Ski Sundown - 12/13/08

[bvibert]

I just heard from Carrie she said that conditions are a little rough with some death cookies. They're blowing snow on Canyon today so I guess they've been skiing that alot since the new snow it nice. They haven't skied the bumps, but they said they looked good and that it looked like they blew snow on them.

Here's a picture that Jeff sent me:

 

[Greg]

Looks nice and chalky. Hope they get dusted again tonight.

 

[o3jeff]

Just got back from skiing for a couple hours. Seems Carrie and I got there about the same time as I bumped into her going into the lodge when I was coming out.

My first two runs were down Noreaster which was mostly good sized cookies(some the size of my mittens) on top of a solid hardpack. Then met up with Carrie at the lift and we went down Toms Treat which was a little icy with small cookies in spots, not bad for a trail that just opened this week. We then went down Canyon Run which they were blowing snow on and by far the best trail of the day. We ended up lapping that all session except doing another run down Noreaster to grab a pic for you guys.

Looks like they top coated Temptor with snow last night. I did slide through a couple of the troughs at the top to see if they were icy and much to my surprise I didn't hit any. It might ski really well for you guys tomorrow, but not having gone down it all the way down, we really don't know what they are like down below.

They also had quite a few guns going on Gunny and I can only imagine they will be going all out on it tonight. One ski school dude says they plan to open it Monday, will have to wait and see.

Overall conditions were a lot better than I expected considering the 4+ inches of rain we had the past week. Also want to give props to skidmarks for recommending those Elan 777 skis for me, they skied great thru todays conditions(and the past few weeks too). I originally started the day on a pair of K2 PE I grab used pretty cheap and switched to the 777 after 4 runs and they were by far the better ski for conditions.

 

[bvibert]

Carrie talked to Chris Sullivan and he said that they did indeed blow on the bumps and that the lower ones were really nice. They plan on hitting them again tonight as well. Sounds like they're also still committed to staying open full time. I think she had more, but I don't remember. I'll let her chime in when she gets back.

 

[Greg]

Carrie talked to Chris Sullivan and he said that they did indeed blow on the bumps and that the lower ones were really nice. They plan on hitting them again tonight as well. Sounds like they're also still committed to staying open full time. I think she had more, but I don't remember. I'll let her chime in when she gets back.

All great news. I wouldn't mind seeing some snowmaking on lower Temptor during open hours. I think skier traffic would help distribute snow better and minimize whaling. Maybe we can get them to fire up the guns tomorrow evening...

 

[bvibert]

All great news. I wouldn't mind seeing some snowmaking on lower Temptor during open hours. I think skier traffic would help distribute snow better and minimize whaling. Maybe we can get them to fire up the guns tomorrow evening...

I agree, that would be rad!

 

[Greg]

I agree, that would be rad!

I think I'm going to have to put you on "rad probation." I'm pretty sure I heard you say it about 100 times yesterday... :roll:

 

[bvibert]

I think I'm going to have to put you on "rad probation." I'm pretty sure I heard you say it about 100 times yesterday... :roll:

:lol: At least 100..

 

[severine]

He won't stop saying "rad." :roll:

Yes, Chris said they blew snow on Temptor last night and will again tonight. He also said the ski school guy was wrong; they are hoping to open Gunny next weekend though. After this weekend, the next snowmaking night looks like it will be Thursday. That dude is everywhere! I came across him working on the ramp at the top of lift 2 when we talked. :lol:

Jeff pretty well covered the day. I think we encountered every condition: ice (YES, it was in fact ice), hardpack, and fresh manmade were plentiful, as well as those infamous death cookies. At least the cookies were softened up on Exhibition. I had a great time making turns on Ex, actually; a lot more fun than working on the transitions on Canyon. Still, it was a good day. No crowds again; liftlines weren't too bad (though the liftie at the end of the day needs to actually DO his job of bumping the chairs...), sunny. It was a bit cold but not intolerable. I took 3 more runs after Jeff left but they were a bit marred by the fact that the new liftie on shift didn't bump the chair at all and it smacked me hard in the calves, messing up my injured knee a bit. He did it again the next time. So the 3rd run was the last of the day. I was having fun on Ex but my knee couldn't take any more beatings from loading onto the lift.

Thanks for skiing with me, Jeff. Nice having some company today.

 

[o3jeff]

And I kept getting first tracks under the snow guns every run

 

[severine]

That's the best part about skiing when they're blowing snow! We'll have to work on that getting air on the whales thing.

 

[MrMagic]

nice report i cant wait for some nice man -made snow tomarrow night!

 

[Rossi Smash]

see 12-14-08