I moved camp to Park City, Utah this week for the next leg of this adventure spending most days at Canyon Resort because parking is easier there. The conditions here are truly early season; where most (if not all) of the snow is man-made... going into the trees is out of the picture. The hills are quite bare and brown, and the majority of snow rests either in the shade of the trees or on the slopes where the machines create it. The runs are persistently busy and the steep areas are too narrow to play around safely. There are warning signs posted to indicate the consequences of leaving the designated trails (28 day suspension and possible legal action) as if the exposed rocks weren't reason enough.
With limited terrain tailored for Beginner and Intermediate riders, I decided to work on techniques that I am quite novice in... spins, butters, and 180s. Falling on this terrain is quite demoralizing... the impact with the ice-like surface has taken a toll on both my hips and wrists (despite wearing wrist guards)... what a frustrating week!!
After several days of trial and error, I began to realize today that I should change my tactics and tackle new skills one at a time. Consistency and repetition have been crucial aids in my progression as a rider over the years... having spent day after day in the mogul-iest of runs just to nail down the mechanics of turning at specific angles. I took this approach to 180s today and fell significantly fewer times than days prior, leaving the mountain feeling somewhat accomplished (since I won't have to ice as much tonight).
Over the next couple weeks, I expect to progress my 180s to the point where I am no longer falling regularly while overthinking how to stick the landing or getting stuck on takeoff with my upper and lower body fighting against one another... and hopefully, somewhere in there, it snows on this mountain.
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