the uniform?
Loretta: Do you have a nice pair of kackies, and a button collar blue longsleeved shirt.
Me: Yes I have preppy clothes if that is what you mean.
Loretta: Funny, ha ha. Um no basketball shoes either.
Me: Yes Mistress
Loretta: In your dreams sonny boy.
Well I finished fixing Loretta's door and waited for Kat to get off of work. Her car wouldn't start again, so I went and jump started that beast once again. 3rd time in a week actually. She kept leaving the dome light on in that old ford Granada of hers. God that car was ugly
The evening went bye rather fast, and then we decided to go dancing. We ended up at Andre's around 10pm, and met up with some friends of ours. And let me tell you about Partying in Aspen during the 80's. It was no holds barred. People openly did coke on bar tables. And this night was the first time I ever saw Tamara. The Rich&Beautiful Brunnette couger (Bryce in the movie "Aspen Extreme" I guess you would say).
Well I got a good glimpse of her at anyrate. She was sitting with this ski instructor, which at times I pretended not to know because he was such an idiot named "Scott". Scott believed he looked like the actor Kirk Douglas because of his dimpled chin. This guy was so self absorbed it wasn't even funny. Whenever I walked past him, or ran into him in town I would say: "Hey Spartacus, how you hanging?".
You know what the idiot never got it that I was making fun of him. He actually thought I was paying him a compliment. Infact he went so far as to try and make it a nic-name for people to call him. Scott was the quintessencial dickhead.
So anyway I go up to the bar to buy a round for our group. Scott gets up and comes over to say hello and give me the: "look who I am with", bullschit crap he does. Scotts biggest problem was his one-upmanship he played. It just killed him that Kat was my girlfriend. He dated her for about a month till Kat dropped him like an ugly step cousin. Said he had a serious Edipus complex. Which took over and controlled his life.
Scott: Teeeeeeeeeeej. I see you are with Kat still.
Me: Yep, same as Weds when you saw us at Cooper St. So I guess you are just stuck being a ready reserve.
Scott: Always with that sharp comment Teej. Such a witty boy to come from bumfuck Ohio.
Me: That's East Bumfuck Ohio to you sir. And your from San Franscico. Well you know what they say about boys from Frisco. Still in your uniform I see. Tell me do you sleep in that thing? Or do you wear it as a way to say look at me. I'm superduper.
Scott: Well do you see who I'm with.
Me: What you bought a hooker.
Scott: No I gave Tamara a private lesson today. And now we are going to get private.
Me: Hey Scott everybody has to lose their virginity sooner or later. Have fun Spartacus, but my money is on you getting nowhere as usual.
to be cont
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Post by JB007 on Feb 28, 2006 23:44:27 GMT -5
Ok so now I'm all caught up with what I have on the other site. So who wants to hear about "Jill St Johns: Aspen Cookbook" dinner party? This was a few years after Natali Wood died, and Robert Wagner was seeing Jill. His 2 daughters were there and things were kinda strange.
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Post by JB007 on Mar 7, 2006 21:11:02 GMT -5
"ASPEN" Please God let my car start! Part 9
Well the night at Andre's turned into a friggen "smoozing fest". The creme de la creme of Aspen showed up in Andre's around 11. I stood out like a sore thumb. Me standing there in my usual Levi's, basketball shoes, and sweatshirt. Hey it was a really nice designer sweatshirt that was popular in the 80's at anyrate.
Well not 30 minutes more goes by then Scotty and his Cougar "Tamara" ended up at our table. Scott was doing his best to impress, and he got shot down fast by all. Even his date was calling him "Spartacus" along with the rest of us. I still to this day know Scott believed we were complimenting him, when we were actually insulting him.
But still no matter what I did I couldn't get that little talking to my Boss's Carl and Jimmy gave me when I got off of work. I didn't do anything really wrong, but what I did do sure did freak them out alot. They grabbed me as soon as I got into the lockerroom. The word about the trail I skied down at the end of the day got passed around at the speed of light it seemed.
Jim: TJ could you come in here for a bit. We need to talk to you.
Now I'm basking in the glory of the run I just poached within viewing of all that were sitting on the deck of " Little Nells" bar. You see before the snows came I had hiked the mtn a few times. Then when some snows hit Aspen I noticed this sliver dropping down off of this nose that emptied out a the top of the Little Nells run that all the snow funnelled into. I knew when I first saw it that I was going to ski it. If you look on the Ajax trail map it just below "Silver Rush" (used to be called Independence) there is a Dear trail. Take east and follow it. You will find the chute.
Carl: TJ it's too early in the year for cowboy skiing already.
Me: What are you talking about. I just skied down.
Jim: TJ we have trails marked that all lifties must ski down at the end of the day.
Me: Jim I was never told of this. I was told to ski down the best way I could because Ruthies was having snow made on it.
Carl: But skiing "Motherload Chute" TJ. This friggen early. What were you thinking?
Me: Is that what they call it. I just spotted it loading with snow a month ago.
Jim: Ya TJ hence the name "Motherload". I bet you don't have any skis left do you. It's all rocked out with boulders, stumps, and a big mine shaft.
Me: Skis are fine. I didn't hit anything.
Carl: TJ not very many guys can ski that. We know you can. But if you cannot adhere to the rules we have then you will end up not lasting long.
Me: Sir I do follow rules. I just didn't know. I was not informed properly by my superiors.
