Days 28 and 29.
It was a beautiful weekend to be outside in the mountains, even if it hasn't snowed since Feb. 5. Friends Leigh, Briar and Jonny are out visiting for a few days from Niagara Falls, Ontario, and a slew of other posse members came in and out of the picture throughout the weekend.
Like Leigh and I agreed, if you can't have fresh snow, at least we'll take the weather that we enjoyed over the weekend: bluebird skies and moderate temperatures. Saturday was a bit breezy along the ridgetops, but that wind died down for Sunday. Temperatures were sufficiently chilly to prevent any softening of snow surfaces at all on either day, yet I skied in just a turtleneck and softshell on Sunday, when it was a couple of degrees warmer than Saturday. Weather just doesn't get any better than it was this weekend...unless it's snowing.
On Saturday, it was Alta. Marc_C is nursing a nasty case of bronchitis, and "fair weather" Dale asked that I call him from the hill to let him know about any crowds. With a clear, cold night and no new snow in nearly a week, there was no reason to rush up for first bell, and after relaxing around the house in the morning over coffee and pulling into the Lift House for some ticket vouchers, we finally strolled into the Collins parking lot at around 11:00 or 11:30. Lazy was the word of the day. I called Dale from the lot and left a message that the lot was only 3/4 full with no liftlines visible. Most locals, it seems, were spending the weekend doing other things.
Leigh and Briar were both on skis for the first time in nearly a year following nasty accidents within 15 minutes of each other at Valhalla Powdercats in B.C. last March. Leigh had a compound tib/fib fracture, and the fibula is still suffering from non-union -- both ends are still floating around in space within his left leg. 15 minutes earlier, Briar had blown out her knee. Both spent time gimping around a British Columbia hospital at the same time.
We therefore spent much of the day taking it easy as both of them tested the waters. Up Collins and down Devil's Elbow, we found surprisingly good groomed snow, and the Devil's Elbow traffic jams had yet to appear. We somehow became separated almost immediately following the cat track to Supreme. Jonny and I figured that they missed the turn and headed down to Sugarloaf to try to find them before Leigh finally radioed from the Supreme liftline. #-o
So, one ride up Sugarloaf to try this again. Finding success the second time, we rode up Supreme and headed down Challenger, which had been groomed flat. Not bad, although a bit crunchy underfoot.
Ready to test Leigh's leg and Briar's knee, we headed out the gate to White Squaw Chutes, where we found large semi-chalky bumps in the shadows. Not terrible, but after weeks of storm after storm it wasn't quite what I had in mind. Yeah, I know...I'm getting picky again. :roll:
But Gimpy 1 and Gimpy 2 weren't doing too badly. Leigh felt an odd sensation in his leg, but wouldn't describe it as pain, although his knee seemed to be bearing the brunt of the leg's instability. Briar, on the other hand, was skiing better than I've ever seen her do, and the brace on her knee seemed to be doing the trick. We therefore struck out on another Supreme ride into Spiny Chutes. What a tremendous, tremendous mistake in judgment! Nasty, melted and refrozen snow on those lines that face due west, which Leigh aptly described as "don't fall terrain" under those conditions. But I wanted to give them a taste of what Alta has to offer, as it was the first time there for any of them. Once out onto the chute's apron I angled up the hillside to skier's left, near the bottom of Supreme Challenge, to try to find softer, chalkier surfaces -- and was rewarded for the effort.
Dale called at 12:30 to advise that he and Pat were gracing the mountain with their presence. We explored for the remainder of the day, mixing groomers with the occasional off-piste line here and there, including Eagle's Nest with Dale and Pat. We even rode the Albion chair once late in the day, escaping the Sunnyside freeloaders by zipping down the Patsy Marley trail to give Leigh and Briar a taste of what in my mind is Alta's exceptional green-circle terrain. Somewhere in the middle of all of that we relaxed on the deck of Gold Miner's Daughter for a beer in the sunshine. A good day, with good friends.
Bob Dangerous swung by the house around dinner time. He'd done two "Tours of the Universe" on Saturday: the full circuit from one end of Alta to the other end of Snowbird and back. He described good, dry chalk in places such as Upper Primrose Path and Lower Silver Fox at Snowbird. We made plans to meet at 10:30 in the morning on the Tram Plaza deck.
It was a good plan. Bob arrived after skiing over from Alta. We were joined by Acidchrist and our mutual friend Mike, who was visiting from upstate NY. What to do on a crisp, clear morning a week after the last snowfall? Up the tram and straight into Mineral Basin, of course!
Bob led the charge out across Powder Paradise to Hillary's Steps, where we dropped right in to find what easily was the best snow of the weekend on our first run, featuring steep, smooth, dry chalk. It felt good to let them run a bit on the incredibly consistent and predictable surface. We tried a second line directly below the avalauncher on the Powder Paradise traverse, and while it wasn't bad, its relative inconsistency across the changing aspect and surface rough in spots couldn't compare with our first run.
