Evren
New member
Feb 29
This morning was supposed to be the break between the storms. Instead, I woke up to snow at 6000 feet and it got more intense as the morning progressed. Resulting in this picture from the top of Sultan Express:
OK, that is a sheet of paper (double-click it, it's good!) and a close approximation. Top of Baldy is not the place to be in a storm and it was surprising the lifts were running at all. It may be that cross-winds have more impact and this was head-on. I shouldn't have been there at all but yesterday held some disappointments in other spots and Perseverance Bowl was one silver lining in the afternoon. Like they say about armies, I was fighting the previous battle. Anyway, the wind slapped some sense into me and I headed for cover in Ontario Bowl. And darn it somebodies had been there again. It's barely 10, there's nobody around, it's storming but the tracks don't lie. After two runs in the trees I made one last strategic move to Red Cloud Lift and finally, pay-off! Red Cloud is a regular lift right next to Quincy Express so it's like the ugly sister. But I was desperate for action. By this time it was snowing like it were LCC but as long as I was protected from the wind, no complaints. And it was virtually untouched right under the lift though not for long now that I was there. There also were some great lines in the trees to the left and right. And also, in the bumps and in the groomers. By noon, the snow was boot-deep and by 1pm I was spent. Sorry, it was too good and too snowy to bother with the camera. And to think DV only reported 3 inches in the morning.
Feb 28
This should have been a great day but turned into one big frustration. I woke up in the middle of the night (too excited?) and then slept through the alarm. So I found myself clicking in around 11:30. That's nobody's idea of an early start but it's Tuesday, the week after Presidents'. Also, this is DV and I am on home court. So I should be able to sniff that 7 inches, right? Wrong. I head to Centennial trees: taken. Over to Daly Chutes: taken. Further ahead into X-files: even that's taken! Whoever it is I am following never stays long enough to catch a glimpse but they make sure to methodically ski-out every line. One last hope: Ontario Bowl. Well, that made a complete set. Dejected, I headed for a late lunch. DV's Natural Buffet always lifts my spirits. Where else can you get sushi on-mountain, in a buffet? For $13?
Okay, that is an old picture. But it's always this good and always something different.
On the plus side, everything on there is incredibly healthy, this was a late breakfast-lunch and even early supper, they charge by the plate not by weight. On the minus side... well, you see the picture.
After lunch I headed up Baldy to Perseverance Bowl. It had been worked over but in very good fluffy shape (can you say reduced-expectations) and if you stuck near the baby trees in the middle, you could thread a line between the tracks.
By this time, the skies had cleared up (though you could see dark clouds just over the ridge in BCC) and having made peace with my also-ran placement for the day, I made way for Deer Crest.
The lifts there run until 4:15 so a couple of runs to finish off. But wait, this looks interesting:
That was unexpected but much appreciated at this late hour. But even more so was what awaited me at Deer Crest.
This is not the actual line but close to it and I got two almost untracked runs, one at 4:10 and the next at 4:20 for a very strong finish. There was even some air near the end, bit of a surprise but then some of the best things in life are unplanned. I actually got off the lift at 4:30 and the nice people at DV didn't even complain.
This morning was supposed to be the break between the storms. Instead, I woke up to snow at 6000 feet and it got more intense as the morning progressed. Resulting in this picture from the top of Sultan Express:
OK, that is a sheet of paper (double-click it, it's good!) and a close approximation. Top of Baldy is not the place to be in a storm and it was surprising the lifts were running at all. It may be that cross-winds have more impact and this was head-on. I shouldn't have been there at all but yesterday held some disappointments in other spots and Perseverance Bowl was one silver lining in the afternoon. Like they say about armies, I was fighting the previous battle. Anyway, the wind slapped some sense into me and I headed for cover in Ontario Bowl. And darn it somebodies had been there again. It's barely 10, there's nobody around, it's storming but the tracks don't lie. After two runs in the trees I made one last strategic move to Red Cloud Lift and finally, pay-off! Red Cloud is a regular lift right next to Quincy Express so it's like the ugly sister. But I was desperate for action. By this time it was snowing like it were LCC but as long as I was protected from the wind, no complaints. And it was virtually untouched right under the lift though not for long now that I was there. There also were some great lines in the trees to the left and right. And also, in the bumps and in the groomers. By noon, the snow was boot-deep and by 1pm I was spent. Sorry, it was too good and too snowy to bother with the camera. And to think DV only reported 3 inches in the morning.
Feb 28
This should have been a great day but turned into one big frustration. I woke up in the middle of the night (too excited?) and then slept through the alarm. So I found myself clicking in around 11:30. That's nobody's idea of an early start but it's Tuesday, the week after Presidents'. Also, this is DV and I am on home court. So I should be able to sniff that 7 inches, right? Wrong. I head to Centennial trees: taken. Over to Daly Chutes: taken. Further ahead into X-files: even that's taken! Whoever it is I am following never stays long enough to catch a glimpse but they make sure to methodically ski-out every line. One last hope: Ontario Bowl. Well, that made a complete set. Dejected, I headed for a late lunch. DV's Natural Buffet always lifts my spirits. Where else can you get sushi on-mountain, in a buffet? For $13?
Okay, that is an old picture. But it's always this good and always something different.
On the plus side, everything on there is incredibly healthy, this was a late breakfast-lunch and even early supper, they charge by the plate not by weight. On the minus side... well, you see the picture.
After lunch I headed up Baldy to Perseverance Bowl. It had been worked over but in very good fluffy shape (can you say reduced-expectations) and if you stuck near the baby trees in the middle, you could thread a line between the tracks.
By this time, the skies had cleared up (though you could see dark clouds just over the ridge in BCC) and having made peace with my also-ran placement for the day, I made way for Deer Crest.
The lifts there run until 4:15 so a couple of runs to finish off. But wait, this looks interesting:
That was unexpected but much appreciated at this late hour. But even more so was what awaited me at Deer Crest.
This is not the actual line but close to it and I got two almost untracked runs, one at 4:10 and the next at 4:20 for a very strong finish. There was even some air near the end, bit of a surprise but then some of the best things in life are unplanned. I actually got off the lift at 4:30 and the nice people at DV didn't even complain.