Another 3 inches overnight. NASJA had an early breakfast on the mountain, so at 9AM sharp we ripped the groomers on Paradise that had the 3 inch fresh layer on top. I then took one foray up the High Lift and skied Big Chute. On its 40 degree pitch the total 6 inch accumulation was not nearly enough and I was scraping the coral reef below on every turn.
So I decided the North Face would not be that great and decided to take advantage of the "try something new" options offered to NASJA members today. In my case this was telemark rentals and a 2-hour group lesson. Much to my surprise I made the fastest progress of the 6 in our group, probably because I had previously read that you just revert to alpine technique if you get in trouble. I was usually able to get decent balance between the front heel and rear toe, and occasionally carve and connect turns where the snow was good. We were of course on easy terrain, which has been beat up pretty badly by the heat wave. But the midday timing of our lesson was ideal. After lunch 3 of us from the tele class kept the gear and ran some laps on the low intermediate and deserted Gold Link lift. Eventually it clouded over, the snow became firmer and I started to fatigue some.
CB also held a pond skim contest today. It did not have a jump and looked similar to the natural ponds I had skimmed (with 50% success rate) at Mammoth in 1982 and 1991. Fortunately it was too late for me to enter by the time I turned in the tele rentals about 4PM.
16,400 today, about 9K of it on the teles.
So I decided the North Face would not be that great and decided to take advantage of the "try something new" options offered to NASJA members today. In my case this was telemark rentals and a 2-hour group lesson. Much to my surprise I made the fastest progress of the 6 in our group, probably because I had previously read that you just revert to alpine technique if you get in trouble. I was usually able to get decent balance between the front heel and rear toe, and occasionally carve and connect turns where the snow was good. We were of course on easy terrain, which has been beat up pretty badly by the heat wave. But the midday timing of our lesson was ideal. After lunch 3 of us from the tele class kept the gear and ran some laps on the low intermediate and deserted Gold Link lift. Eventually it clouded over, the snow became firmer and I started to fatigue some.
CB also held a pond skim contest today. It did not have a jump and looked similar to the natural ponds I had skimmed (with 50% success rate) at Mammoth in 1982 and 1991. Fortunately it was too late for me to enter by the time I turned in the tele rentals about 4PM.
16,400 today, about 9K of it on the teles.
