The Joys of Slowing Down

It takes a lot of hard work to open a piece of terrain, especially a piece as steep, daunting and tricky as Monarch Mountain’s Mirkwood Basin.

In order to mitigate avalanche danger and press together a base that will stick to the rocks and loose hillsides, skiers - mostly free-heelers for this task - boot pack the entire face of Mirkwood in November and December. Their reward is a free season pass for next winter, a couple of burning quadriceps and the satisfaction of knowing they helped expert skiers enjoy Monarch just a little bit more. Mirkwood is 130 acres of tree chutes, rock bands and open bowl skiing that stands alone at Monarch as an expert haven. The area opened for the season on Saturday, taking advantage of a base depth that has hit the 40-inch mark.

But that base would not mean anything without the boot-packers because Mirkwood is too steep to hold the light and fluffy snow that falls atop the Continental Divide here in South Central Colorado on its own. It needs a little human compaction.

Picture a dozen patrollers and their recruits, lured by that free season pass, walking up and down the bowl for eight hours a day. That’s what it takes. And on Saturday, I sampled a bit of their footwork.

Mirkwood was a bit dicey Saturday. There was plenty of fresh lines but you had to keep your eyes wide open for stumps, rocks and whatever else lies beneath. “Early season conditions exist” were the operative words. It’s a 15 to 20 minute hike to get there, and you start to wonder weather it is worth it halfway down a run where anything other than the most ginger of turns and slowest of speeds invites unforeseen troubles. Then you realize that skiing doesn’t always have to be an aggressive, full-speed-ahead affair. There are merits to taking it slow down a beautiful evergreen forest, taking in the regal trunks of the trees, taking note of their spacing and how the rocks scatter within openings. Skiing, at its core, is a mode of transportation. A way to get from point A to point B. Today’s equipment has made it a sport. And there’s no denying the appeal of pushing high-speed turns through thrilling terrain on high-tech skis that can handle your best then beg for more. But when you are forced to slow down, like I was Saturday in Mirkwood, a different kind of high comes rushing in. It’s a feeling of increasing appreciation for the hillsides that provide the rush of our sport and give us the opportunity to be fast and aggressive.

Those boot-packers know exactly what I’m talking about.

They sure slowed it down, taking it step by step through an enchanted area of Monarch. In my early season rush to devour all the powder I could find, I lost sight of the pleasures of taking it slow. Saturday’s first Mirkwood run reminded me, and it’s a lesson I’ll keep with me all season.