Sommet Olympia Reloaded

In the now-maligned 1999 film, The Matrix, the main character (Neo) is given a choice to swallow a pill that can continue his journey down a rabbit hole or another to return to his former life. Sometimes I feel a certain affinity to the tale. I too continue down towards the (mostly) unknown, visiting small ski areas that were off my radar a few years ago, in a country that is not my own.

Big Air

In the movie there’s a phenomenon known as “A Glitch” that takes on a special importance. If you were to notice something happening in a repeated way, you should take special notice of it since it could be important.

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Sommet Olympia: Powder Olympics

There was no podium at Sommet Olympia, the crowds were light, and it seemed the only camera there to document a perfect day was mine. The mountain boasts an Olympic spirit in its name and on the trail map, but the only race was for fresh tracks and it was game on.

Like the recent olympics, this storm had simply appeared in the background of most people’s minds. After a demoralizing rain and thaw, the temperature plummeted and we were left with a foot of right side up pow, a grippy wet base hugging the firm surface underneath and the light and dry where it’s supposed to be, on top. If that didn’t solidify a gold medal day, the sun started to come out at 9am.

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Owl’s Head with a Wingman

The last couple of seasons have been anything but predictable. With that in mind, I decided to mix things up and go for a new pass. Last Spring, Owl’s Head offered a midweek pass for a limited time. If you signed up with three of your friends, It worked out to about 450/4 ways.

Cheap, and it entitled the bearer to ski the rest of the season and then daily until next Christmas when it would convert to midweek and non-holiday. I figured that the closest I might get to Jay was seeing it from the couple of south-west facing slopes of Kaboul. With a group of us committing, it meant that we’d always have someone to carpool with too.

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