I left about 5AM, arrived at SS parking lot at 7:15, and parked in
just about the perfect spot - front row right by the ticket office.
The roads were clear despite patchy snow and ice along the side from
about 5000 feet elevtion on up.

The surface was just about perfect machine-groomed, turning softer in
the sun, then crunchy as the afternoon shodows moved over the trails.

SS had all the lifts and trails I care about open except Wall,
Olympic, and Chair 6, but I can accept that on my first day. I skied
all over the mountain and rode every lift except the beginner area.
It was all good.

No clouds, no wind, no liftlines. I only rode up twice when I wasn't
alone on my chair. I think I broke 20,000 vertical even though I had
to leave about 2PM to make it to a 6PM soccer game in Coronado.

Negatives: the mountaintop restaurants were not open, and a beer at
the outdoor barbecue stand cost $6.50.

I was apprehensive about my new/old boots from Truckee and my old
skinny skis, since I only got to use them once last year, the rest of
the season being on newish rentals. These boots hurt my feet the same
way as my last pair - first run cramps and a few hot spots. The first
couple of runs I felt awkward like Itchy in his videos, but by the
third run I was comfortable, so I made a non-stop run down Westridge,
knees together the whole way, some short-swing, some big s-curves the
width of the trial - except for the bailouts away from the snowboard
table I didn't see in the shadow and the two whoop-de-doo rollers near
the bottom that I didn't see coming because I was admiring the form of
my shadow.

Season pass: yes, I got one. More on that later.