Backcountry Beacon

Ah yes. It’s President’s Day again. That wonderful day of the year when we celebrate the birth of George Washington by, apparently, shopping for new cars or armchairs on sale. For the lucky few who actually get the holiday off, it is often a time to enjoy skiing the resort with the family. Yet few things are more irritating than waiting in line for five hours while you watch your precious day off tick on by. Heaven forbid if it snows the night before. Then you’re in for a holiday at the resort free-for-all.

Luckily, we’ve come up with five ways to cope with the President’s Day Blues.

Go to Work

Not valid for those of us who are required to work today. Here’s the idea: you arrange a deal with your boss where you work President’s Day in exchange for one personal day later in the year. That way when March rolls around and it dumps 8-12 inches on a Tuesday, you can pull out the President’s Day Card and ride freshies all day.

• Advantages

  • You avoid the resort altogether
  • Get freshies when they’re freshest

• Disadvantages

  • The family won’t be too stoked if they get the day off and you’re working
  • No guarantee of more snow (you suck, El Niño)

Go to that Podunk Resort

This is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. You might get the hill to yourself, or every other powder hound in the tri-state area thought of the same thing. But you have to get out early. If you’re reading this, and you haven’t already made some resort turns, it’s too late.

• Advantages

  • Possibility of non-crowded resort riding
  • Quality time with the fam on that ridiculously slow chairlift

• Disadvantages

  • Possibility of crowded resort skiing
  • That ridiculously slow chairlift

Watch the Winter Games.

The Winter Games only happen once every four years, right? On tap today: XC Skiing, Men’s Downhill, Women’s Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Boarder Cross … damn, looks like a pretty good day.

• Advantages

  • You can be patriotic without feeling like a flag-waving dink
  • You spend some quality time with your giant plasma TV even though football season is over

• Disadvantages

  • You have to spend the day with Bob Costas
  • It’s not the Dirtbag Games

Go into the Backcountry, Silly

Since it’s no secret that the resorts are packed on this holiday, many skiers, snowshoers, and boarders make their way to the trailheads for a little R&R. Ancient Chinese Proverb: the longer the approach to get fresh tracks, the fewer people there will be.

• Advantages

  • There’s plenty of snow out there; you just have to find it
  • Earning your turns makes the end-of-day-beer that much better

• Disadvantages

  • Dealing with yahoos that shouldn’t be in the backcountry
  • Avalanches. Stay safe out there, my friends

Wait … that’s only four

Since we don’t want to be working today either, we thought we’d employ the annoying online trick of leaving the last Way to Cope with President’s Day up to you.

So how are you coping with the crowds today?

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Tags: backcountry skiing, humor, skiing