Day 27: Baldy!
Main Chute opened earlier this week for the first time this season.
It would have to wait, however, for Skidog and I were invited to preview some of Salomon's new gear for next winter. I can't talk about it yet, though, as I'm embargoed from providing details until SIA in about a month.
We met up at GMD this morning with Joe Johnson, who handles PR for Salomon through a contract with Outside Media, along with two other writers, and spent the morning swapping skis and clothes to spend some time with everything. We tried the stuff on all kinds of snow, ranging from groomed corduroy to stiff chopped up crud to even some untracked in a little spot where I knew that we'd find some. Throughout the morning we'd pick up stragglers here and there for a run or two -- Bobby Danger, Amy Z, Abby and Jenny (mrgskier's wife and daughter, respectively), Telejon, TheOtherAmy, rdwore, Marc_C and more. By and large the ungroomed was stiff and relatively unpleasant after a week of high pressure, at least as far as I was concerned. It was extremely pleasant, however, to get out of the crud in the Valley and get up into clear air that was 20 degrees warmer.
We all reconvened at lunch at Watson Shelter and hatched plans to hike Baldy. I switched back to my own gear and grabbed my pack out of the car.
The hike was closed from the Snowbird side so we had no choice but to head straight up the steep access from the Alta side.
We stayed at the summit for a while, as we typically do, and I swear that we knew 80% of the people who arrived. Unbeknownst to me Jenny was already at the top, and I bumped into skrad, too, now that he's finally here for the next few months. It's funny, but there's only a certain core group of people who are going to make that hike and apparently I've met most of them.
The only thing open off of Baldy was Main Chute -- no Little Chute or Dogleg, no Perla's, and no Snowbird access. We finally eased over to the edge of Main and peered in. Honestly, it was as tough as I've ever seen it. The first 50 feet was perfectly smooth with no loose snow on it at all. You could set an edge in it to keep from sliding into oblivion, but little else. Bobby sideslipped down to the first bit of loose snow, and then AmyZ, then Telejon.
Then it was TheOtherAmy's turn. But this is her first winter in Utah, and her first time on Baldy. And Toto, we're not in Steamboat anymore. Staring down into the confined, steep chute with that kind of exposure, and that kind of entrance today, was a total mind screw for her. She asked me to go first so that she could watch one more person do it, so I did the same sideslip entry while Jake stayed behind to run sweep. She still stood there. And stood there.
After about five minutes she finally summoned the nerve to drop in. She came to a stop precisely where she should have and began the sideslip. When she reached the first loose snow, however, she stopped again and spent another 4 or 5 minutes there. Finally, she made a turn. And then another. Then she started linking turns. For someone unaccustomed to this kind of terrain it's like riding a big, scary roller coaster; you're terrified to get on it, but when you're done you can't wait to go back and do it again. And the more you do it, the less that sort of thing intimidates you.
When we got three-quarters of the way down Main Chute Bobby, AmyZ and Telejon were all standing there against the right wall waiting for the rest of us. We exchanged notes, skied to the car and went home at 3:30.
Main Chute opened earlier this week for the first time this season.
It would have to wait, however, for Skidog and I were invited to preview some of Salomon's new gear for next winter. I can't talk about it yet, though, as I'm embargoed from providing details until SIA in about a month.
We met up at GMD this morning with Joe Johnson, who handles PR for Salomon through a contract with Outside Media, along with two other writers, and spent the morning swapping skis and clothes to spend some time with everything. We tried the stuff on all kinds of snow, ranging from groomed corduroy to stiff chopped up crud to even some untracked in a little spot where I knew that we'd find some. Throughout the morning we'd pick up stragglers here and there for a run or two -- Bobby Danger, Amy Z, Abby and Jenny (mrgskier's wife and daughter, respectively), Telejon, TheOtherAmy, rdwore, Marc_C and more. By and large the ungroomed was stiff and relatively unpleasant after a week of high pressure, at least as far as I was concerned. It was extremely pleasant, however, to get out of the crud in the Valley and get up into clear air that was 20 degrees warmer.
We all reconvened at lunch at Watson Shelter and hatched plans to hike Baldy. I switched back to my own gear and grabbed my pack out of the car.
The hike was closed from the Snowbird side so we had no choice but to head straight up the steep access from the Alta side.
We stayed at the summit for a while, as we typically do, and I swear that we knew 80% of the people who arrived. Unbeknownst to me Jenny was already at the top, and I bumped into skrad, too, now that he's finally here for the next few months. It's funny, but there's only a certain core group of people who are going to make that hike and apparently I've met most of them.
The only thing open off of Baldy was Main Chute -- no Little Chute or Dogleg, no Perla's, and no Snowbird access. We finally eased over to the edge of Main and peered in. Honestly, it was as tough as I've ever seen it. The first 50 feet was perfectly smooth with no loose snow on it at all. You could set an edge in it to keep from sliding into oblivion, but little else. Bobby sideslipped down to the first bit of loose snow, and then AmyZ, then Telejon.
Then it was TheOtherAmy's turn. But this is her first winter in Utah, and her first time on Baldy. And Toto, we're not in Steamboat anymore. Staring down into the confined, steep chute with that kind of exposure, and that kind of entrance today, was a total mind screw for her. She asked me to go first so that she could watch one more person do it, so I did the same sideslip entry while Jake stayed behind to run sweep. She still stood there. And stood there.
After about five minutes she finally summoned the nerve to drop in. She came to a stop precisely where she should have and began the sideslip. When she reached the first loose snow, however, she stopped again and spent another 4 or 5 minutes there. Finally, she made a turn. And then another. Then she started linking turns. For someone unaccustomed to this kind of terrain it's like riding a big, scary roller coaster; you're terrified to get on it, but when you're done you can't wait to go back and do it again. And the more you do it, the less that sort of thing intimidates you.
When we got three-quarters of the way down Main Chute Bobby, AmyZ and Telejon were all standing there against the right wall waiting for the rest of us. We exchanged notes, skied to the car and went home at 3:30.
