USA 2009 - PART 3

Wednesday March25th - Flirting With A 6-Pack

I was up and ready at 8am and headed to the reception for a coffee and a check on the conditions as today I was heading down to Willamette Pass($45, 1563ft, 555a). The receptionist was very friendly and pointed out that ODOT were claiming 1" of new snow on Willamette Pass and it was still snowing and quite windy.

Headed south from Bend, the flakes got steadily bigger and the road whiter as I headed to Crescent and all the way down to the turnoff for Hwy-58. On the way back I would find that you can cut this off and turn off at Crescent saving around 10 miles or more off the journey.

I arrived before 10am in a whiteout with plenty of space in the parking lot and got my gear together, bought my ticket and jumped on the Eagle Peak Accelerator lift which took me to the top of the mountain. The snow was absolutely throwing it down but I was really impressed with an express 6-pack that whisked me to the top of the mountain and I had to wonder if they ever really needed that capacity but at the same time questioning why many other resorts are not quite so modern in their approach.

Anyway, I headed to the backside of the mountain and found some magnificent conditions in what I guess in places was 18" of wind blown fresh powder although you had to exercise caution not to hit a scraped area. June's Run and several other down the back were fabulous although the visibility in the wind driven snow was zero and it is not often that I am warmer on the lift than skiing but holding my poles was a chore and I was almost glad to get back on the lift even though I arrived at the top looking more like a snowman than a skier.

Around 11.30am I was in need of warming myself up and lunch so I headed down the front side of the mountain to the lodge and picked a seat looking out on the slopes and a bacon cheeseburger, fries and coke($8.25) to satisfy my hunger and thirst.

Back out I ventured up top but found an even stronger wind so decided to ski the lower lift and find some scraps of fresh that had not been touched and there was quite a lot to be had but with the damp and a cold, biting wind I called it a day at 2pm, packed up the car and headed for home. I was extremely impressed with Willamette Pass overall and will definitely head back there at some point. An efficient lift system, a nice base area and plans to expand with trails on two sides of the West Peak which is to the left as you look up from the base area.

I took the cut-off to Crescent and again found a different day completely with lovely sunny skies. Stopping off at Fred Mayer for some Hot Tamales I grabbed some Hot Tamales Fire and I am certain the middle aged woman on the counter was flirting when she asked whether I liked it extra hot but I kept it clean and paid my $10 for 10 large boxes. Brilliant value and kept us going for a while.

Stopping at the reception I checked my emails before heading back to my room for the night with the usual channel hopping and a few beers before an early night.

Thursday March 26th - A Pile Of Hash And Icing

With a fairly short drive to Mt Bachelor($58, 3365ft, 3683a) I was in no real rush to get going so I headed to the reception for my coffee and to check my emails before checking out as tonight I would be heading on the road again.

Heading back to my car I walked past 2 stunning blonde girls coming out of a room and I had to wonder where they had spent the previous night as there seemed to be no bars close by. Perhaps they spent it at the dodgy sex shop! Anyway, I headed on the short drive to Bachelor in brilliant sunshine and arrived at 9.30am in a busy parking lot but just a short walk to the ticket office and lifts.

I was served by a guy from Bountiful, Utah who was interested to know what took me to Oregon and we had a short chat about my forthcoming trip to Utah with Solitude being his favourite mountain. On to the lifts I was faced by a massive line and it took about 15 minutes to finally get on the chair and during this time I found that it was due to the Summit. Outback and Northwest lifts not running.

After ten minutes at the top waiting to see if they were going to open a patroller came up and told us all that icing was the problem and that he could not give an indication of how long it would take so I decided to venture over towards the Skyliner Express and see if the queue there was any better but could quickly see it was as bad so made the decision to have brunch which would allow me to ski through to a finish.

The West Village Lodge was pretty busy with a few people clearly having the same idea as myself and waiting for the queue on Pine Marten to dissipate a little. I grabbed a seat and some sausages, hash browns and gravy all washed down with a coke($5.25). It was an incredible mound and I really struggled to finish it all but I gave it a good old shot.

I ventured back out at about 10.45am as the queue began to disappear and the news was that all lifts were now spinning so seeing everyone heading to the Northwest lift I decided to ski across to the Sunrise area of the mountain and found some great conditions on the various trails before hitting the Summit Express as well as the trails to the lookers left of the lift.