Jim: It never does leave you does it TJ.
Me: Nope. I know the polite way to say "fukk you" to this day
Now I know you must be thinking that I got fired. Wrong. Actually we went and got a beer afterwards. But I was very lucky. I didn't know that there was a serious old mine shaft that followed that line. The reason it doesn't get skied untill very late in the year is so that there is enough snow to cover the entrance to the shaft. I jumped over the shaft luckily. But everyday after I skied down on the runs designated to be skied down at the end of the day by employees for the rest of my time there.
So anyway I end up going over to Little Nells bar to meet up with the others for an "After Work Beaverage". Guess who I ran into. Sparticus and his dream girl. It got commical fast.
Tamara: TJ. I understand you skied the "Motherload" line today.
Scott: No way. He is not that good. That line can't be skied untill late February at best. Come on Teej did you really ski that today? If so I guess you are unemployed now at anyrate.
to be cont
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monty
Waiting in line
Posts: 4
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Post by monty on Mar 10, 2006 12:36:06 GMT -5
this are great stories keep them coming
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Post by JB007 on Mar 24, 2006 21:00:02 GMT -5
Who's ready for another chapter?
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philip
Waiting in line
Posts: 29
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Post by philip on Mar 25, 2006 7:05:01 GMT -5
I have been waiting since March 7 ;D please inc. Pics,, the ski clothes are great
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Post by JB007 on Apr 2, 2006 21:03:26 GMT -5
"ASPEN" Please God let my car start. Part 9 contMan ya know sometimes you just wanna not be bothered with. And for 30 minutes strait no matter who I talked to in that bar Scott was there 5 seconds later doing his usual "I can top this BS" Me: Look Spartacus I'm not really in the mood anymore. You are a good skier Scott and so am I. Let's leave it at that because I'm not in the move for a competition with you. I just wanna ski.
Scott: Whatever TJ. I'm better a skier than you and you know it.
Me: OK Scott. You are a better skier than me. You can now commence to telling everyone in the bar that I said you are if it makes you happy. Well you know what. The crazy idiot actually went around the Little Nell's bar telling people I said that. I really shouldn't have been surprised. But boy what a huge asp ego he had. Finally Kat showed up after she got off of work. She didn't have a great day either. So we decided to go to the Aspen Club to work out for awhile. Well she worked out. I just played basketball and stared at all of the perfect female "glutious maximus" walking around in those 80's neon thong outfits. And I do mean perfect. Suddenly while on the treadmill staring at Kat on the stairmaster in her 80's neon thong outfit ;D I remembered the private party I was bartending for her sister the next day. So I decided that I really didn't want to go out that night because I had to work my shift on the mtn and then the party. And frankly I was tired. Fast life was taking it's toll just a bit and I really needed to slow the fukk down. Kat agreed and we just stayed in. The next day was uneventful. Well except I was told I wasn't skiing down that day and I was riding the sled down with Chip. I expected that. But Jim told me the main reason I had to ride down with Chip was because the coverage from that side of Ajax back over to the gondola area was pretty bad, so that they were stopping all employees from skiing down that side for one week. So I took it in stride and wondered about the "Jill St John, Aspen Cookbook" party at 5pm. It should be quite the hoot. I wasn't disappointed. So I skip the shift beers and head strait home. Shower, shave, and put on my preppy clothes. Then headed strait to Loretta's. [glow=red,2,300]"WAGNER/ST JOHN PRIVATE PARTY"[/glow]Was taped to the front door. I walked in and I was surprised that the place wasn't all done up and decorated in some gaudy celebrity colors. Boy was I wrong. There was none. Hell Loretta was going to be serving diner on the same paper plates she served to her normal local customers. Hmmm could I be wrong about Robert Wagner and Jill St John. Minus all the "Natalie Wood" jokes. Loretta: Oh my God. You do dress up nice. Nice to see you in something other than a ripped up sweatshirt and Levi's.
Me: Nice to see you've got the cleavage action going well. Working for extra tips tonight
Loretta: Yes and it is perfect cleavage. Does it bother you that I didn't share any with my little sister?
Me: No not at all. I like the fact that I can breath and not have to wear a helmet when having sex
Loretta: Smart asp.And with that we continued to joke around and set up. At 7pm Robert Wagner, his 2 daughters, Jill St John, their Agent, and publicist walked through the door. Loretta and her brothers greeted them. Kat took orders, and then they all came to the bar where I was serving beer and Margarita's. For the purpose of saving my figures from cramping, while typing out the dialog Robert Wagner = RJ, Jill St John = JSJ, Older Daughter =D1, youngest daughter = D2, Agent = Agt, Publicist =Pub D1: I want a Margi now.
Me: Um is that a Margarita you want? And can I see your ID please.
D1: Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyy SCHIT!!! She is calling daddy at the top of her ugly asp'd, stick figured, bleached blonde, skeletor voice. And no I'm not kidding one little bit at what she looked like. Complete with New Wave leather outfit that looked like something from a bad 80's B horror flick. Ooooooh she was so fetching. Right away Robert Wagoner's agent comes over with Loretta. Both are pissed. The party hasn't even started yet and I have a feeling I'm about to be told to go home. Agt: What is the problem here?
Loretta: Yes TJ what is going on.
