Kicking out the kinks telemarking at Kings Hill

Climbing in wet snow

Jim Heckel goes down for first fall of the season

Cold enough for icicles to hang from my brows

We're about two weeks later than last year for our first ski of the season.
We hit Showdown Sunday, skiing up to the top of Porphyry from Kings Hill Pass, taking four summit cap runs down Upper Quicksilver and Speculation.
There was only one other party on the hill, three women on snowshoes. When we got back to our car, two downhill skiers were preparing to bootpack up the hill.
There's about 2 feet on the ground and some of it has already been packed.
Small pines poke through the snow, making runs like Muley impossible.
Generally, the snow was a good powder consistently and in great shape.
There was a misty fog over most of the mountain, obscuring visibility.
The weather forecast calls for about a one-foot dump of powder in the next couple of days, followed by a harsh cold spell.
We didn't see many hunters.  There were some snowmobile tracks in areas near Kings Hill Pass.