Date(s) Skied: Sunday, December 7, 2008
Resort or Ski Area: Loon Mountain
Conditions: Packed Powder, Man Made
Trip Report:
I spent the night at Carter Notch Hut at 3288', hiked out the 3.8 miles in the morning, and booked it over to Loon, meeting my partner there just past noon, where we picked up half-day tickets. It was in the 20's with a light snow falling. Guns were blasting everywhere, but not on any open trails except at a few junctions and down at the bases, which was great for keeping the highest-traffic areas in good shape. Virtually no lines at any chairlifts; longest wait was about 5 minutes for our first gondola ride and it only got quicker after that.
First run was off the Kanc quad and was a disappointment. I believe it was Blue Ox that I was on, and it was pretty badly scraped most of the way. No big piles, either; just scraped patches. I kept going from edge to edge trying to find where the snow had ended up and just couldn't get a consistent run.
Then we rode back up Kanc and this time took Grand Junction to Lower Bear Claw. That was pretty darn good, green-ness notwithstanding. Cohesive snow, edgeable, fairly even. From there we went up the Gondola. Exodus through the entire length of Bear Claw back to the bottom was another good ride, not challenging but consistent enough to get good practice and revive muscle memory.
Next run we took the steep drop off the back of the Gondola (unnamed?) then onto Haulback which is kind of a sucky, narrow traverse. I just don't like trails like that. There was a bit of fun to be had by riding high when crossing Flume and cutting a few hard turns in the fresh blow back onto Haulback. Lower Walking Boss was the gem of the day. Chopped up but smooth, not sticky, not scraped, really nice to duck down on and get some speed and turns. Brookway was another narrow get-you-there green with some bad scrapes. We did this loop a bunch of times, it was a lot of fun.
On the fourth, the sky was grey and the light really flat; it was after 3, so we decided on the way down to stop and take the North Peak Express up. On top the wind was gusting pretty well, but Sunset was the best run all day. The wind was blowing right into it, packing the snow tight, and we had a nice blast down before following Bear Claw around again to Grand Junction and back to the Governor's Lodge and the car.
We finished the day with delicious hot soup at Half-Baked & Fully Brewed in Lincoln.
This was my first time at Loon. I liked it. It's a nice mountain and I do want to go back. But I realize that it's a complete mob scene on the weekends in high season, so I'll have to return on a weekday when it approximates the nice, fairly empty trails we had on Sunday.
With the guns going the way they are, and reports that Upper Walking Boss just opened, I think Loon is doing really well with their "early-season product".
Resort or Ski Area: Loon Mountain
Conditions: Packed Powder, Man Made
Trip Report:
I spent the night at Carter Notch Hut at 3288', hiked out the 3.8 miles in the morning, and booked it over to Loon, meeting my partner there just past noon, where we picked up half-day tickets. It was in the 20's with a light snow falling. Guns were blasting everywhere, but not on any open trails except at a few junctions and down at the bases, which was great for keeping the highest-traffic areas in good shape. Virtually no lines at any chairlifts; longest wait was about 5 minutes for our first gondola ride and it only got quicker after that.
First run was off the Kanc quad and was a disappointment. I believe it was Blue Ox that I was on, and it was pretty badly scraped most of the way. No big piles, either; just scraped patches. I kept going from edge to edge trying to find where the snow had ended up and just couldn't get a consistent run.
Then we rode back up Kanc and this time took Grand Junction to Lower Bear Claw. That was pretty darn good, green-ness notwithstanding. Cohesive snow, edgeable, fairly even. From there we went up the Gondola. Exodus through the entire length of Bear Claw back to the bottom was another good ride, not challenging but consistent enough to get good practice and revive muscle memory.
Next run we took the steep drop off the back of the Gondola (unnamed?) then onto Haulback which is kind of a sucky, narrow traverse. I just don't like trails like that. There was a bit of fun to be had by riding high when crossing Flume and cutting a few hard turns in the fresh blow back onto Haulback. Lower Walking Boss was the gem of the day. Chopped up but smooth, not sticky, not scraped, really nice to duck down on and get some speed and turns. Brookway was another narrow get-you-there green with some bad scrapes. We did this loop a bunch of times, it was a lot of fun.
On the fourth, the sky was grey and the light really flat; it was after 3, so we decided on the way down to stop and take the North Peak Express up. On top the wind was gusting pretty well, but Sunset was the best run all day. The wind was blowing right into it, packing the snow tight, and we had a nice blast down before following Bear Claw around again to Grand Junction and back to the Governor's Lodge and the car.
We finished the day with delicious hot soup at Half-Baked & Fully Brewed in Lincoln.
This was my first time at Loon. I liked it. It's a nice mountain and I do want to go back. But I realize that it's a complete mob scene on the weekends in high season, so I'll have to return on a weekday when it approximates the nice, fairly empty trails we had on Sunday.
With the guns going the way they are, and reports that Upper Walking Boss just opened, I think Loon is doing really well with their "early-season product".