I finished up on this side of the mountain and ventured round the back of the summit which due to the wind scouring of snow was something similar to skiing on the moon in places as it just looked and felt surreal. It was strange as there were clouds at this side and visibility quickly disappeared completely on my way down making for tricky turns and I landed in trees with no real idea of where exactly I was and I was relieved to eventually see the Northwest lift to my right.

A couple groomers as I made my way back to the base and I called it quits at 1.30pm and gave my ticket away as I had a long drive of around 250 miles to my next stop, Baker City. I was quite impressed with the terrain at Bachelor and will definitely make it back at some point although they really need to get the lifts spinning at the bell.

It was a beautiful drive on quiet roads from Bend towards Baker City and with the sun shining it felt more like summer than late March. Some of the views were superb as I followed the winding road through canyons with steep sides, strange flat topped mountains and beautiful meandering rivers and streams. I can always imagine cowboys and Indians of a bygone era in these parts.

Making good time I thought about stopping in John Day for a beer but figured carrying on all the way without stopping made more sense and I arrived in Baker City shortly after 6pm but looking at my map I figured that I'd get to Anthony Lakes in the morning easier from North Powder some 20 miles or so north. Onward I took a quick drive up I-84, crossing the 45th Parallel, and found only the North Powder Motel and no sign of any bars so my decision was to head to Baker City which had much more to it.

Driving around town I spotted a few options but the most central option and at a decent price was the Budget Inn which looked pleasant enough so I parked up and headed into the reception where I was met by a really friendly older guy who quickly got a room for me and I got a fantastic rate of $36 and after a quick chat about what I was doing he sold me a voucher for a lift ticket for tomorrow at Anthony Lakes for $17.50 which was a saving of around $11. Pretty nice ski and stay package.

Back to my room I had a couple beers before heading down to the centre of town to see what there was in the way of bars. Freezing cold I noticed a small bar which I figured would be my kind of place so I ventured into Stockman's and grabbed a seat at a quiet bar. It was a strange sort of place as it was a bar and a Chinese restaurant rolled into one with a Chinese couple behind the bar who spoke largely Chinese to one another.

The only other people in the bar at that stage were a group of people playing poker and one or two people playing pool. As the evening wore on it became a little busier and I had a right good laugh as a young skanky female was trying to get me to buy her a drink and sitting beside me was a guy I'd guess was 70+ and warning me off the local girls who he claimed were all looking for a free meal! Classic!

Anyway, I challenged some locals to a game of pool and landed up doing quite well and was invited across the road to another bar with them which they said would be busier and have a bit more atmosphere to it as well as more people playing pool.

Plenty beers, plenty games of pool, lots of young women and a really relaxed atmosphere made for a nice evening and I met a few guys who would be skiing in the morning and would look out for me. After closing time we headed to the edge of town for an early morning breakfast in the local greasy spoon before calling it a night. For me it was a late one at 2.30am but well worth it.

Friday March 27th - Law Breaker

Up and away early under blue skies I arrived at a snowy Anthony Lakes at 9.30am and collected my ticket and paid the $5 for parking in a forestry area. It was obviously quiet from first glance and I quickly spotted that there was a lot of 2nd day powder to be had and plenty elbow room.

One triple lift serves the entire mountain which is a rough bowl with steepest slopes at the top becoming mellower towards the bottom with easier terrain out towards both sides of the ski area.

My first few runs were into Paint Your Wagon, Rock Garden and Upper College in which I found 12" or chopped second day powder and probably as good conditions as I could ever want at a small local hill and I was able to make some really nice turns and jump on the lift without ever waiting for the lift. Only once was I joined on the lift and it was the organiser of a tour group from Portland who had got a good deal on lodging and skiing for a few days and he explained that they normally pick a different mountain to visit on each trip. Looking around I guess there were 100 people maximum on the mountain, probably less, and 40 of those were in the group. Serene is the best word to describe Anthony Lakes.

I skied quite a bit of the mountain and noticed the local backcountry that the guys had told me about although I didn't see any of them kicking around. By 12pm I was finished for the day as I had a very long drive ahead and I headed into the lodge and grabbed some lunch before starting the 460 mile drive to Salt Lake City.

