Your Best Run This Year

[highpeaksdrifter]

What was the single most satisfying run you took this season? If you skied in the West or Europe tell us your East first cause that’s where we all ski the most.

East – The first day Cloudspin was open (Whiteface) after a good size dump, they had already blown a good deal of snow on it. You had to cut over to it from Upper Skyward cause there had been a lot of wind the day before and the top entrance was wind blown and closed. Hardly anyone was doing the cut in the beginning of the day and mostly we had it to ourselves. It was natural on top of a good man made base, a little less then knee deep. It was like floating on a cloud. Then at the bottom we cut across to Lower Skyward where they where still making snow, the conditions there where perfect too.

I did many laps after that, all where good, but the first one was the best. I guess because I knew it would be good, but didn’t expect it to be that good.

West – Outer Mongolia Bowl at Vail. As far skiers left as you can go and stay in bounds. It’s not the steepest terrain in the world, but that day it held the snow the best. To skiers left there is a big pine glad with all sort of pow stashes. In there was my best run. This is a picture from there of me coming out of a stand of trees there. A stand out day of incredable bowl skiing, but this one stood a little above the rest.

 

[Greg]

Great looking run, HPD. And a great topic.

For me, I gotta say it was at Sugarbush in late March on Middle Earth, despite it being crowded with a large group of kids:

Great line right down the middle, best snow of the weekend, and well, Castlerock is Castlerock. A close second would be The Mall:

Great for the first couple hundred feet of vertical. It then thinned way out at the bottom, but I had a fun time picking through the slush, ice and mud. Other good runs that weekend included Paradise and Ripcord.

 

[Vortex]

Airglow at Sunday River on Monday April 9th. Soft un touched groomed snow. Low sixties felt like I was dancing on snow. Hit it about 5 times. Fresh tracks everytime. Got a mild sunburn. Best run best day this year.:beer: .

 

[JimG.]

This day:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/8312-gulf-slides-4-14-06-a-2.html?highlight=gulf

Because every turn was earned and the earning part was as much fun as the skiing part.

 

[AdironRider]

Left Gully, Tuckerman Ravine, Sat before Easter. You just cant beat your first time in Tucks...


At a resort it would have to be freshies in the Chatemiac glades at the end of my one pow day of the season at Gore. It had been puking all day, with the first flakes dropping as I drove up the access road to Gore. They were blowing a ton of snow on Chatemiac and it was all blowing into the trees. That in combination with the 10"+ we got that day led to wait deep first tracks in spots. Incredible as I had first tracks and my pick of any line. I was still able to find some stashes the next day, but Inever as good as that entire untracked run.

 

[skibum1321]

It would have to be at Smuggs the morning after one of the big northern VT storms. My favorite line in the back bowls was untouched and there was knee deep pow that I was just ripping through. I did laps in the back bowls all day long. Unfortunately, my next time back there some gaper had followed my tracks and sidestepped the entrance, scraping all of the snow off of an entrance that can get awful sketch.

 

[wintersyndrome]

Best Run

EAST: Sap-Tapper at Mt Snow it was ball$ A$$ cold but I finally found bottomless turns for once this season--Spent most of my season at this one run place (you know: you ski one run you've basically skied them all) because I had a share house there, next year i think i will suck it up and find property at Sugarbush because the diversity there is unbelieveable

WEST: A couple of off-piste runs to the far skier left and right at Blue-Sky-Basin
The one to skier left (of the main BSB lift) was very secluded, a half hour hike , and was absolutley exhausting (I was two days removed from sea-level at that time)
The Drop in was awesome waist deep turns though the runout was way too flat too (I snowboard and the three skiers I was with have no concept of what it is like to traverse on these toys)

The other runs were to skier right of Petes lift you have to enter through a ski-patrol gate complete with a counter to acess this area (legally).
We followed the ridge line many times and discovered many different chutes with unbelievable coverage (i did things I only saw in movies) though i did fear starting a slide at a few points, the run-out was not so bad, and the seclusion makes it all the more tempting

Also had good runs at Northwoods area some real steep-n-deep chutes made it easy to wake up every morning

note: it had snowed over two feet during my three day visit to Vail so it was more luck than anything else (you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good)

 

[kcyanks1]

Wow. This is a tough question. I might choose a run on Mall at SB in the late-Feb weekend where they got a good amount of snow. It might not've had as much fresh snow as woods off of Paradise, but I think it was the right combination between snow and the way I skied it. I also had a few good runs on Morningstar that same weekend. I have lots of fun in the glades, but the somewhat easier bump runs like Mall and moreso Morningstar I can get more satisfaction out of the way I skied it since and have that satisfaction along with the fun. Also is nice to get my heart rate up while skiing, which can happen on those runs, but not generally in the glades or on even a more challenging trail like Rumble.

