"Greg Finishes The Chutelettes"

Words by Ben White

Greg really did it right that day. Over the last decade or so, Greg had skied all the lines in The Chuting Gallery , as well as become a world class ski mountaineer and friend. A decade and a couple of months prior, Greg and I met on Superior. He would finish his Chuting Gallery on the approach to Superior, with a handful of “chutelettes” that are accessible to most people.

On the way there, we ran into some people also going to celebrate Greg. Zoe was dragging her dad Andy along and it was his third or fourth ski tour ever. Greg’s girlfriend’s sister had only ever been skiing a handful of times. This was in stark contrast to some of the other members of the party who have skied off the summit of Denali among other seriously demanding descents.

Related: Saving The Best For Last

The whole crew was out to have a good day and it was really cool of Greg to have saved such accessible skiing for last. It was warm and the snow was soft. Greg and a few friends had carried a grill up to the bottom of the chutelettes and dug out a kitchen and built a jump. Hot dogs, beers, cookies, and backflips in between chutes was darn fun to take part in.

At the end, the sun had set and the air cooled. There was breakable crust to manage and the best skiing was where everybody else had already skied and broken the crust. There were a lot of smiles and it was a good lesson in how to save the best for last.