Demo Day on Ice

What could be better for a demo day than a foot of fresh? Well, I don't know about that, but I know that an inch of ice will destroy it all. Yesterday was the big demo day for Mt. Hood Meadows and a freak rainstorm came through overnight and put a layer of death on top of what was a fluffy dream. I went to sleep with visions of riding a bunch of great boards and woke up not really caring whether I strapped in or not. My buddies Ben and Phil rallied up to the mountain with me. When I say 'rallied,' I mean it: Ben is an experienced rally driver. Add studded snow tires and all-wheel drive to the mix and he was the only way we made it happen. Thanks, Ben! I also demoed Ben's boots: last year's DC Ghosts, that he ordered in the wrong size and never rode. What a guy, that Ben.

When we got to the hill, the bad news was evident. Our first clues were the plethora of closed up businesses on the way and the skating rink look of the landscape, but we held out hope. No luck here, the slopes were not fit for hockey much less snowboarding. That said, we did take some quality runs. I demoed a Lib Tech Dark Series 161 BTX that I really liked. I'll post the demos individually in the next couple days.

I should have plenty of time to write as I'm going to Williston, ND (home of my parents and scarce little else) via train for the holidays. That is, if I can ever get out of town. You see all of the snow and ice in the city means trains are at a standstill. Ditto that for most transportation, including planes and buses. My best hope lies in my new ticket for Thursday (aka Christmas) that gets me into town Friday night, barring delays (can you say 'Not bloody likely'?). In addition to that, I'm going to try a bus tomorrow (Tuesday) that could get me as far as Spokane, where I would meet the train. It will take some luck, but I think I can do it. They say fortune favors the prepared and I'm fuckin' ready, so let's get it! Did I mention this is a 25-hour train ride (again, without delays) one way? Lots of time to think, read, write, masturbate, eat, converse with strangers, sleep and/or gaze at purple mountains' majesty. Wish me the best, I'll need every flake.