Skiing with Bob is always an experience, and today was no different. "What do you do, Bob?" Briar asked on one chair ride.
"I'm in sales, my dear," Bob answered with his usual animation.
Briar queried further: "What do you sell?"
Bob's eyes lit up. "I never stop selling this place!"
Another classic Bob moment was in the tram liftline as we walked past the drinking water fountain:
Bob: "Don't drink out of that."
Briar: "Why?"
Bob: "'Cuz it's nothing but a petrie dish with a button."
Atop Hidden Peak we were joined by Jeff, Bob's friend wintering in Utah from his home in N.H.'s Lakes Region. We headed back across to Upper Primrose. While not bad at all, it was a bit scratchier than Bob's glowing reports from Saturday had led me to believe. Down Anderson's and across Rothman Way, we arrived at the base of Gadzoom. Jonny, experiencing the pain of new boots, chose to sit it out at the new Creekside Cafe while the rest of us headed up Gadzoom and Little Cloud, heading out Road to Provo and into Knucklehead Chutes. Again, it was dry but rough sledding. Still fun to be outside on such a gorgeous day, though!
By now Leigh's leg was getting bothersome again. While the others headed out the mid-Cirque Traverse to South Chute, Leigh, Briar and I therefore stuck to the groomers. Regulator was surprisingly sweet carving, and we headed to the top of Big Emma to watch the rest of the crew negotiate South Chute to a regrouping, where they reported fabulous snow with a crunchy surface only across the last hundred yards above the cat track. A quick cruise down Big Emma to Creekside brought us to a beautiful outdoor lunch on the upper deck of the new lodge. Hint: Go for the pulled pork sandwich for lunch, you won't be disappointed.
After lunch, we all separated at the top of Gadzoom. Bob headed back to Alta, where he figured West Rustler would be softening perfectly. Acidchrist and Mike went to explore further and find challenge, while Leigh, Briar, Jonny and I opted for a groomer tour of parts of Snowbird they hadn't yet seen. We headed down and boarded Gad 2 before a long cruiser back to the tram. Jonny, boots still hurting, waited on the Plaza deck while the three of us made one last cruise top-to-bottom on Chip's, where the snow was the perfect consistency for looping broad high-speed GS arcs. What a fabulous day! Even without new snow.
I'm convinced that Leigh is the jinx, for the night after their last ski day tomorrow the weather is expected to change for the better, ushering in a series of cold snowstorms expected to last into at least this weekend. I'm back at work today while Leigh, Briar and Jonny are exploring Solitude with Mike.
It was a beautiful weekend to be outside in the mountains, even if it hasn't snowed since Feb. 5. Friends Leigh, Briar and Jonny are out visiting for a few days from Niagara Falls, Ontario, and a slew of other posse members came in and out of the picture throughout the weekend.
Like Leigh and I agreed, if you can't have fresh snow, at least we'll take the weather that we enjoyed over the weekend: bluebird skies and moderate temperatures. Saturday was a bit breezy along the ridgetops, but that wind died down for Sunday. Temperatures were sufficiently chilly to prevent any softening of snow surfaces at all on either day, yet I skied in just a turtleneck and softshell on Sunday, when it was a couple of degrees warmer than Saturday. Weather just doesn't get any better than it was this weekend...unless it's snowing.
On Saturday, it was Alta. Marc_C is nursing a nasty case of bronchitis, and "fair weather" Dale asked that I call him from the hill to let him know about any crowds. With a clear, cold night and no new snow in nearly a week, there was no reason to rush up for first bell, and after relaxing around the house in the morning over coffee and pulling into the Lift House for some ticket vouchers, we finally strolled into the Collins parking lot at around 11:00 or 11:30. Lazy was the word of the day. I called Dale from the lot and left a message that the lot was only 3/4 full with no liftlines visible. Most locals, it seems, were spending the weekend doing other things.
Leigh and Briar were both on skis for the first time in nearly a year following nasty accidents within 15 minutes of each other at Valhalla Powdercats in B.C. last March. Leigh had a compound tib/fib fracture, and the fibula is still suffering from non-union -- both ends are still floating around in space within his left leg. 15 minutes earlier, Briar had blown out her knee. Both spent time gimping around a British Columbia hospital at the same time.
We therefore spent much of the day taking it easy as both of them tested the waters. Up Collins and down Devil's Elbow, we found surprisingly good groomed snow, and the Devil's Elbow traffic jams had yet to appear. We somehow became separated almost immediately following the cat track to Supreme. Jonny and I figured that they missed the turn and headed down to Sugarloaf to try to find them before Leigh finally radioed from the Supreme liftline. #-o
So, one ride up Sugarloaf to try this again. Finding success the second time, we rode up Supreme and headed down Challenger, which had been groomed flat. Not bad, although a bit crunchy underfoot.