Me: Well she asked for a Margi and I asked for her ID. Loretta you know she must be 21 in order to drink in Colorado. And that bartender at the Tippler just got arrested for serving to miners. I'm just following the law. Now if Mr Wagner wants to take the drink and give it to her as her guardian that is what I will do. I was trying to explain this to her when she yelled Daddy.
Agt: Ok I completely understand. You were doing the right thing. She is only 16. Boy you know this is when I was fully introduced how Hollyweird celebs kids think, feel, and act liked privileged idiots with very low IQ's. Well at least the older daughter did. The youngest did look like her mother, but very plain looking. And I've never seen a picture of her since. I imagine she turned out to be a beautiful women with a great personality. RJ: Hi I'm Robert Wagner. ;D (insert celebrity charm smile here)
Me: Hi I'm TJ. What can I get you to drink Mr Wagner? Beer, Wine, Margarita?
RJ: Oh call me RJ, TJ. Sorry about the D1. Could you make me 2 non alcoholic Margarita's for D1 and my D2 little girl here. And I'll take a Dos XXX. Ya know what. RJ was a pretty cool guy. Great sense of humor, and not to mention that he was married to the Bond Girl from "Diamond are Forever". The rest of the evening went off fine. I got tipped $100 for my work. Actually the bar became the center point after a bit. It was a good time had by the guests and workers alike. I did get RJ's autograph for my mom. He was pretty cool about it. And we were talking a bit when JSJ walked past me to the bathroom. And man I gotta tell ya. I still think about her in that bikini she wore in the Bond flick, and the pre-teen frustrations she caused alot of us. end of part 9***Stayed tuned for part 10 covering the epic dumps of Dec 1-9 that changed my world forever.
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Post by JB007 on Aug 3, 2006 0:54:20 GMT -5
Well it's been awhile hasn't it? Sorry for not updating this sooner, but I haven't had much inspiration for writing lately. But maybe putting words to screen in a form to keep you all entertained might just be good karma for me. Now mind you before these next chapters in my Aspen saga continue I must warn you all. I was turning into a dipschit for a bit during this time in my life. And I must be honest about it. Somethings you will most certainly want to call me a "dipschit" over. So please be fare. Remember this was a tremendous growing period for me. If it weren't for Aspen I wouldn't be here helping you all each and everyday. And with that I will begin. "ASPEN: Please God let my car start" oh schitIt's been twenty years. And fukk if I know why I turned left instead of right one Weds night. December 13th to be exact. Kat and I had been arguing for 2 days over basically nothing. Well yes it was over something. You see Kat was married, and I had just found out. You know right now that still profoundly hurts.Kat did not love the man. He didn't even live with her for the most part. She married him so he could stay in the country. He paid for her condo rent. His illegal nephew slept on the couch. Great kid. Well educated. I remember getting stoned with him and discussing biblical philosophies in regards to modern times. No I'm not pulling your leg. We really did. Or well, schit maybe we thought we did after the first joint got smoked. Needless to say the entire "Kat Married" opera stung. I have to admit it pulled at my moral values. remember that term "moral values" later. nes pas Ummm I'll be back in five minutes. I need to think about this abit. tic tic tic Ok. I'm back. @@^$#ATDATYHA#$^&&%FYW% There it's out of my system. Oh I'm sure you are thinking I'm still mad about Kat being married to an illegal. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! I'm mad at myself. Why? you ask. Because I was a stupid young boy that was afraid to love. Yes I was very much in love with Kat. But I was a young stupid kid too. And who in the hell is this very pretty naked brunette next to me and where in the hell am I? 5 days earlierWork was very easy on this day of being a lifty. It had been snowing 2" an hour all night long with high winds. That meant instead of taking the sled up with Chip to the top of 1A I had to ride the Gondola up and wait until Patrol did avi control. And they needed to. On the western ridge of Ajax it gets alot of wind and it causes some snow clouds to stall dead in their tracks. Meaning the ridge above Aztec, and Norway (now known as Trainors) had to get blown out. It is also some of the sweetest OB skiing ever down the far ridge if you have the balls. Anywho we all loaded up on the "gongula" and awaited our turns down dipsy doodle to chair Six for the ride up after Patrol did their avi work. And folks it was oh soooooooo sweeeeeeeeeettttttttttt. It was oh so deep, and light, and oh God yes yeS yES YES it was almost better than sex. Thigh deep blower. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA We get to chair six. Well I got to chair six and waited for everybody else. Seems most fell all over the place. Well basically there was supposed to be 6 patrollers with us. They were the avi crew. Well 4 of them got taken out by a few lifty's. It was the liftys that fell and got hurt. The patrollers were taking care of them. Things got delayed for and hour because of it. I helped open Chair 6 because the liftys that got hurt was supposed to work there. Carl calls me on the radio. Carl: TJ this is Carl come back
Me: Yes Carl
Carl: I need you to open chair six until I send someone down, then get to 1A asap fastest way possible.
Me: Yes Carl. I will follow the outlined descent marked trails for all lift operators to unsure my safe and speedy arrival at the top of 1A.
Carl: TJ get there as fast as possible. What way do you want to go to get there the fastest?
