My life abruptly changed on March 15th when Big Sky closed down because of the Coronavirus. It made sense, we see guests from all over the world. Most guests visiting fly in. I was gone the next morning, in my Toyota Rav-4. But the week before I left Big Sky was an awesome one, and the week since leaving Big Sky has also been an adventure. The week before I left Big Sky I got the opportunity to try out skiing with a pair of robot legs. These legs were from a company called ROAM, and this season they had a booth in our demo shop for folks to try the legs and give feedback. They'll be available for purchase in limited quantities next year. The legs are like two ACL braces with a robotic air compressor at the knee. You wear a small backpack that carries the battery for the compressor. The legs learn how you ski, give you support on turns, and it takes 30% of your bodyweight off your knees and quads. The technology originally was made for geriatric patients to move, and was adapted to military for doing super long treks without pain. Now it's coming to the ski industry because it is a niche market with a lot of money. Overall, I was super impressed with the legs. They definitely work as promised. I did a super mean bump run with them turned all the way up to the highest setting and was able to ski way longer than usual. For an older person who can only do 4-6 runs per day, this could lengthen their ski career in a huge way. If you put $100 down this season to commit you can get them on discount next season for *only* $3500. Full price they will be $5000. I am appreciative of the opportunity to try them, it was certainly an interesting experience. The last week of the ski season also included my biggest hike of the season. I'll just leave the photos below to explain. This hike was in Big Sky Resort, and took about 45 minutes to get out from the top of the lift. The snow in the first fork was decently deep powder with some chunky action. About a third of the way down I hit a rock pile and was super spooked. I didn't fall but it took some finesse to walk my way off of it. The line was steep and exciting for sure. It's worth noting that the skis I was on for that run were a new pair I picked up. 2018 Blizzard Rustler 11s in a 172. They were last year's demo skis that just got put on sale so I got them with rental bindings for a wicked good deal. I really loved having a powder charger in my quiver to complement the smaller and snappier Volkl Secrets that I own. But no matter how great the season was in March, it came to a screeching halt when the resort shut down. I made the quick decision to leave Montana and get to my sister Ronia's apartment in Miami, Florida. And so begins the road trip portion of my last few weeks. I drove to Denver for the first night, then to a town called Marion, Illinois, then to Jacksonville. I got hotels for the first two and stayed with my cousins in Jax. I honestly really enjoyed my 4 days of driving. Seeing the country like that was a fun experience. I would have made it into a more extensive trip but I didn't really want to be traveling around much these days. If skiing was over then I honestly just wanted sun, warm, and safety. I drove to Miami because I have a place to stay with my sister and it would be a fun season switch up. Yes, that last photo has a filter on it. So Miami is being great so far... not a bad place to be riding this out. As of right now, I have no work with NCOBS until mid-April. It's a real bummer and quite wild times we live in. I'm content with where I'm at and looking forward to lots of great runs, beach days, and fun times with my sister.
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