Opening Day at Alta

[tirolerpeter]

Even though I have not yet moved to UT (House is sold, but I have to stay in NY for some medical treatment for a month or so.) I promised I would send along western ski reports. Here is the "Opening Day" report from my online friend Marc Guido (Editor of FirstTracksOnline). I am planning a quick three skiing days hop out there...Sun night departure 11/26 - Thu AM 11/30 return. Anybody want to share the trip? Jet Blue is waiting for us. PM me if interested.

The link: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2375

 

[bvibert]

I hope medical treatment is nothing serious and you'll be able to move out west soon! Thanks for the link. Hopefully we'll have some eastern opening days to report here real soon!

I wish I could hook up for a quick trip with ya, but it's not in the cards for me right now. Have a good trip, we expect a full report when you get back!

 

[RISkier]

My wife and I would love to join you. Unfortunately, it might be difficult to make it back for work Monday morning. We're now talking about a January trip to Eden, UT. We'd be travelling with a group of folks and ski mostly at Powder Mountain and Snowbasin. I'm really intrigued by Powder Mountain -- looks like it would be a great place for intermediates to learn and experience powder. Have you ever skied there?

 

[andyzee]

Yeah, as B said, I hope it nothing too serious with medical treatment and hope all goes well for you. I'd love to join you on a trip out there as well, but saving my days for Christmas week. But as I stated in the past, hope to get some turns in with you in Utah in March !

 

[tirolerpeter]

Powder Mountain

My wife and I would love to join you. Unfortunately, it might be difficult to make it back for work Monday morning. We're now talking about a January trip to Eden, UT. We'd be travelling with a group of folks and ski mostly at Powder Mountain and Snowbasin. I'm really intrigued by Powder Mountain -- looks like it would be a great place for intermediates to learn and experience powder. Have you ever skied there?

Snowbasin is beautiful, and the food is fantastic although the UT gang claims the food at Deer valley is even better. The way Snowbasin is laid out makes it easy for groups of skiers with varying abilities to stay together. For example; if you step off from the top of the Strawberry Gondola, lower ability skiers can ski groomed trails all the way to the gondola base, intermediates can parallel them on the ungroomed stuff, and advanced skiers can cut right and take the black/double black run off the top. The cool thing is that they can literally keep in visual contact for the entire run. Of course, if you take the blacks, be prepared to be serve as amusement for your less skilled members as they watch you make that run!

Unfortunately, I have NOT been up to Powder Mountain. It is one of my priorities as soon as I move. I don't think I will be making it over there on this next short trip. They likely don't have snow cover just yet worthy of their name. Although, since Powder is north of all the other areas, they may have gotten more snow in the last few days since the heaviest amounts have tracked that way on the way east. If I go I will definitely send a report.

Medically, I need some (don't laugh!) brain surgery for an accidentally discovered aneurysm (no symptoms, it is just there, and could have been there for years) and the post surgical recovery time will depend greatly upon how the surgery goes. Sucks, doesn't it? That is why I absolutely need to go get in some turns before my Dec 5th surgery date!

 

[andyzee]

Wish you all the best and a speedy recovery Peter!

 

[BeanoNYC]

Medically, I need some (don't laugh!) brain surgery for an accidentally discovered aneurysm (no symptoms, it is just there, and could have been there for years) and the post surgical recovery time will depend greatly upon how the surgery goes. Sucks, doesn't it? That is why I absolutely need to go get in some turns before my Dec 5th surgery date!

Where are you getting the surgery?

 

[tirolerpeter]

Where?

Where are you getting the surgery?

SUNY Stony Brook Hospital Center. Dr. Raphael Davis (neuro/spinal specialist). Comes well recommended by various friends (especially by some of my wife's retired nurse colleagues) and other medical personnel we know.

 

[BeanoNYC]

SUNY Stony Brook Hospital Center. Dr. Raphael Davis (neuro/spinal specialist). Comes well recommended by various friends (especially by some of my wife's retired nurse colleagues) and other medical personnel we know.

Good hospital! ...not too far from you either. Good luck, Pete. How long is the recovery?

 

[andyzee]

Good hospital! ...not too far from you either. Good luck, Pete. How long is the recovery?

Put a pair of skis in your room, it'll speed up recovery!

 

[dmc]

Powder mountain is pretty sweet... Highly recomended...
Lots of terrain... Some sweet bus serviced slack country... cats that tow you to the tops of ridges(for a fee)...