Of course I was like a cat that had a mouse trapped grinning ear to ear at the prospect of what my boss just said. Remember I got yelled at just a bit ago for skiing something I wasn't supposed to. So thoughts of sugar plumbs danced in my head at the gift that was just given to moi. Me: Umm Carl I think the fastest would be to ski international to schillers. ;DNow mind you all the Patrollers that are going to ride up the chair with me are just shaking their heads. I heard early season ski death terms tossed about a few times. Not for me mind you. For my skis. Frankly I didn't get it. But then I did. I just went outside of the Patrols political boundaries as far as stash/trail openings go. Long time patroller Howie was just looking at me grinning ear to ear. Howie: damn TJ, you've got some balz. You were just given "carte Blanche" in front of patrollers, just so those big wigs get to come up and ski those runs privately before we open them at 10.
Me: Oh don't worry. I'll just keep to the very edge of the trail.
Howie: TJ you do that and it will cost you twice the amount of beers at Little Nell's tonight than it does already. You zipper that entire damn thing.
Me: OoooKKKK. I will, but why should I have to buy?
Howie: Because you are poaching the first big virgin storm and you are not a patroller yet. We have fines you know. COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL I get to ski steep black runs of thigh deep fresh pow before the fat cat celebs do. And I got Howie's hint about zippering it. Patrollers get yelled at alot by the big management when some high rollers don't get their virgin pow. The patrollers were absolutely drooling at the thought of me being able to do something they would love to, because I was ordered to by my boss. As I was pushing off they were all laughing, which faded away to the whoosh of snow going past my ears with each and every turn. It was early in the year so International wasn't all bumped out and I just gassed it fast and hard. Zippering gigantic high speed turns leaving wakes of cold smoke flowing behind me. I felt like, I felt like, HEAVEN. That run down International is still the greatest powder run of my life. The rest of the day was a blur after that. It went by like nothing. But the end of the day was a weird soap opera/freaky party. I got called into Carl's office when I got down to the bottom after closing the chair. There waiting for me was Carl, the mtn manager Kirk, and the director of marketing Peter. All looked unhappy. Carl: TJ sit down please.
Me: What's up Carl.
Peter: TJ do you know how much people pay to ski those runs on powder days?
Me: What runs? I was just told to ski as fast as possible down any way possible to open the top of lift 1A because some VIPs wanted up for private skiing. I just looked at the trail map and found the most direct route from the top of Chair 6, which was International to Schilling. I did as was instructed of me Sir!
Peter: We have marked trails for employees to follow.
Me: I pointed that out to my boss Carl. He declared openly on the radio for me to take the fastest possible way down immediately. You can ask Howie, Annie, and Tim the patrollers that were with me on the lift.
Peter: Is this true Carl.
Carl: Why yes it is. Kirk gave me the authority for TJ to ski down that way.
Kirk: Yes Peter I did. It must of slipped my mind about that while you were consistently whining in my ear about how long the avi clearing would take Peter got the hint. I was a pawn in this soap opera. After Peter left I just said a polite thank you to Carl and Kirk for the freshies. They told me it would never happen again. Bummer I thought after wards. Guess I'll just have to stick to eying out my stash line in the bomb area. Oh well that run deepened my soul as a skier. So after my so called small asp chewing I headed to "Little Nell's" to pay my debt to the patrollers. I didn't pay for one beer. In fact they were all over joyed I still had a job. After I told them all what went on they just loved it. Kirk had hated Peter for a long time. Kirk got the mtn manager job over Peter. We partied like crazy. god I was drunk. We did shooters of, hell you name it we drank it. And I mean everybody. People were still there partying in their ski boots at midnight. Then that fateful moment happened. I didn't feel good. Went outside to get some air. That didn't work so I went in to do another shot. Then discovered that I had to piss, but I was going home after wards. I felt this dark cloud of gloom come over me. I don't know why. But man I had to piss. Back to the smelly urine soaked Little Nell's mens room stumbled/walked/stumbled. So I'm standing there taking a pee and I hear this voice. Cougar: Hi I'm Tammara.
Me: Hi Tammy I'm TJ and I'm taking a piss. View OK for you? Like a said: "Ahhhh Aspen"
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Post by JB007 on Aug 22, 2006 22:27:21 GMT -5
"ASPEN: God please let my car start" Part XThe nightmare named "Tammy" had begun. Only I didn't know it at the time. Yes she did very much hit on me in the mens room in the "Little Nells" bar. She made it quite clear what she had in mind. She wanted me naked right there in the bathroom. And I was very drunk, but I never thought twice about what I would do. I turned her down. Actually I very politely turned her down. But she didn't want to take no for an answer. It seemed like I spent 5 minutes rebuttoning the buttons on my shirt that she was trying so hard to unbutton just as soon as I rebuttoned them. Me: Tammy look I have a girlfriend. Knock it off!
Tammy: NO!!! I always get what I want.
Me: Not this time. I love Kat. Not you.
Tammy: Come on TJ. You can't leave me with noodle boy Scott.
Me: Yes I can. And with that I started leaving the mensroom. And wouldn't you know it Scott was just walking in as I was walking out. Me: She's all yours Scott and you really do need to get a leash for that wildcat, or work harder at making her happyNow I didn't think to much about the mens room episode after that. I went back to the bar and drank with the rest of the gang. The night was uneventful after that. I took the "tippsy Taxi" home and didn't think twice about what went down. Boy I should have thought twice about Tammy's mensroom sexcapades, and the effects it could cause. Because that mens room "bad porn scene" action almost sent me on a downward spiral I might not have come out of. I finally got back to my apt and stumbled into bed. I watched the snow falling outside my window before falling off to dream world. I didn't mind the fact that I was only going to get 5 hours of sleep before work the next day. I was in Paradise and it was snowing. Besides it was Christmas Eve morning after all. Life seemed perfect for me at that moment. Andy: TJ, TJ, do you know what day it is?Huh, what? Ok where am I? I'm in a white van with everybody asking me what day it is. I can't move a thing on my body and my head is taped to something. Andy: TJ DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS?
