I’ve never been one to turn down an adventure, and I’ve found that one of the quickest and easiest ways to find yourself on an adventure is to strap a board to your feet and hurl yourself down a mountain. Ever since I was 10 years old, I’ve been tearing up the slopes of Lake Tahoe (although it took several years before I really figured out how to do it (and stopped complaining to my dad for making me)). But eventually I caught on and it became one of my favorite adrenalin sources to tap into.

So a few years back, I decided that I was gonna start seeking adventure by way of throwing myself down the side of this country’s finest mountains. 2 years ago, I ventured out to Beaver Creek in Colorado, opened the mountain with Ski Patrol, and tore that rocky crag to pieces.

What, that’s all you had to offer? That John Denver’s full of shit, man! Although I will say that Beaver Creek’s ridiculous altitude certainly made the booze kick in quickly! Hoo-wee!

The following year, my mission for adventure drove me out to the snowy lands of Snowbird in Utah. I had to dodge a few Mormons and consume an abundance of low-alcohol beer in order to find that adventure, but damnit I wasn’t about to be stopped!

For all it may lack, Utah certainly makes up for it in vertical dropage!

So for year 3 (or 4 if you include Tahoe), I made my out to the land of milk of honey: Sun Valley, Idaho.

I gotta say, this place is amazing. I always thought that Tahoe was great, but imagine Tahoe without any lines, without douchey snowboarders and without the traffic. After January’s trip to Northstar (with at least a 30 minute wait at each lift), this place was such a breath of fresh air! Everybody seemed to be old and skiers, but that just means that nobody is going to be crashing into you after doing something stupid.

All the lodges were gorgeous too, and held a real sense of history. It felt like this old place (celebrating its 75th anniversary this year) was what all the other ski resorts were modeling their new develoments after. Just a really awesome place to hit the slopes.

So with that, I check off another state that I’ve adventured in, and slap another ski patch on my snowboard bag. Mission: Accomplished.