Matt Fox only skis in the Telemark style. He grew up in New England, but now he lives in Bend, Oregon. Matt texted me the other day to go out for a rip on snowmobiles because his wife was starting to wonder why there was a snowmobile in the garage that never went anywhere. Plus, it was New Year’s Eve Eve, and since Matt is an art teacher, he had a rare Tuesday off. And it was sunny out.
Matt’s snowmobile is a late-model Arctic Cat, something or another, with 1000cc. That’s a lot of cc. When he opens the throttle all the way, his snowmobile sounds like a spaceship going into orbit, and would certainly scare the roaring lion on the Warner Brothers movie intro. My snowmobile has only 700cc and is called a Dragon.
We rode out to the wilderness boundary and parked our sleds, then started questing up some pretty big, shaded north-facing lines on Broken Top. Normally, especially during the holidays and especially on a sunny holiday day, we would expect to see gobs of people climbing all over the place there. But maybe since the snow didn’t come until very late this season, there was nobody else out skiing on a perfect bluebird day: cold, stable snow hiding in huge aesthetic lines.
After a few laps, we moved around the corner to another line, and that is where Matt spotted it, the perfect wave to arc a turn.
We sat on some rocks in the sun at the bottom of the line and basked in the feeling of a perfect turn, and then did the long walk back to the Cat and Dragon nursery. What a day. The type of day where a dice roll pays off.
I am sure Matt will remember that turn for a long time. And I bet his wife will look at his snowmobile in the garage a little differently for a while, too, because she could see the effect the turn had when he returned. It will all make a little more sense.
Here is to finding your turn in unexpected places in 2026. Happy New Year.
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