Me: damn Howie you don't have to yell at me. It's Thursday. Christmas day now let me up I have to go get my mom and brother at the airport.
Andy: TJ it's me Andy. And it is Weds not Thurs. It's Christmas Eve. You have a concussion, and we are taking you to the hospital. Hmmmm. OK what has happened. Why am I going to the hospital. Well they started filling the in the pieces. It had snowed alot that night. And I was swimming in Powder trying to open the top of lift 1A. Now normally we clean the cow catchers when the lift isn't running. The cowcatchers are those ramps just before you unload incase you catch your tips before getting off. Keeps you from a long fall. However, the supervisor that day told me to clean the cowcatchers while the lift was running, and that she was going to help me because of all of the snow. Which I thought was great that she was going to help me. But all she did was watch me, while she chatted on the radio. Well after dodging chair after chair going just centimeters above my head I got the cowcatcher cleaned. I asked the supervisor for a hand up. She said she was busy on the radio. Now those cowcatchers are painted slick slanted plywood. And I do mean slick, especially with snow on them. Well to make a long story short I had just gotten to the top of the cowcatcher when the supervisor decided she could help me. She helped me alright. When she turned towards me she knocked me back into the cowcatcher causing me to slip and hit my head on the chair being towed by at 20mph. It knocked me out cold. That is why I was going to the hospital. So I show up at the Aspen Valley Hospital in the patrol ambulance. I had x-rays done. They thought I had a broken neck so I got shipped down to the Glenwood Springs hospital for a CAT scan. The CAT scan showed no fracture but they kept me in the hospital over night. When they put me in a room I called Kat immediately. Me: Hey kitty I'm in the hospital. I got a consussion at work. I'm in room 104A
Kat: Good I hope you die!
Me: Funny.
Kat: No I hope you die. I ran into Scott. He said you screwed Tammy in the mens room at Little Nells last night. We're through.
Me: You have got to be kidding. You are going to believe that? You are going to believe what Scott said before you even ask me about it or hear my side.
Kat: I don't need to hear any other side. It's happened to me before. I knew better than to date a skibum.
Me: Look I'm in the Hospital. The least you could do is come talk to me in person.Schit. I can't believe she doesn't trust me enough and believes that piece of schit Scott, which has been dying to get into her pants since the dawn of skibunnydom. What was I going to say to her? What a 24hrs I have had. First I almost lose my job, only to be treated like a hero. Now I'm losing my girlfriend. I felt like a long lost episode from tke "Days of Our Lives" soap opera on TV. What is going to happen next for me? To be cont
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Post by JB007 on Aug 25, 2006 21:57:51 GMT -5
"ASPEN: Please God let my car start" part XWell I had been in my hospital room for about 2hrs and no Kat came calling. I was mad as hell, but there was nothing I could do about the situation. I was ready to beat the schit out of Scotty-boy the next time I saw him. But then it hit me, and I mean it hit me hard. It was what was in Kat's statement about me being a ski bum that tore at my gut. I realized that no matter what I do she will equate me with being a dirt bag ski bum. Frankly I think the term ski bum is a great thing. But to her it was a material world. I didn't think she was that way at all. She seemed so comfortable in my ski bum world. But her slip of the tongue brought to the forefront that I was just entertainment to get her by until she found someone better. Someone of more fiscal stature. The irony about things was that she was a ski bum too. She did after all marry and illegal alien that paid for her condo to help her stay in Aspen. If that isn't a ski bum move I don't know what is. Frankly ski bums don't have many material belongings that amount to saying: " look at me I have way cool schit so I must be rich". My material life was skis, boots, ski clothes, clean socks/ underwear, apt, car, and my stereo. I didn't even own a TV when I got there. I didn't care to own a TV to be honest with you. If I wanted evening entertainment I just went and sat on a bench in the Mill St pedestrian mall and watched the "TOURIST TV" As time slipped by while I was feeling sorry for myself. The door to my hospital room swung open and then entered Kat wearing a evening gown of all things with a McDonald's bag. I figured the gown was for the big Christmas Eve party at the Hotel Jerome. Only the "who's who" of Aspen got invited to this event. I guess she thought bringing me a big mac and fries would soften the blow. Kat: TJ I am sorry. I ran into Tammara and she told me that you would do nothing.
Me: What's the dress for?
Kat: I'm going to the Jerome party.
Me: So much for spending Christmas Eve with me huh!
Kat: But you're in the hospital.Can you believe that schit. It still floors me that she said that when ever I think about it. I mean I felt like I just got planted six feet under and my Widow couldn't wait to get out and PAAARRRRTAAAYYYY. Me: Kat you let me know in your ski bum remark that I am a class below you. Take your burger and fries and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Kat: TJ NO!. It's just stupid remark and I'm sorry. I'll see you in the morning when you get out of the hospital and we can get back to being normal.
Me: Kat if you were in the hospital tonight where would I be?
