Day 58: Nearly a powder day
Evren can have it. I'll take what we got:
Solitude yesterday picked up 8 inches in places and we were bottoming out. Alta got 11. Most of the gated areas at Alta never opened yesterday so Telejon and I got first crack this morning at a lot of those 11 inches. Right out of the gate Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder and Backside were open.
Figuring that most people riding Collins were headed for Ballroom, Jon and I opted for Backside and we were shocked to find that we were sharing the traverse to Yellow Trail with no one. In fact, the only people we encountered the entire way were a pair of Alta instructors.
We couldn't figure out where everyone was. Both Sunnyside and Sugarloaf were ski-on, so we went back for another lap. Perhaps they were all in Collins Gulch because of the massive Alta demo day today.
It was easily the biggest demo I've seen there with over 30 manufacturers in attendance. Skidog was working the H2OG booth. Bobby Danger went to Snowbasin today because they're closing tomorrow a week ahead of schedule. AmyZ is returning from Passover in NYC.
We just kept lapping Backside and Susie's Trees with nearly zero competition. We were bottoming out at first, even with 11 inches of new snow as it fell relatively dry and stayed that way with overnight temperatures in the single digits.
By mid-morning Devil's Castle opened. Jon and I headed out there for what I do believe is the first trip for either of us this season. A little more windswept than Backside, it was still good but not worth the hike over skiing Backside, so we headed back to Susie's Trees. As the morning wore on and temperatures climbed the snow began to get a bit more beef to it and we stopped bottoming out. By the time we headed out to Catherine's Area at noon we found an untracked Powerline on Patsy Marley was darned near perfect. No bottoming out, it was thick, creamy untracked goodness from top to bottom. Our best run of the day...after noon!
After lunch I headed to Alta Sports to have David take a look at my boots. Over the last few weeks I've been developing a sore spot on my left outside heel, and David advised that after 12 years my custom footbeds aren't doing me any good anymore. He told me that OTC footbeds would be fine for me, and I've got a pair of Footbalance footbeds laying around from Outdoor Retailer. He told me to go home and try those, and if it doesn't work out he'll be in tomorrow. It was refreshing to have a guy not try to sell me a solution. Tomorrow will tell.
in [url=http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10170&start=30#p65261 said:viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10170&start=30#p65261[/url] Evren":irwug8un]Correction, "the recent spate of corn and more corn continues unabated over at Deer Valley".Marc_C":irwug8un said:
Evren can have it. I'll take what we got:
Solitude yesterday picked up 8 inches in places and we were bottoming out. Alta got 11. Most of the gated areas at Alta never opened yesterday so Telejon and I got first crack this morning at a lot of those 11 inches. Right out of the gate Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder and Backside were open.
Figuring that most people riding Collins were headed for Ballroom, Jon and I opted for Backside and we were shocked to find that we were sharing the traverse to Yellow Trail with no one. In fact, the only people we encountered the entire way were a pair of Alta instructors.
We couldn't figure out where everyone was. Both Sunnyside and Sugarloaf were ski-on, so we went back for another lap. Perhaps they were all in Collins Gulch because of the massive Alta demo day today.
It was easily the biggest demo I've seen there with over 30 manufacturers in attendance. Skidog was working the H2OG booth. Bobby Danger went to Snowbasin today because they're closing tomorrow a week ahead of schedule. AmyZ is returning from Passover in NYC.
We just kept lapping Backside and Susie's Trees with nearly zero competition. We were bottoming out at first, even with 11 inches of new snow as it fell relatively dry and stayed that way with overnight temperatures in the single digits.
By mid-morning Devil's Castle opened. Jon and I headed out there for what I do believe is the first trip for either of us this season. A little more windswept than Backside, it was still good but not worth the hike over skiing Backside, so we headed back to Susie's Trees. As the morning wore on and temperatures climbed the snow began to get a bit more beef to it and we stopped bottoming out. By the time we headed out to Catherine's Area at noon we found an untracked Powerline on Patsy Marley was darned near perfect. No bottoming out, it was thick, creamy untracked goodness from top to bottom. Our best run of the day...after noon!
After lunch I headed to Alta Sports to have David take a look at my boots. Over the last few weeks I've been developing a sore spot on my left outside heel, and David advised that after 12 years my custom footbeds aren't doing me any good anymore. He told me that OTC footbeds would be fine for me, and I've got a pair of Footbalance footbeds laying around from Outdoor Retailer. He told me to go home and try those, and if it doesn't work out he'll be in tomorrow. It was refreshing to have a guy not try to sell me a solution. Tomorrow will tell.
