schubwa
New member
Yesterday was my GF Sally's first day snowboarding for the season. She had been busy running a campaign, and winning, a position on Bend's City Council. Finally the dust has settled and she got to get away. I suggested we go ride up at the Sunrise Lodge, on the mellower but also protected side of the ski area. I had my thoughts on Rainbow which is a vererable old fixed triple. The runs are long and flat, but the snow is always superior as the trees are stately and the snow falls straight down.
After a warm up on Sunrise we headed over to Rainbow. The runs are wide and they had a groomer path down the middle. But there was tons of untouched fresh off to the sides and the soft berm created by the cats became my playground. You burn off twenty turns, veer off onto the groomer to maintain speed on the flatter sections and then arc into the berm, catch air into the powder off the kicker, turns, repeat. All the while Sally is picking up speed as she regains her sea legs.
It's always quiet over at Rainbow due to the excruciatingly slow ride up the old gal. Plus it's pretty flat. But yesterday it was awesome and I know my normal storm day trio- Pine, Outback, Northwest had to have been good, but we got some great soft lines.
On the way down we stopped at Wanoga Snowpark. On the west side is a huge snowmobile staging area with concessions. This year it's great as the snow is deep down low now (after a warm start). The 'bilers can access a huge network of groomed trails on the Wanoga Plateau. These same roads are also used by the XC skiers who park by the sledding hill and dog park. On the east side of the Snowpark is a recently built snow sledding area that's free except for a required Snowpark Pass. This is where the groomed Dog Park is as well, which I featured in a recent post. I know, blah-blah, but it is very cool to have these amenities for the folks who don't do alpine. We took the dogs skate skiing for almost an hour around the two dog loops.
Then into Ten Barrel for a quick IPA before a bath and a nap. Ahh, gotta like winter.
View from near the top of Rainbow. The sun was breaking through after another snowfall.
Looking over toward the bottom of Summit Chair. It hasn't been open since a week ago due to the impressive storm cycle. And it's not over yet with continuous snow predicted into next week.
Sally Girl had a good time and she bought herself new tapered snowboard to celebrate the new season. She bought a "12 pack" which works like a regular season pass at the turnstiles and gives you each day at $48. I think it's a pretty good deal, and later in the season they always cook up some other ticket programs if you go over your 12 days.
After a warm up on Sunrise we headed over to Rainbow. The runs are wide and they had a groomer path down the middle. But there was tons of untouched fresh off to the sides and the soft berm created by the cats became my playground. You burn off twenty turns, veer off onto the groomer to maintain speed on the flatter sections and then arc into the berm, catch air into the powder off the kicker, turns, repeat. All the while Sally is picking up speed as she regains her sea legs.
It's always quiet over at Rainbow due to the excruciatingly slow ride up the old gal. Plus it's pretty flat. But yesterday it was awesome and I know my normal storm day trio- Pine, Outback, Northwest had to have been good, but we got some great soft lines.
On the way down we stopped at Wanoga Snowpark. On the west side is a huge snowmobile staging area with concessions. This year it's great as the snow is deep down low now (after a warm start). The 'bilers can access a huge network of groomed trails on the Wanoga Plateau. These same roads are also used by the XC skiers who park by the sledding hill and dog park. On the east side of the Snowpark is a recently built snow sledding area that's free except for a required Snowpark Pass. This is where the groomed Dog Park is as well, which I featured in a recent post. I know, blah-blah, but it is very cool to have these amenities for the folks who don't do alpine. We took the dogs skate skiing for almost an hour around the two dog loops.
Then into Ten Barrel for a quick IPA before a bath and a nap. Ahh, gotta like winter.
View from near the top of Rainbow. The sun was breaking through after another snowfall.
Looking over toward the bottom of Summit Chair. It hasn't been open since a week ago due to the impressive storm cycle. And it's not over yet with continuous snow predicted into next week.
Sally Girl had a good time and she bought herself new tapered snowboard to celebrate the new season. She bought a "12 pack" which works like a regular season pass at the turnstiles and gives you each day at $48. I think it's a pretty good deal, and later in the season they always cook up some other ticket programs if you go over your 12 days.
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