I stopped for gas in Baker City where I learnt why I'd been getting strange looks the few times I had filled up the car. Oregon is one of only two states where it is illegal to fill your own car with gas. Many reasons are given including crime and the main one being the preservation of jobs but I have always filled my car myself as I often felt the attendants were looking for a tip by cleaning windows and such like. Anyway, I now know one of the strangest laws in the USA!

I'd driven most of the route after Boise in previous trips and it is possible to blast along most of the way at a steady 80-90mph with very little chance of being stopped but today the problem was not being stopped by police it was fellow motorists who were either drunk, blind or just plain stupid. Having made good time darkness fell as I hit Ogden and shortly thereafter I landed in a little traffic on the four lane carriageway and found a clown with no lights on. It was not so much of an issue when behind them as you could see with your lights but the problem came if you pulled in or out with them in the lane next to you as you simply could not see them. I tried and others tried for miles to get them to realise that they were driving totally blind but to no avail so I gave up and sped away to make sure I kept out of their way. Stupid!

I know the Motel 6 in the downtown area of Salt Lake City pretty well but still managed to miss my turnoff and landed way south of the motel and had to take a tour through some of the back streets to find the motel. Checking in for the next 9 nights($466) I had a room in the upper landing but facing the road which was much noisier than the rooms I'd previously had.

After getting all my gear into the room I wandered over to the McDonald's across the road for a burger and never to be disappointed I landed slap bang in the middle of a police situation! Shouts about lights and next thing around 4 police cars are all over the sidewalk apprehending a couple of people as I make my way past. Another quiet day on vacation!

Saturday March 28th - Round The Castle

I'd decided to take the day off after so much driving and when I awoke to a beautiful sunny morning in downtown Salt Lake City my choice was made, I'd take a wonder around town and see where it took me.

By 11am it was time to go so I headed south to around 900S and then up S State St passing the beautiful Salt Lake City Public Hall on the right with its magnificent tower high above gleaming in the spring sunshine. Mexican stalls, tattoo parlours, car showrooms, restaurants and bars dotted along until the vibrant city centre where I passed Edinburgh Castle, a strange Scottish import shop. I say strange as it seemed to have a pig in the window which looked more like a Japanese import than something from Scotland.

I decided to take a wonder around the Mormon area of the city checking out the Beehive House which was built in 1864 to house the many wives and children of Brigham Young who was the leader of Mormon movement. Two years later it was joined by Lion House when there was no more space for his huge family in the original building. Next I wondered past the huge office building for the church and the Salt Lake Temple with its gold heavenly figure of Moroni looking down from the spire.

It was really nice to also see a Mormon wedding party as I passed with the bride in what I guess was a traditional, simple looking dress. They certainly got great weather for the occasion that's for sure. Next up I wondered down to the Energy Solutions Arena and started heading south once again and by 1.30pm I was ready for a drink so I headed to my usual bar of choice while in Salt Lake City, Lumpys.

Saturday was football day back home and today was international fixtures with Scotland facing Holland away and I was hoping that I might land lucky and see the match as it was a pretty big game. Unfortunately I landed up watching the entire Slovenia v Czech Republic match was complete and utter rubbish with no chances created at all throughout the match.

After the match ended the barman sussed that I was from the UK and put on Sky Sports for me so that I could get updated on news and it was bleak. Scotland hammered 3-0 in Holland so there was nothing else for it but another large beer to dull the pain! Four large beers through the afternoon and I headed home for 5pm getting some food at McDonalds on the way.

The phone rang at 6.30pm and Javy had been unable to get tickets for tonight NBA between Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns but we decided to take our chances and take a look up on the off chance of getting some cheap tickets at the arena. Javy dropped his car off at my motel and we took the TRAX system to the arena. Despite the game being underway the cheapest tickets were $41 so we decided to spend our money in the bar and headed to Lumpy's. Slight problem was that I could not remember what street it was on and struggled to find it but after a detour we grabbed a seat at the bar and settled down to watch a thrilling encounter which saw the Jazz blow a 21 point 3rd quarter lead before rallying in O/T to end the match 104-99 victors.

A couple drinks and we headed home to the motel and we agreed on a 9.30am meet at the motel from where we would head out to Snowbird. It was funny watching Red Dwarf on TV before I slipped off to sleep.

Sunday March 29th - Pea Souper

Waking early I found a major change in the weather with dark skies, strong winds and snow mixed with rain as I pulled back the curtains in the Motel 6. Its always so unappealing looking out but this is the weather you want as it will be dumping snow up on the mountains.