Kat: You would be here of course.
Me: And you are going to a party. Goodbye KatWe both talked a bit longer and cried. But the damage was done. God it still hurts. Funny thing how irony works. Kat and I still love each other quite a bit years later, and we always will. Unfortunately when we did finally get our schit together we were never single at the same time for us to be together. But she is very happy now. She is married with 2 children to a great guy. damn if sometimes I don't wish it was me. Well the next morning I was being discharged from the hospital and was told to take the next two days off work by the Doctor. Smitty one of the lift supervisors came to pick me up. He was glad I was alright. I just wanted to go home to bed. But wait I had to turn around and pick up my mom and brother flying in from Ohio at the airport around 1pm. Geez. Am I ready to deal with Gage and Mom in my little apt for a week? Heh are we ever ready to deal with siblings and parents staying at your house on vacation? Now if you want entertainment just hang out in the Aspen Airport and watch what kind of people get off of those jets. Mostly it was wealthy people mixed in with the occasional hollyweird celebrity who's TV show got canceled 3 years earlier. I got a kick out of seeing three of the actors from the show "Dynasty" get off of the same bird. Aspen, go figure! to be contDOES ANYBODY EVEN READ THIS THREAD?
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Post by Rocknronny on Aug 27, 2006 19:04:55 GMT -5
YEP! Now sit down and write us another chapter. RR
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Post by JB007 on Sept 5, 2006 21:59:45 GMT -5
OK guys. I'm going to publish a book. But I don't have a clue how to do it. And actually I don't have the time to figure it out. Figure out how to self publish, because that is the only way it can be done and I want more control over editing.
Now a few editors have read my stuff and they say it is great. My writing is very crisp is what they say. But like I said I need you guys help figuring this out.
Now I will finish the Aspen story very quickly now. For a couple of reasons. Mostly for your entertainment, but also so I can work on this past year's experiences for the book. As well as other short stories like experiences with the Toledo Ski Club at their lodge up at Boyne Mtn when I was a member. All those and many more stories will be included. I figure it will be about 200 pages. Perfect for parkas, packs, and planes. And with that I will begin.
"ASPEN: Please God let my car start" part X cont
So I'm waiting and waiting and waiting for my moms plane to arrive. The reason I was waiting and waiting was because everything was on a weather hold. It was figgen dumping with high winds. But a window opened up and I found out my moms plane wouldn't arrive for another hour, so off to the bar I went. Guess who was bartending? Coke dealing Kevin. Same bartender from the day I went through the Skico hiring clinic. I guess he wanted to get to his customers sooner as the reason he was relocating jobs. I soon found out differently.
Kev: Teej. What's ya having buddy.
Me: Hey Kev. Just give me a bud.
Kev: Sorry man. We don't carry bud here. Just Heineken, Mich, Mich lite, Amstel light, Becks.
Me: Ya, ya just give me a Mich. It's just bud anyway.
And then it happened. Same as the first time I met him. Plane landed. I counted 9 people that paid Kevin a visit from that plane. Mostly women. Ordered a drink for a $100 and a little white bindle came back with their change. It was that smooth.
Me: Kev man I gotta ask you. Aren't you ever worried about getting caught? It ain't no secret around town what you do. And now in the airport. You got balls man. I would be scared to death.
Kev: Relax TJ. I got it wired. A city official brings it in.
Kevin was not bullschitting me one little bit. But like sex all good things must come to an end. Kevin's city official was actually the "Aspen City Manager" and he got busted big time. Kevin disappeared one night and nobody to this day knows what happened to him. I figured he got himself dead just like the guy that got blown up in his Jeep outside of the Tippler because he was testifying to save his sorry asp. Well "BOOM WENT THE DYNAMITE" and pieces of him went flying for a block. No I'm not kidding.
Ok back to the topic at hand. It's Christmas Day and I'm at the Airport Lounge for God's sake watching Kevin sell coke to people wearing fur. It was like a bad MTV music video, back when MTV actually showed music videos. I half expected David Lee Roth to come jumping out of the bar's popcorn machine at any moment. Or maybe, maybe my life at the moment seemed like a bad MTV music video. Either way I just did what I always do. I just sat back and became an observer of what my reality was at that moment and enjoyed the view.
After 2 more beers I could spot which people were from what region of the country, if not world. New Yorkers all wore fur and beooched at everybody. The Hollywierd crowd all looked like they were going to have a panic attack if they didn't get everything done their way. I watched this one soap opera actor almost pass out because the foam on his cappuccino wasn't done correctly. Midwesterners always said please or excuse me. I found that amazing.
Well finally my mom's plane touched down. Now it was great seeing my mom on Christmas Day. But my brother Gage on the other hand is a completely different feeling. He's a great to visit with for a couple of hours but after that you just want to kick his ego centric over opinionated ass all over the place. And he was going to be staying with me in my little studio apt for a week. He was a last minute deal and my mom just begged me.
So they come in the gate. My mom is hugging me and crying. Gage is just standing there.
Gage: So mom says you can get me a deal on some skis. Let's go do that first.
Me: Well Merry Christmas to you too. We'll talk about it later. Hi mom. Merry Christmas
Well two hours of getting the luggage and Gage's beooching. And more pregnant doging. Well maybe it wasn't that much beooching, but you have to remember I just got out of the hospital with a concussion and I broke up with my girlfriend. (start the country music now please, ugh)
Well I get them into my apt and we unpack them. My mom went to take a shower so that left Gage and me alone. A silence was broken when Gage almost put me in a rage.
