Day 18: Face shots, baby! \
/
I opened my eyes and rolled over to see the alarm clock, and it read...8:30 a.m. Oh, shit!! I think I remember it going off at 7:15, but I'm not even sure about that. I placed a quick call to Andy's cell phone as they were already halfway up LCC, then went downstairs to rustle The Kid out of bed. We made it out of the house in record time and were boarding the Wildcat chair with Leigh, Briar, Andy and Bob Dangerous by 9:30 just after they all finished their first run .
Alta picked up 11 inches of pure Utah cold smoke overnight, and the first run down Wildcat Ridge was utterly amazing -- you just stepped it up to Mach 3 and cranked turns while planing through the new snow, scoring multiple face shots on each run. As we got down low on the mountain, below, say, 8,900 feet, you could feel the crust from Thursday's mixed precip and it got tricky as hell. The best runs, therefore, would have to be up higher today.
We hopped aboard Collins and at the top Bob zigged while we zagged: he went out the High T while we opted for the Backside gate. It was a wise, wise decision, for acres on Backside remained virtually untouched. Screaming turns through light, dry fluff were on the menu, and we enjoyed all you could eat. We cut hard right on the Backside Road to return to Sugarloaf to repeat, then headed back up again to find more of the same, this time on Greeley Hill. After the first Backside run, though, The Kid headed over to Snowbird to hook up with a buddy from school.
Skipping lunch this morning I had a pit in my stomach, so I stopped off at Alf's for a quick grilled cheese and doughnut while the others headed for Supreme, but it quickly became apparent that my stomach pains weren't hunger, but instead some of the most painful cramps I've suffered through in a while. I spent significant time doubled over in Alf's before I finally sucked it up and decided to spend time doubled over on the chairlift instead, so I rode up Cecret to rejoin Leigh and Andy right as Briar headed to Alf's herself to warm up.
It was getting colder by the minute, and I never really warmed up for the rest of the day, with temps dropping through the low teens with fortunately no wind. Andy and Leigh had made a couple of laps through Catherine's while I was inside, so we instead enjoyed tree shots through the western flanks of Supreme for a couple of runs as Briar eventually rejoined us. But now it was time for the out-of-towners to start working their way back toward Wildcat to depart in time to catch their afternoon flight, so we rode up Sugarloaf.
We opted to end the day on a high note, so we headed out the High T through Piss Pass and onto North Rustler, where there was still a ton of untracked to enjoy above the choke point, which itself is still in rather dicey shape. On the T we found Bob again, and he headed in with us. Lower down on the apron the low-elevation crust again became apparent, but it still skied exceptionally well at low angles and we popped out onto the Transfer Tow to head back to Wildcat Base.
Andy, Briar and Bob headed up for one last loop through Greeley Hill while I kept Leigh company in the parking lot as he packed his ski bag. One good thing about having friends travel out here, besides the obvious points, is that I get to take home their leftover beer. :wink: The touristas headed for the airport as I walked back to my truck with a case of Coors to head home.
Sorry, kids...no pictures today - it was just too damned good to stop to take photos!
The bulk of the storm is forecast to arrive tonight, so tomorrow should be yet another good day!
/ I opened my eyes and rolled over to see the alarm clock, and it read...8:30 a.m. Oh, shit!! I think I remember it going off at 7:15, but I'm not even sure about that. I placed a quick call to Andy's cell phone as they were already halfway up LCC, then went downstairs to rustle The Kid out of bed. We made it out of the house in record time and were boarding the Wildcat chair with Leigh, Briar, Andy and Bob Dangerous by 9:30 just after they all finished their first run .
Alta picked up 11 inches of pure Utah cold smoke overnight, and the first run down Wildcat Ridge was utterly amazing -- you just stepped it up to Mach 3 and cranked turns while planing through the new snow, scoring multiple face shots on each run. As we got down low on the mountain, below, say, 8,900 feet, you could feel the crust from Thursday's mixed precip and it got tricky as hell. The best runs, therefore, would have to be up higher today.
We hopped aboard Collins and at the top Bob zigged while we zagged: he went out the High T while we opted for the Backside gate. It was a wise, wise decision, for acres on Backside remained virtually untouched. Screaming turns through light, dry fluff were on the menu, and we enjoyed all you could eat. We cut hard right on the Backside Road to return to Sugarloaf to repeat, then headed back up again to find more of the same, this time on Greeley Hill. After the first Backside run, though, The Kid headed over to Snowbird to hook up with a buddy from school.
Skipping lunch this morning I had a pit in my stomach, so I stopped off at Alf's for a quick grilled cheese and doughnut while the others headed for Supreme, but it quickly became apparent that my stomach pains weren't hunger, but instead some of the most painful cramps I've suffered through in a while. I spent significant time doubled over in Alf's before I finally sucked it up and decided to spend time doubled over on the chairlift instead, so I rode up Cecret to rejoin Leigh and Andy right as Briar headed to Alf's herself to warm up.
It was getting colder by the minute, and I never really warmed up for the rest of the day, with temps dropping through the low teens with fortunately no wind. Andy and Leigh had made a couple of laps through Catherine's while I was inside, so we instead enjoyed tree shots through the western flanks of Supreme for a couple of runs as Briar eventually rejoined us. But now it was time for the out-of-towners to start working their way back toward Wildcat to depart in time to catch their afternoon flight, so we rode up Sugarloaf.
We opted to end the day on a high note, so we headed out the High T through Piss Pass and onto North Rustler, where there was still a ton of untracked to enjoy above the choke point, which itself is still in rather dicey shape. On the T we found Bob again, and he headed in with us. Lower down on the apron the low-elevation crust again became apparent, but it still skied exceptionally well at low angles and we popped out onto the Transfer Tow to head back to Wildcat Base.
Andy, Briar and Bob headed up for one last loop through Greeley Hill while I kept Leigh company in the parking lot as he packed his ski bag. One good thing about having friends travel out here, besides the obvious points, is that I get to take home their leftover beer. :wink: The touristas headed for the airport as I walked back to my truck with a case of Coors to head home.
Sorry, kids...no pictures today - it was just too damned good to stop to take photos!
The bulk of the storm is forecast to arrive tonight, so tomorrow should be yet another good day!
