The "Big Dig"

What do you do when you have to work during the the resort skiing hours and it has snowed enough in the past 3 days to completely fill in your backyard? You build a halfpipe of course!

Yesterday I got a test message on my phone from one of my roommates asking if I had a snowskate. I was a little surprised at the random question so I decided to give him a call to investigate. "Why do you need a snowskate?" I asked. "We're building a halfpipe in the backyard!" he says! Amazed at the idea, I told my boss what was going on. "Sounds like you need to go home right now" was his response. What a cool company that I work for.

When I pulled in the driveway I was literally taken back by the monster that was forming before my eyes. I expected to come home to a half-ass lump of snow piled up in the yard. What was in its place was truly beautiful. Cat and Tim must have been working on it for hours. The walls were already nearly as tall as I am, and the transitions in the lip were already being shaped. To better explain the motives in place here I will let you in on a little secret. The previous day Tim had scored a car-full of liquor from a Sundance acquaintance left over from their private functions in exchange for 2 free lift tickets. I think that boredom and the yard literally being filled almost to the fence with snow, coupled with delving into the booze stash large enough to kill several horses, led to this ingenious idea.

Regardless of motives or reasons, the "Big Dig" was already in full swing. Naturally, I was the guinea pig. I tried the pipe, we made adjustments, and repeated this process for quite some time. We finally got it big enough to make it up the opposite side and bank the turn. After the photo sesh we built the pipe up even more. I'll have to get some more pictures up to do it justice.
As we continue to build the pipe higher and higher, I also have plans to put in a couple of rails off the back of it.

PS: I ordered a snowskate last night. It'll be here tomorrow...and hopefully will not lead to broken appendages or hospital trips.