Sundown 12-21-08

Caught a ride up to the mountain this morning with Powhunter. Got there around 10 and bumped into Greg and Abby heading out of the lodge to beat us to the untracked pow on Toms Treat.

We booted up and headed to Canyon Run, the middle had some ice spots but along the edge was nice powder. We pretty much hit everything and I found the best trail to be Stinger along skiers left which had all the fresh snow that the jibbers where pushing over.

Bumped into Greg and Abby a bunch of times and from seeing the vids of her last year to seeing her come down Exhibitions, she has really come a long way.

Steveo can chime in about the bumps since I didn't hit Temptor. The also opened Gunbarrel late this morning and we were very disappointed, for something they were grooming all morning, it was quit icy. Powhunter found out from Jarrod they they blew wet snow at it last night to form a good base which explains the icyness.

Great conditions and if you can get out there tonight I highly recommend it.

Thanks again for the ride Pow.

Carrie is there now. She sent along this picture, I'm not all that sure what exactly what it's supposed to show. I guess she'll chime in when she gets home...

Couple more:


Still looks pretty good to me. 8)

Does that trail in the last pic stay that narrow? I've never seen night skiing on such a skinny trail.

bvibert said:

I'm not all that sure what exactly what it's supposed to show.

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Sundown at Sundown, you big doofus.

Thanks for the kind words, Jeff. Abby is doing great. A bit of a stop and go day. One run, snack break. A few more runs, potty break. Final run, I'm tired. :lol: Abby's first powder day though and we had fun skiing in the dumpage. Now all she wants to do is fist bump.

Edd said:

Does that trail in the last pic stay that narrow? I've never seen night skiing on such a skinny trail.

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It stays narrow and flat for a stretch. The Temptor "headwall" is a bit wider. The Nor'easter bumps still look great. Heading over in a few.

nice getting out with ya today. It was as good as it gets!!! Those icy troughs that pat spoke of last night were filled in!! and the bumps were phenominal!!! Gunny was ok should be better for tonight!!!

steve

Greg said:

Sundown at Sundown, you big doofus.

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That occurred to me, but I'm not into the artsy crap. Live reporting pics should be limited to conditions reporting only, IMHO.

Yup, sundown at Sundown. I was skiing down to Exhibition, noticed the sky had cleared and how pretty it looked so I stopped at the merge with Temptor and snapped a quick pic. Couldn't resist.

By the time I got on the snow, it was tracked out and packed but still pretty nice. I got there around 4ish (Steveo, did I see you and Jeff heading down Ratlum Road near the corner? I was in the brown Blazer...not that you'd remember probably even if it was you) and it was 27 degrees. 2nd attempt at skiing the Line Celebrities this evening (90mm waist). My first run down was quite defensive and a little scary; these skis are very different than the Maries, even though both are twin tips. I'm not sure if it's partly because these are mounted flat instead of with the lifter plate, but they're harder to turn. However, with persistence I discovered that once I was more comfortable with pointing them down the hill, they were more likely to let me rip them (as best I could in freshish snow since I don't encounter it all that often). There was a groom at one point which put Tom's, Canyon, and Nor'Easter from the Temptor merge-down out of commission simultaneously. That was a bit irritating. But within 10 minutes we were back on the trails... And it looks like only Tom's and Exhibition were groomed; Canyon and Nor'Easter were untouched. Twas a shame somewhat; Exhibition was skiing beautifully before the groom. I was getting some surprisingly quick, even turns going down it with pole plants and had a nice rhythm going, even bouncing my way around some naturally formed bumps. (Which, BTW, earlier in the evening my line was poached and I was forced over a naturally formed bump at the bottom where Nor'Easter merges with Stinger and was launched for a little air... I actually landed, though it probably looked horrendous, LOL!) In any case, I was pretty tired after only a few short hours and decided to head home; there's a chance Brian and I can ski together tomorrow night so I didn't want to wear myself out completely. I headed home at 7PM.

And Brian - You'll take which pictures I give you!

We left there around 2 so I don't think you saw us.

I also had the twin tips out today and just couldn't get into a good rhythm with them.

Good to see you were able to get out and get some runs on the new snow.