Gage: Hey TJ can I talk to you a minute.
Me: Sure what do you need.
Gage: You think you can help me sell this while I'm here?
That's when he showed me what was in the bottom of his suitcase. A half pound of pot. The son-o-beooch packed a half pound of pot in his suitcase and put my mother at risk.
to be cont
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Post by JB007 on Sept 6, 2006 22:04:29 GMT -5
"ASPEN: Please God let my car start" part X contSo I'm standing there looking at said bag of weed in my brothers suitcase trying to contain my rage. I couldn't believe he would jeopardize our mother that way. Worse yet what was the rest of week going to be like until he left Jan 2nd. A Valium addiction seemed surprisingly pleasant to me at that point I must admit. I bit my tongue and quickly changed the subject to getting him some skis as a way to bring some calmness to the situation. This would buy me some time to think about this weed problem and what I should do. At least I hoped it would. And it did. I mentioned skis and Gage lit up right away. Subject officially change, we're going to get some skis. Me: OK mom said you need skis, boots, and bindings. So I hooked you up with a pair of 200cm Pre Premiers with Salomon 647 bindings and Nordica N951 boots. Costs you $300 for the entire package deal.
Gage: 300 bucks. That is the cheapest you can do. I could have gotten that back home at Mtn Man ski shop in Toledo.
Me: Well then by all means flap your arms back to Mtn Man's in Toledo and buy them and ski Mt Brighton. Because I'll tell ya what. If mom didn't beg me to let you come here I would have said no fukking way. But you are my brother and it is Christmas. I have you hooked up with a top notch ski package. It would cost you way over $1000 at Mtn Man.
Gage: Well you don't have to get mad about it. Wouldn't you want the best deal if you were spending a bunch of money.
Me: Gage I'm your big brother. Not a used car salesman. I just got out of the hospital this morning with a concussion and my head friggen hurts. I want this week to be a good time. Do you want this week to be a good time or not.
Gage: Yes TJ I do. I'm sorry, so can we go get my skis and lift tickets.
Me: We'll get your boots fitted so they can mount the skis, and then get your lift tickets. I have 3 one day vouchers and 2 half day vouchers. You will have to pay the difference in the 2 half days. It will cost you basically $40 for a 5 day lift ticket.
Gage: Great. Wanna burn one before we go.
Me: Yes and it better be a big one with all the schit you brought with you. And you should be very nice to me for all I've done for you already. HINTSo we go get into my Ford escort and head to the ski shop at the base of Buttermilk where all SkiCo employees had to go to buy their gear. Gage's boots fit great so the skis got mounted to be picked up in the morning. And off we headed for the "lets burn a joint cruise while driving the back mtn roads of Aspen" tour. So we did. With "Rush's: All the Worlds a Stage" playing on the cassette deck (it's the 80's remember) we headed back to the Maroon Bells going past Aspen Highlands and then having to turn around by the T-Lazy7 dude ranch. We stopped by the old bridge and actually had a pretty cool conversation. Well pleasantly cool by Gage's and my standards at any rate. It was weird at that bridge though. Kat and I had hung out there a few times. I was still numb from that. Actually I was pretty numb from the weed. I hadn't smoked that much since moving here and at altitude it really hits you. **KURRRRR-SPLASH*** OMG. I looked over and Gage was in the river. He got up to walk towards the car when I did, but he got a head rush and slipped in the river falling flat on his ass in about a foot of icy roaring fork water. Karma baby, karma. It can hit you hard. I guess karma was pissed at Gage for his "attitude at altitude" you could say. Either way I damn near fell in the river myself from laughing so hard while helping him up. But I was milking it and helping him very slowly to extend his "shrinking ball sack from freezing water" nightmare alittle longer. hehehehe (picture taken not 5 minutes before this happened) I got him back to the car and pulled my emergency clothes out of my pack and had him strip right there. 4 cars went by and honked at him. Gage was his usual self and flipped them the bird. I knew I would have to give him an education about the locals here and skibum culture in general. Gage: What's so damn funny that they are honking at me?
Me: They aren't laughing at you. Most likely they were poaching runs off of the back side of Highlands out of bounds and they were changing clothes outside of their cars a few minutes ago. They think that is what you were doing. It was their way of giving you a high five.
Gage: Oh I didn't know.