 

[2knees]

i had a few i was happy with. Managed to run the course at hunter a couple times with no hiccups. Ran vertigo from the upper headwall down to the crossover in february real smooth. I usually stop after the headwall but i nailed it for once and just kept on truckin. also had a few solid runs at sundown, although the difficulty level isnt high, i tried to make up for it with speed.

 

[Greg]

i had a few i was happy with. Managed to run the course at hunter a couple times with no hiccups. Ran vertigo from the upper headwall down to the crossover in february real smooth. I usually stop after the headwall but i nailed it for once and just kept on truckin. also had a few solid runs at sundown, although the difficulty level isnt high, i tried to make up for it with speed.

I had a feeling you would mention Ike at Hunter. Indeed some of the Nor'easter runs were quick!

 

[2knees]

I had a feeling you would mention Ike at Hunter. Indeed some of the Nor'easter runs were quick!

its stuff like that that keeps me skiing. or bump skiing anyway. Makes all the aches and bruises and bad knees and back worth it. the day i cant bump anymore is probably the day i hang it up.

 

[JimG.]

the day i cant bump anymore is probably the day i hang it up.

A nice sentiment, but I think you're kidding yourself.

 

[Geoff]

East:
I never ventured away from KMart this year. I missed the October storm so my best runs of the year were at Thanksgiving on the natural snow trails. We spent one of those days doing laps on Vagabond with nice little packed powder bumps that exploded western-style when you skied the tops.

West:
Monarch, Colorado during Texas "spring break" school vacation. The best run was called No Name off the Garfield lift. You had to do a slightly uphill traverse to get to the top steep part. Lightly tracked knee-deep fluff that the Texans in jeans and starter jackets completely ignored. The lower easier part is very classic New England-like. Narrow, twisty, in the trees. Sort of like Double Bitter at Sugarloaf.

Southern Hemisphere:
Valle Nevado after receiving 8 feet of snow. Every run was untracked for two days. The snow was a little heavy but we were on Volkl heli-skiing boards I bought on the cheap from CMH 4 years ago. There's no way I could pick one best run.

 

[Zand]

The best was probably the first one. November 25th, Conifer's first run of the season covered in 5" of fresh Turkey Day powder. Otherwise, the Drifter/Red Fox/3 Mtn trio at Smuggs were great on March 19th. Plenty of powder to be had (and drifts up to my chest on Drifter, I wonder why they named it that). Outer Limits was incredible on the Sunday of BMMC. Birch Run at SB was also nice on March 27th. Plenty of nice runs at Wawa when they opened from grooming. Too hard to pick...

 

[DJAK]

Mine was April 5 at Sunday River for number of reasons.

1) We hadn't had any snow in months.
2) From the bottom it appeared that we'd be skiing a few inches of refrozen slop.
3) The realization that it was instead an unholy powday was a pleasant surprise.

Powdays when you expect variable conditions are a real treat. And less people show up.

This photo is Upper Downdraft that morning. Everything from Spruce Peak over skied like this all day. Best Oz had been all year.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

A nice sentiment, but I think you're kidding yourself.

UR right JimmyG. I'm going to keep goin as long as I can. What's the alternative, sittin home watchin TV? No thanks. Begining of April I saw a guy at Gore who had to be 90. Dudes bumpin days are long gone, but he's still doin what he can. God bless him.

 

[John84]

Best day was Sunday, January 22nd at Jay grabbing first chair on the flyer and making fresh tracks through BP and BBP. 6 inches of fresh snow in the woods, blue skies, and not a person in sight.

 

[hiroto]

Mine is a little different. Best run was when I followed my daughter running
NASTAR course on Challenger at Wawa toward the end of the season.
I was hoping for her to come in a little over a minute to get a bronze medal.
It really made my day when she actually came in at 51sec, shaved off 140HP
from the year before and got silver medal.

For myself, glades at Jay Peak on 4/2 was the best. No pow day for me this
season :sad:

 

[Greg]

Great pic. Now that looks just about my speed as far as glades go....

 

[riverc0il]

this is a really tough question. i simply could not pick one run as "the best." i certainly think the run i was most excited about all season was earning a foot and a half of fresh at cannon on october 26th. that was really exciting since it was so unexpected and only my second day on skis for the season. deepest snow i skied all year even though it was kinda heavy.
http://www.thesnowway.com/ski/2006/cannon102605.htm