Got back from a night session with MrMagic. Also met carbonXshell and skied a few runs on Temptor with him. Despite his claim that bumps aren't really his thing, he skis them pretty damn well. I also saw him ripping big arcs on Stinger from the lift a few times. A few squalls rolled through during the evening, some heavy.

The bumps were good. It almost seemed like they were flattened somehow though. The troughs were definitely not as deep as Friday night. Can't really put my finger on it, but it seems like they were run over last night perhaps. Not as mowed down as that time a few seasons ago on Nor'easter, but something was up. The lines were not the same as Friday. I'm really not complaining cuz there was some slick back sides even during the dump on Friday. Some top dressing snowmaking and we'll be able to ski in some good lines again.

I felt all out of sorts tonight. I only started pulling together some decent runs the last hour. My legs were still tired from Friday. MrMagic as usual was killing it. All in all a fun session. A fun day actually. Started with a few hours with Abby and I skiing in the snow this morning. Then the entire family went to the Christmas Village in Torrington. Snowing at the time and nobody there - a really special family outing. A nice dinner and then back out for a night ski session. Life is good.

o3jeff said:

We left there around 2 so I don't think you saw us.

I also had the twin tips out today and just couldn't get into a good rhythm with them.

Good to see you were able to get out and get some runs on the new snow.

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Likely not then. I had a hard time finding the rhythm on the upper part of the mountain, but Exhibition has been a favorite lately -- which is really crazy since it used to be my least favorite thing about skiing at Sundown. There's something about the angle or whatever that is perfect for me getting those quick, even turns lined up though. I'm loving it!

Twin tips take a little getting used to. I didn't even take my Maries out until Thursday (and I think they are similar in stats to your PEs). I almost took them out today to compare with the Celebrities (I had both) but I got lazy at the end and just decided to head home instead.

The only thing I wish I had done that I didn't was ski Gunbarrel. I've told you before that I only ski it with new snow. But Brian said he heard reports that it was icy when I was there so I skipped it.

Greg said:

The bumps were good. It almost seemed like they were flattened somehow though. The troughs were definitely not as deep as Friday night. Can't really put my finger on it, but it seems like they were run over last night perhaps. Not as mowed down as that time a few seasons ago on Nor'easter, but something was up. The lines were not the same as Friday. I'm really not complaining cuz there was some slick back sides even during the dump on Friday. Some top dressing snowmaking and we'll be able to ski in some good lines again.

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I thought they looked different, too. Smaller somehow. Though what do I know; I don't ski 'em.

I'm impressed you were able to get into Christmas Village! I tried many times since Mags was born to go and it was only this year that we finally got in. Saw 6 people in line on the way home from the grocery store one day so we dropped the groceries off and booked back. Even with 8 people in front of us by the time we got there, it still took an hour between waiting in line, getting in to see Santa, Mrs. Claus, etc, etc, etc.

severine said:

I thought they looked different, too. Smaller somehow. Though what do I know; I don't ski 'em.

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I should mention that I'm talking about the Temptor headwall. Nor'easter seemed pretty much the same. But yeah even from Ex and the lift you can tell they were not as gnarly.

severine said:

I'm impressed you were able to get into Christmas Village! I tried many times since Mags was born to go and it was only this year that we finally got in. Saw 6 people in line on the way home from the grocery store one day so we dropped the groceries off and booked back. Even with 8 people in front of us by the time we got there, it still took an hour between waiting in line, getting in to see Santa, Mrs. Claus, etc, etc, etc.

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I think it was a combo of luck and the road conditions/snowfall today. It really was a neat place. We were only there for probably a half hour but the kids were in heaven and the whole family really got into the Christmas spirit. The snow falling and the decent amount already on the ground really set a cool scene. We got some great pics. Here's a shot of the girls:

I thought they were smaller because of the new snow filling in the troughs...Nice picture that would make an awesome xmas card!

steve

Out for a couple of hours this afternoon with the kids, 2ish to 4ish, nice snowy day. canyon and noreaster were the only trails skied, but that was fine as my legs have not yet fully recovered from Friday, when I should have made my first announced last run my actual last run, and not the third or fourth one after.

Little scraped off in spots, but snow was generally good, followed the kids through the edge of the trees a bit, which was fun. Got a call from a friend for a night bump session but had to pass for domestic reasons.

