February 20, 2023 Snowmagedon

Barrman tossed and turned in the night. His mind was filled with dreams of the past and dreams of the future. He drifted through dreams of work that turned into dreams of powder- Okanagan Champagne powder. He saw it as clearly as if he were awake. Snow caressed his calves as he slid down the steep turns of the Cliff Chair. Face shots flowed over his head and he howled in delight.

He woke up and saw the clock’s red numbers beside his bed – 5:45 – He was sure it was am. He rolled over and hugged his wife and closed his eyes. He lay there waiting for sleep to come back, but it would not come. His mind was filled with powder dreams. When Big Boarder and Barrman left Big White the day before they’d been skiing fresh lines and the snow filled in where they left off. 

When they drove away it was still snowing.

Barrman squeezed his wife and whispered in her ear, “Let’s go skiing.” 

“Mmm, ok…” Came Kaydee’s muffled reply.

Barrman rolled over and climbed out of bed. The clock now read 6:15. He put on his house coat and went downstairs to his computer, When he flipped it to the Big White website adrenaline soared through his veins. It was time to move. He’d never seen the number he read before and wasn’t going to delay. He raced back upstairs, thoughts of stealth left by the wayside. 

“Wake up honey, Big White is reporting thirty-four centimetres!”

“Huh, what? Did you say thirty-four?” Kaydee opened her eyes.

“Yes babe, thirty-four. Let’s go, go, go!”

“Ok. I’m coming.”

Barrman practically leaped out of his skin he was so excited. He grabbed his phone and texted his riding buddy and neighbour Big Boarder; Wake up, 34 cm.

He paced the room and started getting ready. His ski pants were hanging from being washed the night before so he threw them in the dryer to get them dry. That gave him time to make a magical cup of java and get dressed. He put some English muffins in the toaster and looked at his phone. No reply from Big Boarder, he was bouncing like a kid at Christmas at this time and wanted to share it with the world. He picked up the phone and called Big Boarder, no answer. He sent another text, this time it was a gif with a dog bouncing on someone’s bed telling them to wake up. 

Kaydee sleepily came down the stairs and started to get ready. Barrman urged her to hurry, he put on his braces, checked his ski pants, and packed his ski bag. The toaster popped and he made sandwiches for himself and Kaydee.

Barrman looked at the time on his phone – 6:50. He called upstairs to Kaydee, “We have to leave in the next fifteen minutes babe, hurry.” 

Quickly he gathered their bags of gear and packed the car. Daylight was starting to brighten the world and he felt a greater sense of urgency. One more time he tried Big Boarder, but there was no answer, so he sent a picture of the driveway snow report, the photo showed how much snow there was, and the webcam indicated over twenty centimetres since the end of the previous day. It was time to go, he hope Big Boarder would see his messages and respond soon. He didn’t want to wait, there were no friends on a powder day.

Kaydee came down and they finished loading the car – it was time to go. Big Boarder hadn’t replied so they would leave without him Just as they pulled out of the driveway the phone went off, Have you left yet? Big Boarder had finally come to life.

But it was too late, they were leaving.

“What should I tell him?” Kaydee held Barrmans phone.

“Just tell him, yes we’ve left.” But they were still on the street, it wasn’t too late. “Just call him.”

“Dude! Have you left yet? I just got your texts and saw you called,” Big Boarder sounded awake and alert.

“Yes, we are just on the front road, how long till your ready?” Barrman didn’t want to delay any further it was now 7:15 and they needed to hurry to make first chair.

“I need ten minutes.”

Barrman turned his head and looked at Kaydee, they were only a couple blocks away at this point. “What do you think honey?”

“Let’s wait for him,” Kaydee replied.

Barrman spun the car around and circled back, “Ok, dude we’re coming for you, hurry, hurry!”

Eight minutes later Big Boarder was in the car with them and excitement flowed through the trio of intrepid powder hunters. 

Traffic grew as they neared the hill and Barrman restrained himself from passing. There was always one person going too slow and holding up traffic. Barrman was anxious and wanted to pass everyone. But he knew there was no point.

They reached the Gem Lake Express and pulled into the parking lot. It was a busy lot and the chair was already headed to the heavens loaded with powder seekers. The three snow riders packed up and changed into their ski gear. By 8:50 they were at the chair and ready to load. Big Boarder was there with his friends Robby and his wife, Erin. They’d already done a lap on Black Jack and were thrilled to have gotten first tracks in the steep groomed run.