 

[RISkier]

Best of luck with the surgery Peter Here's to a speedy recovery. Thanks for the comment on Powder Mountain, DMC. Everything I've read about it makes me think we'll really have fun there. Hopefully, the trip comes off, we're still in the planning stages.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Powder Mountain

Best of luck with the surgery Peter Here's to a speedy recovery. Thanks for the comment on Powder Mountain, DMC. Everything I've read about it makes me think we'll really have fun there. Hopefully, the trip comes off, we're still in the planning stages.

Let me know what Powder Mountain is like in January.

As far as my "recovery" period. It is hard to say. With no complications it could be as little as six weeks before I can move west and hit the slopes. On the other hand, the damned thing could start to bleed during the surgery, or there could be some damage to surrounding blood vessels or nerves getting to it as part of the actual surgery. It could leave me with a wide variety of impairments such as speech loss (the wife is voting for that) personality change (the wife wanted to know if the surgeon could "tune me up" and make me easier to get along with) short term memory loss, or as the doc's put it...death. All I wanted to know was if I would have any "motor skills" impairment. The doctor said that the area he was going through was not particularily likely to hit me in terms of motor skills. My wife then commented: "He doesn't care if he can talk, or his personality changes..he just wants to ski!" My response to that was" "So what's wrong with that?"

 

[andyzee]

Dude, got faith in you, you gonna kick butt, if for nothing else to ski with me in Utah, in March!!

 

[kingslug]

Pete, I just want to wish you good luck with the surgery and I'm sure you will be out west when it's starting to get good. I'll be up there a couple of times this season and hope to meet you. And Powder Mountain is as good as everyone says.

 

[Powdr]

Pete,

Don't know you, but good luck. I wouldn't want a fellow Utard (furture) to miss out on the goods out here.

Powder Mt is one of the more interesting places you will ever ski. Starting with the steep drive up the access road to the funny layout of the base area, it is unique. You will also notice that this is a different area when you come across ski tracks and hitch hikers well below the base area. It gets weirder yet; the 1st base you arrive at is a small ski hill nearly detached from the rest of the mountain, save for one long cat track. You look up to a wide open E facing bowl that looks mighty tasty, except that it is E facing and gets sloppy in a hurry. Beyond that bowl, on the more N facing side is much of the snow cat terrain. Over another ridgeline is the rest of the lift serviced area; mostly intermediate in pitch. Fan out to the far NE and you hit some decent inbounds BC, usually untouched for days (weeks) after a storm. You will also never ride a wider variety of uphill transport; HSQ, FG, Poma, Snow Cat tow, Bus, etc. The day lodges are very old school, reminding me of that way it used to be. All in All, it's an incredibly fun place to ski and is not to be missed.

Powdr

 

[tirolerpeter]

Powder MT

Hey Powdr, thanks for the description. I'm definitely looking forward to hitting Powder Mountain when I get out there in a couple of months. I am planning to fly out this coming Sunday and skiing Mon - Wed but I won't get a chance to go north. BTW, I am very "old school" in that I go to mountains to ski and don't worry too much about elegance. That does not, however, mean that I don't like really good food. That is one reason why I like places like Snowbasin. When I do take a break I don't want to eat grease! Thanks for the good thoughts, and I look forward to meeting you and a number of other AZ'ers after I recover. It is kind of ironic that I will likely meet more of you out west than here in the east. Think Snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[ssusca]

Hey Tiro,

Good luck with the surgery. I missed you by a day last year at the Best Western Sandy. Maybe this year, after your surgery we'll be able to get together and make some turns. I hope to make two trips out there this year. I still owe you a beer for the sweet lodging deal you pointed me towards.

As for Powder Mountain, I think it truly a skiers mountain. It doesn’t have any of the frills or niceties of the more expensive places, however it has a pretty wide variety of terrain. Also, the place is huge! From Powder Country off the back side - this is the location where you need to catch the bus to get back up (yes, up) to the base lodge, to the Cat Skiing ( for only $7 per run) to the wide open areas in-bounds, you will not find a better variety of terrain for the price. What’s even better is that the place is relatively unknown. It is never crowded and like Powdr said, you can find huge stashes of pow many days or even weeks after a storm. The layout also allows skiers of all abilities to ski together. There are huge open areas with groomed trails and untracked powder right next to each other.

I think after you move out there, this is the place that you will ski the most.

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery. Looking forward to seeing you on the slopes in March!

 

[thaller1]

Powder Mountain will be a great place for you to recover once you get out there... it's so peaceful and laid back in comparison to any mountain I've been to. Glad they found the anyeurism now before it caused any problems! Good luck and here's wishing you a speedy, comfortable recovery and a healthy fantastic winter!

Get out there soon and rip it up!

 

[thaller1]

Oh and Powder has decent hamburgers ...