I've known Javier for a few years through my website and met him last year for the first time and one thing that you can guarantee is that, whether it's the NBA or skiing, he is always late and today was no different with a 9.30am meet quickly becoming 10.30am.

We drove back down towards Javy's house and left his car there before heading to Snowbird($62, 3240ft, 2500a) for the day. The snow was chucking down and we passed the police at the bottom of the canyon ensuring everyone was adhering to the chains or 4x4 signs that were flashing but we were ok to continue.

We parked up near the Gad Valley base area and made our way to the ticket office to pickup my ticket before jumping on the Gadzoom lift in a complete and utter pea-souper where visibility was virtually non existent with strong winds and driving snow making for a cold day on the mountain. We headed to the Little Cloud Lift and skied a few lines either side of the lift finding the visibility to improve just below the top of the lift and with 12" of fresh, virgin powder it was superb conditions and things were to get even better when they opened Road To Provo just as we were standing at the top of the lift. The visibility at this moment took a turn for the worse as did the wind which blew the stop gate of the lift. This was as brutal as skiing back home in Scotland!

We made our way across to our entry point, tried to see our turns but gave up and just launched into the turns. Bouncing one way then the other in thigh deep pillows of the lightest powder imaginable with only the hoots from other skiers and boarders reminding you that this wasn't a dream where you were the only skier on the mountain. Batter, the dream was over. Hitting a hidden object I double ejected head over arse and landed with a wallop in a huge pile of snow. Pride dented, a tweaked knee and a beaming smile as I skied out and met Javy further down the trail, these turns really were good but with my knee like this I was worried I would do more harm so decided I would stick to skiing something that I could see a little easier.

We decided to head to the Tram area for a break and spotted a pretty good deal for pizza with a drink in Tram Car Pizza. $8.50 for 2 slices and a coke was just enough to keep us going and after a 30 minute stop we headed back out at 1.30pm and skied through 4.30pm hitting as much fresh as we could find.

I dropped Javy off and headed back to the ranch for the night. Chicken nuggets and a burger from McDonalds across the road and I bedded in for the night with a few beers and tonight's film, You Kill Me, starring Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni. Kingsley played the part of a hard as nails hitman whose alcohol addiction sees him fail to do a job and is told to leave the company and sort himself out. Attending AA meetings he falls for Leoni but is forced to return to his old ways and return home to sort out problems. A decent enough film to spend the evening before heading to bed.

Monday March 30th - Deal Or No Deal

I setoff and arrived at Powder Mountain($56, 2500ft, 7000a) at 10.30am in a quiet lot and picked up my ticket and headed to the goods which did not need much of a search. 12" of fresh snow awaited so I headed first to the Timberline lift and tried several lines on Sun Slope and Sidewinder which offered some great turns.

Next I headed over to the Hidden Lake lift and lapped that and the Sunrise poma finding line after line of low angle, pristine powder stashes under beautiful blue skies before heading back to the lodge for a much needed lunch of chilli cheese fries and a coke.

In the afternoon I decided to check out the Paradise lift and I was not to be disappointed. Geronimo, Quicksilver and Tomahawk were deep and relatively untouched in places and my only concern was missing a couple of rocks that were invisible almost until you were on them. The closer to them that you could get the greater the rewards and I certainly got my rewards with some knee deep turns.

My final turns of the day were down Exterminator, which is a simple drop from the top of the Timberline lift and almost beyond belief I made just the second and then third tracks in there all day which was totally unbelievable. Deep wind loaded powder made for fantastic turns and that was as good a way to finish as any so I headed to the Powder keg for a much needed beer.

I ordered a Pow Mow and sat down at the bar striking up a conversation with the woman from the ticket office who told me that a Scottish guy had spent most of last season at the resort and we discussed the attraction of Powder Mountain compared to the resorts around Park City. All too soon it was time to head home and after a brief detour to Walmart for a sandwich and a not so short detour via what felt like every street in the area!

Arriving home at 5.15pm I had a quick shower and change and was back out the door and headed to Lumpys for a beer by 5.45pm. It's a short walk up the street and before long I was in the foyer and paying my $5 joining fee. Spotting I was from Scotland the girl proudly declared that she had Scottish ancestors. Getting this all the time I asked where from and she had to admit that she had no idea whatsoever before telling me that she was a direct descendant of William Wallace. How I kept a straight face I will never know!