They loaded the chair and went to the heavens. The big first-world problem they wanted to solve was which run to ski? Barrman suggested the Sunrype Bowl but also knew if Black Jack was groomed it could be sweet. But with the number of people on the hill that morning, it could be skied out. 

When they reached the top Robby and his wife said they wanted to go back to Black Jack so the five riders headed that way. When they got there they found some fresh lines but it was a tough first run for Kaydee. Kaydee never fully recovered from the knee injury so she was struggling to keep up in the deep chopped powder. At just under five feet tall she was skiing snow that sloughed well past her knees.

Barrman stood on the top of a ridge over-looking Black Jack as he watched his wife struggle in the deep, chopped snow. He wanted her to join him in the trees, the snow was untouched in the glades on the edge of the run. Looking to his right he saw the welcoming deep powder chute below. But something held him in place. He saw Kaydee fall and her ski popped off.

Oh no!

Her ski heal didn’t release, there was no brake. Runaway ski! Barrman left thoughts of powder heaven behind. He pointed his skis down and across the run. One mission took over, stop Kaydee’s ski. Faster he plowed through the chopped snow. He hollered to Robby, “Runaway ski!” 

He raced as fast as he dared and stuck out his pole. By inches, he caught the ski and it flipped in the air and landed sideways, right beside Bobby. Barrman lay there, relieved he made it. The run was so steep he didn’t know how far that ski would have gone. Kaydee was having a tough enough time in the deep chopped powder on two skis. He couldn’t imagine how tough it would be on one.

Slowly she made her way down the hill and he tossed her ski as far as he could to her. Breathless and tired she called out thanks and put on her ski.

“Go ahead babe, don’t wait for me I’ll meet you in an hour,” Kaydee called out to her husband. She also said the same to their friends.

“No way honey, I’m not going to leave you,” Barrman knew there were no friends on a powder day, but there were wives. And he wanted to make sure she would make it down. He wanted her to enjoy the day as much as he was. “Honey just follow me along the edges, stay out of the middle. The snow is fresher near the trees. Just lean back and let your skis flow. The snow will slow you down.”

On the next run, they went to the Sunrype bowl and found fresh lines. Barrman and Big Boarder popped into the trees and they meet the others at Blue Moon. Blue Moon was practically untouched by other skiers and they floated on a deep blanket of snow. They carved fresh lines in the deep powder and whoops of joy exploded from their lungs.

It was a day for the record books.

Barrman couldn’t help but exclaim to his friends, “This is day fourty-five and it’s the best day ever!”

After lunch, Barrman and Big Boarder left Kaydee in the lodge to go for a couple more runs. They traversed high and found a fresh track in the trees. It was some of the deepest snow Barrman had skied and it lapped up to his thighs and he found fresh lines in the trees. 

Exhausted they emerged from the trees and slid toward Blue Moon one more time. Barrman was having so much fun he didn’t see the drop-off until it was too late.

The impact was sudden and he fell on his back. His skis stayed on and he felt his knees strain with his body weight. He lay there on the ground checking to feel if he was all in one piece. He felt relief that he had no intense pain anywhere. Just his entire body ached with the strain. Time to lose that extra weight he thought to himself as he struggled to get back up. 

What a day it was, but maybe it was time to call it quits. Big Boader rode up and asked if he was alright. He was, but he was also very sore.

It felt like a close call with injury. He didn’t want day fourty-five to be his last. He felt sorry for his friend Cookster stuck in his condo, injured after day eighty-eight. Barrman wanted to make at least fifty days on skis. He had lots of time and knew it was within reach of being his best year ever. Maybe flying down the hill and taking air wasn’t the best way to do that. He wasn’t twenty-three anymore.

Kaydee was in the lodge, her feet up and relaxed, a look of contentment on her face. It was an amazing day in powder heaven. The three snow riders loaded up the car and headed back to the real world. 

Barrman was content letting the traffic flow. He knew it would be a slow drive to town, there was always a slow poke in the front of the train of cars. They got home at four o’clock and enjoyed the warmth of the valley. They all agreed it was another awesome day living in paradise. 

The driveway ski report