It was the mid-nineties, a glorious time to be alive. I was starting my transition from Denver rave kid into mountain town ski bum. My bicycling life was also transitioning from BMX freestyler into mountain biker. My '89 Haro Master had served me well as a ramp ridin' trick machine, but it was no longer needed. I gave it to my good buddy Randy. Some time after I moved to Leadville I was visiting him and he told me he had something for me. He explained he had traded the Haro for another bike and now I needed to take it. That was the first time I saw the Firestone Silver Cruiser . I was immediately taken by the chromed cantilever frame and shining chrome fenders. I didn't know I needed a cruiser bike in my life, but here it was. You hear the phrase "all original " thrown around which sounds a lot better than " never maintained, worn out and faded." But this rig was exactly that, nothing had been changed since it was assembled some time in the olden days...
I went into the 25/26 season with an Ikon 3-pack of day tickets. December, January and February blew by while I kept mt. biking and focusing on fire stuff. I told people I'd use them when the snow got good. Climate change brought us the lowest snowfall in recorded history, so by the end of March and I needed to use these tickets. I contacted my brother in-law who works at Monarch to see if he was around and he said I should join him at Monarch and he'd have a comp ticket for me. With four days lined out, gear was loaded into my fine German steed and the mountain roads unwound before me. First stop Mary Jane. The parking lot scene was pretty mellow. A few aging campers circled a portable fire pit and shared their thoughts on the snow conditions. They advised going to the Winter Park side. I chatted up a parking lot attendant and thanked him for his service. He too said if I want anything decent, go to WP. I slipped into my boots and looked up at the runs. Brown dirt patches lit...