The Moulton Journal: A Buzzy Day

Another cold morning, so I nursed that second cup of coffee and ate the last few Christmas cookies while waiting for the sun to warm things up a bit. Plus we got home late from the Indigo Girls concert in Missoula last night, and sleeping in a bit felt "closer to fine." By the time the sun was bright and the mercury on the porch hit 10 deg F (in the sun), RTD & I were ready to go.
Looks like the loggers took today off, can't blame them what with this being the third morning in a row way below zero.

Maybe I'm getting used to it or maybe it warmed more quickly this morning, but skiing did not feel cold (or slow) at all. Despite the holy mitten. I rooted around in my winter gear in the basement and found a new pair of leather choppers complete with wool liners. Actually, given the feel (and a few intelligent questions), the new liners seem to be some sort of smartwool. I have the choppers made of elk hide (http://www.uberglove.com) and they are pretty tough--the current pair made it through five years, I think, of skiing and hunting and winter camping. Hate to get rid of the old friends, maybe I can turn them into some sort of pouch.

A dusting of fresh snow came sometime yesterday, and it was nicely bonded to the old stuff. The cold weather made for good climbing with green kick wax, and the cold weather had taken what little crust had been on the snow. A Buzzy day! You don't have to be, but sometimes it helps. No sign of Rick Rossi's tracks along Buzzy or the pole-line, and I haven't seen his vehicle at Moulton for a week. He must be over to the Bighorn for his annual winter fishing trip. Rick is Math dept head at MT Tech and skis everyday when he's in town, it seems.

Paul grooms Buzzy only rarely, and some years not at all. That's OK as it provides a nice off-trail experience. Some years ago he regularly gave it a once-over with the bedsprings, but I don't know if he grooms with them at all anymore. Once upon a time, almost all the grooming at The Moulton was done with an old set of bedsprings towed behind a snowmachine. But in recent years Paul has adopted the fancy roller and corduroy groomer provided by the ski club. They do a better job, I suppose, but maybe it's hard to groom a narrow, steep trail like Buzzy?

One-way trail sign on the Buzzy segment leading down to Big Nipper.

For most of the morning, green kick wax was perfect. As it warmed up, though, the combination of old snow and sun didn't leave much kick. But by then it was all downhill to the Rover and the lack of stick made for good skating. Life is good, and yes, today was "closer to fine."