Day 20: <yawn> Just another foot.
Folks enjoy another foot of fresh powder on Warmup beneath the Wildcat lift.
These endless powder days are getting hard to take. With a storm total now at 43", or four full feet in the past week (12" of which fell overnight), it was actually too much for the weak facet layer beneath all of that new snow to handle. A natural release at 1:45 a.m. on Superior slid across the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road, prompting an immediate closure of the road and a full Interlodge restriction. The road reopened at 8:30 a.m. instead of the predicted 9:00, and Anant and I were waiting in good position near A Gate when the traffic finally started moving. We rolled into GMD at 9:00, just after Kingslug arrived from his vacation digs at Snowbird.
The delays would continue, however. We got in the Collins line at 9:20 -- I would've preferred Wildcat, but the line there was already much longer -- but the mountain didn't open until an hour later as avalanche paths were apparently running big. Standing around for an hour in line with temperatures in the low single digits, with the morning sun yet to rise above the ridgeline, it was getting rather nippy during the wait.
Interlodge was lifted, but the mountain opened an hour late.
Pristine snowfall.
We got to the top and headed straight for the Tower 10 Traverse, but although it was open when we rode overhead on the lift the patrol re-closed it before we got to the gate. #-o We found the quickest route we could to Wildcat.
It was deep. Really deep. Wind behind the storm had whipped it into a dense, creamy consistency, and in the cold it was very slow as well. We skied non-stop straight through to a 12:30 p.m. Watson's lunch.
Collins Gulch, Little Cottonwood Canyon and Mount Superior.
Skidog and Telejon wait along the Tower 10 Traverse.
We all finally gave up at 2:30, but only after they reopened Main Street below Ballroom for one final round of untracked freshies.
So in the end, we still didn't get any new rope drops today, which was a personal disappointment. But I also understand the need to let it sit, and I certainly understand ASP's conservative approach when stuff is running huge like this:
Next door at Snowbird, the Chamonix Chutes in Mineral Basin ripped out virtually edge to edge across the entire face.
Tomorrow Supreme opens for the season, but I'll be working. I'm actually grateful for a day off after seven straight days in a row. I also need a day to do ski laundry and to fix this one -- no wonder my skis were gliding so slowly today!
Oops!
Another series of storms is forecast to roll through here early next week, just in time for the Christmas crowds. Expected to again measure several feet, these storms are predicted to be warmer and therefore wetter, which will make great base material to withstand the holiday hordes. Unfortunately, they'll put a ton of water weight on top of the existing snowpack, and the entire layer cake will sit upside-down. Because of this, I'm crossing my fingers that these storms won't create an avalanche cycle of historic proportions.
Folks enjoy another foot of fresh powder on Warmup beneath the Wildcat lift.
These endless powder days are getting hard to take. With a storm total now at 43", or four full feet in the past week (12" of which fell overnight), it was actually too much for the weak facet layer beneath all of that new snow to handle. A natural release at 1:45 a.m. on Superior slid across the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road, prompting an immediate closure of the road and a full Interlodge restriction. The road reopened at 8:30 a.m. instead of the predicted 9:00, and Anant and I were waiting in good position near A Gate when the traffic finally started moving. We rolled into GMD at 9:00, just after Kingslug arrived from his vacation digs at Snowbird.
The delays would continue, however. We got in the Collins line at 9:20 -- I would've preferred Wildcat, but the line there was already much longer -- but the mountain didn't open until an hour later as avalanche paths were apparently running big. Standing around for an hour in line with temperatures in the low single digits, with the morning sun yet to rise above the ridgeline, it was getting rather nippy during the wait.
Interlodge was lifted, but the mountain opened an hour late.
Pristine snowfall.
We got to the top and headed straight for the Tower 10 Traverse, but although it was open when we rode overhead on the lift the patrol re-closed it before we got to the gate. #-o We found the quickest route we could to Wildcat.
It was deep. Really deep. Wind behind the storm had whipped it into a dense, creamy consistency, and in the cold it was very slow as well. We skied non-stop straight through to a 12:30 p.m. Watson's lunch.
Collins Gulch, Little Cottonwood Canyon and Mount Superior.
Skidog and Telejon wait along the Tower 10 Traverse.
We all finally gave up at 2:30, but only after they reopened Main Street below Ballroom for one final round of untracked freshies.
So in the end, we still didn't get any new rope drops today, which was a personal disappointment. But I also understand the need to let it sit, and I certainly understand ASP's conservative approach when stuff is running huge like this:
Next door at Snowbird, the Chamonix Chutes in Mineral Basin ripped out virtually edge to edge across the entire face.
Tomorrow Supreme opens for the season, but I'll be working. I'm actually grateful for a day off after seven straight days in a row. I also need a day to do ski laundry and to fix this one -- no wonder my skis were gliding so slowly today!
Oops!
Another series of storms is forecast to roll through here early next week, just in time for the Christmas crowds. Expected to again measure several feet, these storms are predicted to be warmer and therefore wetter, which will make great base material to withstand the holiday hordes. Unfortunately, they'll put a ton of water weight on top of the existing snowpack, and the entire layer cake will sit upside-down. Because of this, I'm crossing my fingers that these storms won't create an avalanche cycle of historic proportions.