Me: Gage it is a different world here. Think Ozzie and Harriet politeness with a pothead spin on it. That is skibum culture to some extent. They are the nicest people on earth and will do anything for anybody because they have been through hard times too. People really depend upon one another here just to survive.Gage took what all I had to say in. That was the cool part of our conversation. He acutally listened for a change. It was quite refreshing. I took it as a Christmas gift from him because I knew the cheap skate never got me one. Well Gage got changed and we headed back. We ended up picking up this one kid that was a lifty at Highlands hitchhiking off of the road. His name was Ethan and he skied a very secret stash line down after he closed his lift. It is so secret I won't even mention it to this day. Anyway I figured we needed the karma points so I picked him up. And we got Karma points for sure. Ethan cooked 3 nights a week at the popcorn wagon. I didn't pay for a chili dog ever again while Ethan was working at the Popcorn Wagon that entire season. Well the rest of the night was uneventful. We went to Little Annie's for dinner and it was killer as usual. Took my mom for a sleigh ride and then home. I needed sleep but they wanted to watch the TV that Doug from downstairs was letting me use while they were visiting. I didn't really watch TV. I just kept looking outside. It was dumping. And I do mean dumping. It was supposed to clear off just before dawn. We were going to ski Buttermilk the next day to get Gage his ski legs. I didn't care. It was supposed to be blue bird sky's, cold temps, and 12-18" of fresh blower. MERRY CHRISTMAS indeed. (picture taken at Buttermilk. we got 2nd chair on tiehack") to be cont
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Post by JB007 on Sept 7, 2006 22:15:31 GMT -5
"ASPEN: God Please let my car start" part X contWell the alarm went off at 6am. My head was still killing me. I most likely should not have been skiing, but since we were skiing Buttermilk I felt I shouldn't be in any danger. Beside the Tiehack side of Buttermilk was always empty. And I do mean empty. Buttermilk may be a beginners mtn, but the eastern side has some serious expert runs to it. Well that and the backside OB down to the road. Hehehehe Well getting Gage up and going was another experience. The kid never liked to get up even as a kid. In fact he was a serious pain in the ass getting up in the morning. But all I had to say was "powder and lets get your new skis" and he was ready to go. So we walk down to the bus stop. I left my car for my mom in case she wanted to go tooling around. The bus came at 7am and we were at Buttermilk 15 minutes later. We walked over to the Inn and had breakfast. They did have a killer breakfast buffet there. The only problem was that you had a tendency to eat to much and get sluggish before you even started skiing. Gage powered down 3 full plates. I just kept my mouth shut because I knew he would be "spewing stew" in about an hour after his first run. He's never skied pow before. The carnage should be spectacular. So we get the very first chair at the base quad. Hang a left at the mid station for the cat track to the Tiehack side. It took us 20 minutes to get there because Gage was take one turn and fall. Then take another turn and fall. By the 4th fall he was unzipping everything. I was getting frustrated. Unfortunately he never spewed chow. Me: So are you ready to listen to me?
Gage: Yes. What should I do?
Me: Quit freaking out and thinking you have to snow plow. Put your skis together and build some speed. After you have built some speed sit your butt down alittle bit and lean to the direction you want to turn. Then stand up and start over again when you want to turn the other direction.
Gage: What about my poles. Don't you want me to keep my shoulders square.
Me: Just do this and we'll worry about the rest later. We'll practice on this green run until the chair. The chair doesn't open until 9am so we have time.
Gage: My boots feel huge.
Me: Well tighten them down then. We showed you how to adjust them last night like 10 times. Seriously just slow it down a bit.
Gage: Can we smoke a joint TJ?
Me: Gage if you have to smoke a joint before you ever attempt to do something that can challege you then you should be buried in a couch when you die. Besides it is a powder day and we don't have the time. And I would rather have you be alert OK.
Gage: OK, I just need to relax.
Me: You are in Aspen on a powder day. Gage it doesn't get any more relaxing than that. Now I know what you are thinking. So much for my blue bird powder day. You are wrong. Gage is a motocross racer and has a very good sense of balance. He was making pretty good turns within an hour. So we just tore it up. We got second chair on Tiehack and got in 5 untracked runs before anybody else other than ski patrol showed up on that side. Like I said sometimes on powder days the Tiehack side of Buttermilk is where it is at. Nobody pays any attention to it. In fact we hit the lift line on the west side of Buttermilk all afternoon and we were the only guys doing it. (taken around 2pm that day) Gage: TJ I couldn't understand why you came here. Well I do now.
Me: Gage I know and thank you. But this is just a good day and you are here to enjoy it. But life here has the same ups and downs as back home. But fukk man the skiing makes anything tolerable.
Gage: I imagine so. Think I can get a maintenance job here.
Me: *cough cough* Hey lets do the DH race top to bottom like we used to at Mt BrightonAs kids Gage and I would always end the day doing a couple of tuck runs down to the lodge until our lift tickets ran out, or Mr Liske from school came to drag us back to the bus. Mostly dragged it was. But we took off racing just like when we were kids. Laughing and talking schit back and forth all the way down. It was so cool. It wasn't really a straight DH coursewe did. We first did a ski down to figure our course out. Hey we were stoned and crazy, but not stupid. We started off on Savio, to Lovers Lane, then hard right onto Homestead Road following around the hairpin turn then take a hard right on Columbine to the first slow signs at the base. Loser has to buy the Pitchers of beer. Gage bought 2 pitchers that day. We were going to go for a 3rd lap until we kinda got yelled at a bit. So we decided not to push it. damn one shy of a hattrick. Besides the bar was calling our names. Unfortunately just like when we were kids there was my mom waiting for us at the bottom. I felt like I was back home when it was getting dark, and mom was making me come inside before the other boys had too. Mom: Thought you boys might like a ride. I'm done shopping.
Me: Um mom we were going to get a beer.
Mom: Great I'll buy.
Me: No Gage will. He lost again.
Mom: How many did you take him for.
Gage: He beat me twice. But I aways beat you in motocross.
Me: Yes you did. I'll give you that. But you are on skis now and they only sell expensive beer here. Amstel sounds good to me. It's $8 a pitcher (it was the 80's remember)So off and over to the Inn we go. And it was cougar heaven. to be cont
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