Ready to test Leigh's leg and Briar's knee, we headed out the gate to White Squaw Chutes, where we found large semi-chalky bumps in the shadows. Not terrible, but after weeks of storm after storm it wasn't quite what I had in mind. Yeah, I know...I'm getting picky again. :roll:
But Gimpy 1 and Gimpy 2 weren't doing too badly. Leigh felt an odd sensation in his leg, but wouldn't describe it as pain, although his knee seemed to be bearing the brunt of the leg's instability. Briar, on the other hand, was skiing better than I've ever seen her do, and the brace on her knee seemed to be doing the trick. We therefore struck out on another Supreme ride into Spiny Chutes. What a tremendous, tremendous mistake in judgment! Nasty, melted and refrozen snow on those lines that face due west, which Leigh aptly described as "don't fall terrain" under those conditions. But I wanted to give them a taste of what Alta has to offer, as it was the first time there for any of them. Once out onto the chute's apron I angled up the hillside to skier's left, near the bottom of Supreme Challenge, to try to find softer, chalkier surfaces -- and was rewarded for the effort.
Dale called at 12:30 to advise that he and Pat were gracing the mountain with their presence. We explored for the remainder of the day, mixing groomers with the occasional off-piste line here and there, including Eagle's Nest with Dale and Pat. We even rode the Albion chair once late in the day, escaping the Sunnyside freeloaders by zipping down the Patsy Marley trail to give Leigh and Briar a taste of what in my mind is Alta's exceptional green-circle terrain. Somewhere in the middle of all of that we relaxed on the deck of Gold Miner's Daughter for a beer in the sunshine. A good day, with good friends.
Bob Dangerous swung by the house around dinner time. He'd done two "Tours of the Universe" on Saturday: the full circuit from one end of Alta to the other end of Snowbird and back. He described good, dry chalk in places such as Upper Primrose Path and Lower Silver Fox at Snowbird. We made plans to meet at 10:30 in the morning on the Tram Plaza deck.
It was a good plan. Bob arrived after skiing over from Alta. We were joined by Acidchrist and our mutual friend Mike, who was visiting from upstate NY. What to do on a crisp, clear morning a week after the last snowfall? Up the tram and straight into Mineral Basin, of course!
Bob led the charge out across Powder Paradise to Hillary's Steps, where we dropped right in to find what easily was the best snow of the weekend on our first run, featuring steep, smooth, dry chalk. It felt good to let them run a bit on the incredibly consistent and predictable surface. We tried a second line directly below the avalauncher on the Powder Paradise traverse, and while it wasn't bad, its relative inconsistency across the changing aspect and surface rough in spots couldn't compare with our first run.
Skiing with Bob is always an experience, and today was no different. "What do you do, Bob?" Briar asked on one chair ride.
"I'm in sales, my dear," Bob answered with his usual animation.
Briar queried further: "What do you sell?"
Bob's eyes lit up. "I never stop selling this place!"
Another classic Bob moment was in the tram liftline as we walked past the drinking water fountain:
Bob: "Don't drink out of that."
Briar: "Why?"
Bob: "'Cuz it's nothing but a petrie dish with a button."
Atop Hidden Peak we were joined by Jeff, Bob's friend wintering in Utah from his home in N.H.'s Lakes Region. We headed back across to Upper Primrose. While not bad at all, it was a bit scratchier than Bob's glowing reports from Saturday had led me to believe. Down Anderson's and across Rothman Way, we arrived at the base of Gadzoom. Jonny, experiencing the pain of new boots, chose to sit it out at the new Creekside Cafe while the rest of us headed up Gadzoom and Little Cloud, heading out Road to Provo and into Knucklehead Chutes. Again, it was dry but rough sledding. Still fun to be outside on such a gorgeous day, though!
By now Leigh's leg was getting bothersome again. While the others headed out the mid-Cirque Traverse to South Chute, Leigh, Briar and I therefore stuck to the groomers. Regulator was surprisingly sweet carving, and we headed to the top of Big Emma to watch the rest of the crew negotiate South Chute to a regrouping, where they reported fabulous snow with a crunchy surface only across the last hundred yards above the cat track. A quick cruise down Big Emma to Creekside brought us to a beautiful outdoor lunch on the upper deck of the new lodge. Hint: Go for the pulled pork sandwich for lunch, you won't be disappointed.
After lunch, we all separated at the top of Gadzoom. Bob headed back to Alta, where he figured West Rustler would be softening perfectly. Acidchrist and Mike went to explore further and find challenge, while Leigh, Briar, Jonny and I opted for a groomer tour of parts of Snowbird they hadn't yet seen. We headed down and boarded Gad 2 before a long cruiser back to the tram. Jonny, boots still hurting, waited on the Plaza deck while the three of us made one last cruise top-to-bottom on Chip's, where the snow was the perfect consistency for looping broad high-speed GS arcs. What a fabulous day! Even without new snow.
I'm convinced that Leigh is the jinx, for the night after their last ski day tomorrow the weather is expected to change for the better, ushering in a series of cold snowstorms expected to last into at least this weekend. I'm back at work today while Leigh, Briar and Jonny are exploring Solitude with Mike.
