drjeff
Well-known member
Today was one of those days where I sometimes wonder if my passion for this sport can seriously make one question my sanity!! ;-)
I made it out for the opening bell to a combo overnight icing and big winds at the summit having all the detachables on hold, so I skated off to Ego Alley for a slow, wet ride up. The snow was why I was out there, pure hero corduroy! Back up Ego and on over to the Sundance Triple to try and get higher up the mountain so I could get over to Carinthia where the morning snow report was most optimistic about getting a high speed lift running first! Unloading off Sundance, it was easy to see why the wind holds were in effect!!
Got over to Carinthia with a lap down through Gulch on more hero snow to find that Nitro was still on hold :-( Took a few rides on Heavy Metal to check out Inferno and then Prospector to lower Titanium all carving beautifully. After Nitro still wasn't spinning, I headed back over to the Sundance Triple to take a run down Ridge - pretty sure, even at 9:30 that I was only the 3rd track down it this morning. After 90 minutes and 7 fixed grip lift rides I need a baselodge break!!
Heading back to the baselodge, I noticed that Canyon Quad was spinning and loading people on it! So after a quick snack break, I took a few runs down Snowdance and Canyon which were more hero snow. I then headed over to The Northface via River Run (nice to have a tailwind instead of the usual headwind on the runout to the Northface lifts for a change) and a lap down the big, soft whales that lined Freefall top to bottom.
During my 2nd ride up the Challenger lift it started POURING, as in way harder than the light to moderate rain I'd been out in for the previous almost 3 hours, add in the big winds driving the downpour into the openings around my hood and my socks starting to get wet, so I knew it was time to call it a day. Last run was Lodge to lower Exhibition, with anything above basically the top of a line from the top terminal of Canyon over to the top of Nitro still being frozen over, but easy to carve through and anything below that being just hero snow!
End up with 12 runs and 11k vertical feet in about 3 hours of being out there!
Sorry for no photos, but it was just raining too much for me to want to take off my waterproof gloves and get my phone out of the ziplock bag I had it in in the pocket of my hardshell!!
The snow cover was holding its own while I was out there, and with snowmaking temps arriving tonight and sticking around all week, it should be good for MLK weekend
I made it out for the opening bell to a combo overnight icing and big winds at the summit having all the detachables on hold, so I skated off to Ego Alley for a slow, wet ride up. The snow was why I was out there, pure hero corduroy! Back up Ego and on over to the Sundance Triple to try and get higher up the mountain so I could get over to Carinthia where the morning snow report was most optimistic about getting a high speed lift running first! Unloading off Sundance, it was easy to see why the wind holds were in effect!!
Got over to Carinthia with a lap down through Gulch on more hero snow to find that Nitro was still on hold :-( Took a few rides on Heavy Metal to check out Inferno and then Prospector to lower Titanium all carving beautifully. After Nitro still wasn't spinning, I headed back over to the Sundance Triple to take a run down Ridge - pretty sure, even at 9:30 that I was only the 3rd track down it this morning. After 90 minutes and 7 fixed grip lift rides I need a baselodge break!!
Heading back to the baselodge, I noticed that Canyon Quad was spinning and loading people on it! So after a quick snack break, I took a few runs down Snowdance and Canyon which were more hero snow. I then headed over to The Northface via River Run (nice to have a tailwind instead of the usual headwind on the runout to the Northface lifts for a change) and a lap down the big, soft whales that lined Freefall top to bottom.
During my 2nd ride up the Challenger lift it started POURING, as in way harder than the light to moderate rain I'd been out in for the previous almost 3 hours, add in the big winds driving the downpour into the openings around my hood and my socks starting to get wet, so I knew it was time to call it a day. Last run was Lodge to lower Exhibition, with anything above basically the top of a line from the top terminal of Canyon over to the top of Nitro still being frozen over, but easy to carve through and anything below that being just hero snow!
End up with 12 runs and 11k vertical feet in about 3 hours of being out there!
Sorry for no photos, but it was just raining too much for me to want to take off my waterproof gloves and get my phone out of the ziplock bag I had it in in the pocket of my hardshell!!
The snow cover was holding its own while I was out there, and with snowmaking temps arriving tonight and sticking around all week, it should be good for MLK weekend