My 6yo son is ready for them to seed lower exhibition, he wants to get some bumps in but was scared off of temptor (which he usually enjoys) by the fine video Greg produced-- he thought the bumps looked "HUUUUUGE" (he has also proclaimed that Unchained is his new favortite song as he air guitarred through it). He played a little in the Noreaster bumps, but seems to worry that he will end up on Temptor, so always bails right early.

Hope to get back out later in the week, mother nature permitting.

if they rolled them, they did it after the saturday night session. the bumps were just as big and nasty as they had been all year.

i will say this though, on saturday night around 8:30 or so, it became like a human slalom on temptor. they were people all over it, skidding crashing side slipping down it. Snowboarders and skiers so they may have taken more abuse then i noticed. and it remained like that till they shut the lifts down. It was like everyone got sick of the terrain park and canyon/noreaster and headed to temptor. I had to wait almost 5 minutes on one run for the carnage to clear enough to make my run. even then i was blowing past people laying on the ground. kinda felt bad but how long was i supposed to wait.

was the big snowmaking whale/drop still there? that would be a dead give away cause it would be painfully obvious if it was gone.

2knees said:

if they rolled them, they did it after the saturday night session. the bumps were just as big and nasty as they had been all year.

i will say this though, on saturday night around 8:30 or so, it became like a human slalom on temptor. they were people all over it, skidding crashing side slipping down it. Snowboarders and skiers so they may have taken more abuse then i noticed. and it remained like that till they shut the lifts down. It was like everyone got sick of the terrain park and canyon/noreaster and headed to temptor. I had to wait almost 5 minutes on one run for the carnage to clear enough to make my run. even then i was blowing past people laying on the ground. kinda felt bad but how long was i supposed to wait.

was the big snowmaking whale/drop still there? that would be a dead give away cause it would be painfully obvious if it was gone.

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I got a PM from Chris who indicated they did nothing to them. I guess all the newbs knocked off all the crest powder into the troughs and changed things a bit. Human grooming at its best. :lol: They were actually a bit easier last night and there are still good lines. You just need to work to piece things together. The money line is kinda whacked. I know it's frustrating when there is human carnage littering the bumps, but we need to be patient and remember that without them, they would never keep the bumps. Such a high level of activity on Temptor is a good thing.

BTW, they made snow over them last night and this morning. MrMagic is there this morning so he'll probably have a report. They must be sweet right now.

Greg said:

I got a PM from Chris who indicated they did nothing to them. I guess all the newbs knocked off all the crest powder into the troughs and changed things a bit. Human grooming at its best. :lol: They were actually a bit easier last night and there are still good lines. You just need to work to piece things together. The money line is kinda whacked. I know it's frustrating when there is human carnage littering the bumps, but we need to be patient and remember that without them, they would never keep the bumps. Such a high level of activity on Temptor is a good thing.

BTW, they made snow over them last night and this morning. MrMagic is there this morning so he'll probably have a report. They must be sweet right now.

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i dont mind that people get in there and try them. its not my run, its our run. or something along the lines of Spicoli and Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I dont like to go flying down it when people are traversing across cause then you tend to leave a wake of human carnage behind you. People hear you coming down and kind of panic.

anyway, the top was already getting screwy. like i said in my report there was one spot that got me twice. like 5 bumps in. long drop to an ice sheet cross cut trough. it was tricky but made for some interesting adjustments as the night went on. I was thinking about something i read on the mogul board about skiing higher up on the bump. i was using that trick keeping myself up higher on the bump before it which enabled me to come into that spot closer to the edge of the bump/trough. I worked like magic but sent you at mach one from there. i was crapping my pants a few times with the speed i was carrying.

2knees said:

I was thinking about something i read on the mogul board about skiing higher up on the bump. i was using that trick keeping myself up higher on the bump before it which enabled me to come into that spot closer to the edge of the bump/trough. I worked like magic but sent you at mach one from there. i was crapping my pants a few times with the speed i was carrying.

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Yeah, I was doing that too last night, i.e. throwing in a quick little turn right on top of a bump, most often to make a line correction to avoid the nastiness. There were also a few times for me where I was just straightlining the bottom and holding on hoping I wouldn't wreck.

Greg said:

There were also a few times for me where I was just straightlining the bottom and holding on hoping I wouldn't wreck.

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that is pretty much what i was doing on friday night. maybe not true straightlining but hauling ass throw a set of bumps.