Date: January 19, 2007
2007 Trip Report #: 26
Resort: Pico Mountain
Conditions: 1-3 inches of new Pow on top of MG/FG/Ice.
Weather: Heavy snow tapering off to fog, and then picking back up again. Temps in the low 20’s.
Trip Report: I took some Friday afternoon turns at Pico. Was stoked to get back on the KA after six years. As I drove down 100, the snow picked up. Sherburne Pass was slow, but doable.
The parking lot was pretty busy....more cars than in a while. I went in, had lunch, and then headed out. Pico had brought some of K-mart's Areco cannons over to help blow snow on the bottom of B-Slope. They had them hooked to a generator and cranking away. They had done a nice job blowing snow at the base area, which is nicer than seeing the grass and mud.
First run was down Expressway to Panhandler. Some fresh pow on the side. That run is the best one IMHO out of the three open runs off the Golden Express. Some nice rolls and decent pitch. After this warm up, I headed down Fool's Gold to the Summit Quad. Snowmaking was taking place on Middle Pike....they have that run open all the way up to Easy Street/Borcj Glades lower opening. The trail is pretty well covered with some BIG whales on it.
At long last I was back on Upper KA. Narrow, steep, and old school. However, I was
that it was not groomed as suggested. The surface was soft on the sides with some pow. The middle had some odd shaped whales, frankensnow, and some icy patches. Mid KA, on the other hand, had been rolled out and was nice.
I did a spin down 49er which was dicey in places. The problem was not the snow coming down or the ice, it was lack of visibility....so you could not get a good rhythm or see where the ice was until you were on it. I ended up cutting over Easy Street to Mid Pike. Only then did I appreciate how HUGE the whales were....
I did one more spin on KA and 49er before heading to the bottom for a break. Much to my I found my gloves that I had lost at the lodge a few weeks back! Thanks to the staff for their help!
Back on the lift I decided to do some lower mountain runs...hitting each of the open runs before heading back to the top. The lower mountain was a bit more tracked out and the clouds were lifting.
At the top I did one more run down 49er to Mid KA and then decided to do KA once more. It was actually not as bad as it was earlier....the snow had been spread out I guess. At any rate, I did 3 or 4 runs down KA and it was worth it.
Snowmaking was taking place on B Slope and Middle Pike, but nothing on Sunset '71 as they had been saying all week. I highly doubt that Sunset '71 will open for Sunday....the snow report has been saying all week that it would be open for this weekend....oh well, maybe next weekend.
2007 Trip Report #: 26
Resort: Pico Mountain
Conditions: 1-3 inches of new Pow on top of MG/FG/Ice.
Weather: Heavy snow tapering off to fog, and then picking back up again. Temps in the low 20’s.
Trip Report: I took some Friday afternoon turns at Pico. Was stoked to get back on the KA after six years. As I drove down 100, the snow picked up. Sherburne Pass was slow, but doable.
The parking lot was pretty busy....more cars than in a while. I went in, had lunch, and then headed out. Pico had brought some of K-mart's Areco cannons over to help blow snow on the bottom of B-Slope. They had them hooked to a generator and cranking away. They had done a nice job blowing snow at the base area, which is nicer than seeing the grass and mud.
First run was down Expressway to Panhandler. Some fresh pow on the side. That run is the best one IMHO out of the three open runs off the Golden Express. Some nice rolls and decent pitch. After this warm up, I headed down Fool's Gold to the Summit Quad. Snowmaking was taking place on Middle Pike....they have that run open all the way up to Easy Street/Borcj Glades lower opening. The trail is pretty well covered with some BIG whales on it.
At long last I was back on Upper KA. Narrow, steep, and old school. However, I was
that it was not groomed as suggested. The surface was soft on the sides with some pow. The middle had some odd shaped whales, frankensnow, and some icy patches. Mid KA, on the other hand, had been rolled out and was nice. I did a spin down 49er which was dicey in places. The problem was not the snow coming down or the ice, it was lack of visibility....so you could not get a good rhythm or see where the ice was until you were on it. I ended up cutting over Easy Street to Mid Pike. Only then did I appreciate how HUGE the whales were....
I did one more spin on KA and 49er before heading to the bottom for a break. Much to my
I found my gloves that I had lost at the lodge a few weeks back! Thanks to the staff for their help! Back on the lift I decided to do some lower mountain runs...hitting each of the open runs before heading back to the top. The lower mountain was a bit more tracked out and the clouds were lifting.
At the top I did one more run down 49er to Mid KA and then decided to do KA once more. It was actually not as bad as it was earlier....the snow had been spread out I guess. At any rate, I did 3 or 4 runs down KA and it was worth it.
Snowmaking was taking place on B Slope and Middle Pike, but nothing on Sunset '71 as they had been saying all week. I highly doubt that Sunset '71 will open for Sunday....the snow report has been saying all week that it would be open for this weekend....oh well, maybe next weekend.
