Friday was my first day back after a week in Philly.  I know, I know, I missed the epic Christmas Day.  I KNOW! 

Anyhow, back to Friday.  We started the day early with a run up to Powder Mountain after tanking up at the local coffee shop, Eden Coffee Company.  If you haven't been there and you've been to the valley then you must not drink coffee.  If you do, then just follow your nose to our favorite morning hangout where you can get your favorite coffee drink, some gourmet candy bars and a quick read of our local papers.

After hitting the coffeeshop we made our way up Powder Mountain road for a great day of powder left overs. 

Conditions were COLD and a bit blustery at times, but once you were on the lift if didn't seem to really matter.  Powder mountain is always a special experience were you can find a couple powder left overs, even days after the last storm.  Something you can't always say about the 'basin, or just about anywhere else that I've ever been.  Powder Mountain has more hidden stashes than you can imagine.  It's up to you to find them though.  Remember... it's a secret still.

Another thing that not that many people realize is that Powder is a great place for beginner - intermediate level skiers and snowboarders.  With the new addition of the Hidden Lake high speed lift, PowMow has a well served face with a variety of neighboring runs of vary levels of difficulty intermixed with some darn nice groomers that are plenty wide and not to steep that they'll scare you if it's your first time back on the mountain in a while. 

After a few runs on Hidden Lake we were all agreeing that the cold was taking a lot out of us.  Powder Keg to the rescue.  The Powder Keg is one of my favorite parts of going to Powder.  Chili fries, double cheese burgers, cold beer, hot coco, a blazing fire and lots of sweaty red faced locals who will tell you how great it was, but now where.  That's ok though, the fun part of Pow Mow is discovering those secret stashes that appear out of nowhere.  And if you still can't find what you're looking for, then you can always talk to one of the great guides at the resort who offer full and half day tours.  More on that later.