Only having time for a quick beer I headed to the Energy Solutions Arena for the game between Utah Jazz and the New York Knicks. The game started with the Jazz in total control and the game was turning into a damp squib. No Jazz Bear either which was disappointing as that always brings up something funny and the only entertainment was Deal or No Deal in which the participant turned down $175 only to go home with $25 which my sense of humour quite likes.

By the 3rd quarter the Jazz were 24 points ahead but limped over the line late on winning by 112-104 although it was very close up until late on when Al Harrington was ejected from the game for arguing with officials over a call.

I headed back to Lumpys, took my seat at the bar and had a few beers with tonight's entertainment being the two brunette waitresses pulling their tops up to compare stomachs. With not an inch of fat on either it was a close call!

Denny's on the way home where I had a T-bone steak with fries and a side of shrimp($18) and I took it home to wash down with a glass of wine and a bit of TV before putting the lights off at midnight.

Tuesday March 31st - Shame On Underrated Brighton

Up at 8am I went across the street for gas and as I was filling up I noticed that several Mexican workers were milling around the grass at the front of the motel next to my one. Next a huge banner was unfurled and staked into the ground declaring "Shame on Royal Garden Inn" which one can only assume relates to a sacking or something. Never a boring moment!

Today I was heading to Brighton($58, 1745ft, 1050a) and I arrived at the area at 10.30am in light snow and limited visibility. Parking beside the new Milly Chalet I got my gear on only to find the ticket office closed so had to walk over the parking lot to the other lodge for my ticket and took the Crest Express and then over to the Great Western where I always seem to find great skiing.

No different today and I found the top to be wind scraped but after a few turns the pockets of fresh wind blown snow came thicker and deeper. Everything off the Elk Park Ridge was skiing well and my particular favourite was Endless Winter which I found to have some brilliant fresh turns and yet again hardly a sole skiing on the lift. Too many people in my opinion see Brighton as a park mountain but I see it much differently and love the quiet slopes.

By 12.30pm I was feeling hungry so decided on a look over to the new Milly Chalet which was quiet and spacious and after dumping my gear at a table I went up and ordered a chilli dog, fries and coke($12) and got chatting to the guy at the till who was interested to know where I was from. It turns out his mum is Scottish and from Cumbernauld which is a place I know of. Although he had not been to Scotland at least unlike the girl in Lumpys he knew where his family hailed from.

The food was good and a very generous portion so I sat for around 30 minutes getting my breath back before heading back out and skied the rest of the day on the relatively new Milly Express which is almost always deserted and today was no different.

I lapped Scree Slope numerous times finding deep chopped powder but so many turns leads to leg burn and by 2.30pm I was done and headed for one last blast down the groomed trails from the top and back to the car. Another fine day at Brighton.

Stopping only for some screen wash I showered and changed and had a couple beers in the room before walking up to Lumpys to watch tonight's Jazz game out in Portland. Sadly it was the few Trail Blazer fans in the house that were happy tonight as the Jazz were soundly beaten 122-108. The Jazz just cannot win on the road.

Not long after the game ended I wandered home to the ranch picking up a sampler and a burger and fries($17) noticing for the second time on the trip that the world is slowly changing. White Pass in Washington served their beer in a Cedar Grove compostable cup and Denny's using World Centric cutlery. Interestingly the weather was calling for 12"-24" for tomorrow.

Wednesday April 1st - No Fooling The Dayglo Boys

No fooling me today and after a coffee I got my gear together hoping to get into some fresh snow and parked almost at the door of the Moonbeam Lodge at Solitude($62, 2047ft, 1200a) at bang on 9.30am. The predictions of a foot or two of new snow was a bit off with 6" maximum hitting the mountain.

I headed up the Moonbeam Express and over to the Powder Horn lift and found that the hiking terrain in Honeycomb Canyon was closed due to the risk of avalanches but the Wood Lawn trail to access the Honeycomb Return lift was open so I headed down and lapped the lift around 6-7 times heading out to the Navarone trail further and further each time. Although the ski out was tricky in places with branches and rocks lurking once heading downhill I found some knee deep snow that was totally untouched. I have no doubt that there are longer, better trails on the mountain but this was fun and I had it all pretty much to myself.

Lunch was a pulled pork sandwich, coke and a couple Reese's peanut butter snacks($15) which I felt was over priced compared to previous fare elsewhere and the pork was quite salty for my taste.

Back out in the afternoon the sun began to pop out more and more and the skiing was simply superb on the lower lifts which I lapped continuously. Lapping the Sunrise and Apex Express I found pockets of deep untouched snow even by mid afternoon. Today's action was a fight that was breaking out at the base of the lift. A guy on a board was down and shouting abuse at a guy who was already on the lift. Threatening to take his head off he came out with the classic line of "dayglo went out in 1982 with MC Hammer" which in his southern drawl was priceless.

By 3pm I was done and headed back to the car and down to Smith's for some provisions which tonight consisted of some calamari sushi and lemon cake which I would wash down with a couple glasses of wine while watching Pay It Forward starring Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment. Quite a good film to pass the time before heading to Lumpys.

Tonight I had a few beers before heading down to Denny's for a double cheeseburger and fries($9) and an early night.

Thursday April 2nd - Delirium

After a quick coffee in the reception and a catch up of the news on TV I made my way to the city centre to drop off a ticket with Javy for tonight's football match. I was heading to Snowbasin($63, 2959ft, 2820a) for the day so this was not out of my way at all.

A crash on I-15 followed by roadwork's and a train in Ogden slowed me down a bit and it was 11am when I eventually hit the slopes heading first to the John Paul Express and then over to Strawberry for my turns which I found to be fun but I was feeling my knee quite a bit today so I kept mainly to the groomed terrain until around 1.30pm when I headed into Earl's Lodge for a spot of lunch. Today I chose shrimp stir-fry and a coke($15) which considering yesterday's fare was really great value.

A couple more laps on the John Paul Express and I was ready to call it a day and was home at 3.30pm so I called home to Scotland to see what the news was. Sadly it was bad news today with news of a helicopter crash in the North Sea which had claimed 16 lives.

Over to the motel I had a shower and change before heading to Lumpys for a couple beers and then the TRAX from downtown to 9400 South and the short walk to the Rio Tinto Stadium for the match between Real Salt Lake and the Columbus Crew. There were a few supporters on the train and I followed them on the short walk to the stadium and headed straight to the supporters shop and bought my replica top for $70. I tore off the tags and put it straight on before grabbing a beer and heading to my seat in Section 26 which is one of the supporters group areas of the stadium.

The clouds that had looked menacing as I arrived at the stadium were now right over us and from a reasonable looking night it became cold, windy with rain very much in the making. The stadium itself is new with the ends being open and the sides covered and there was the usual entertainment before the game with a mascot, fireworks and the national anthem.

Once underway we were served up a feast of attacking football by Real who dominated and took the lead in just the 2nd minute when the keeper failed to hold a free kick and spilled it to Robbie Findley who blasted it home. Delirium and Javy was not even in the stadium yet and I was thankful that I had given him his ticket in the morning!

Columbus Crew equalised in the 22nd minute after a scramble and it looked at that stage as though Real would pay the penalty for easing off but just 7 minutes passed when the Columbus keeper kicked straight to Findley who scampered though to round the keeper and score. 2-1 at half time.

The entertainment at half time was a girl blindfolded and the aim was to use the crowd's reaction to gauge whether she was closer to the mascot or not. Little did she know that the Mascot was actually replaced by her boyfriend and the cheers went up when she got to him in the centre circle. On one knee he asked her to marry him and she said yes, happy days!

Into the 2nd half Real scored twice more as the heavens opened and Findley became the first player in the history of the club to score a hattrick in MLS. The rain was pouring down so we stood at the back of the covered stand before making our way back to the TRAX station with Javy heading home at his stop and I headed into the city centre for a couple beers at Lumpys where I watched the Jazz take on Denver Nuggets and finished the night with a tequila and went back to the ranch at 1am.

This article was written by Quintin Chalmers, a 33-year-old skier from Aberdeen in the north of
Scotland. Quintin has skied at over 100 North American resorts and is in the process of setting up
www.offthebeatenpath.co.uk designed to help like minded people find the best turns in some of the
more unusual resorts in western USA. He has over 20 years skiing experience and enjoys nothing
more than seeing new places that many people write off as being not worth the hassle.