Heavenly, CA 1/2/2010 1-3" new

[tseeb]

I didn’t hear until 1PM the Kirkwood noon announcement that they would not open today. I had my son drop me at Heavenly tram at about 2 PM while he went to the movies. I took four runs on the Face and Gunbarrel waiting for the crowds to diminish higher up. I found some stretches of good snow along the edges with big, hard bumps and many rocks exposed in the runs. Gunbarrel below Roundabout was icy and Gunbarrel high near the power lines along, skiers far left, was very good. There was also very good snow along the snowmaking pipe far right by the Tram.

I moved up to Powder Bowl chair about 3 pm and found good snow along either side of the reserved part of Waterfall. I started towards Sky Chair about 3:30 and saw big lines for both Sky and Canyon so I hiked back to where I could do Waterfall a couple of more times. I found very good snow close to the chair at the top and under the chair at the bottom. I made one very fast run down Canyon and got on Sky just before 4 PM close.

I took a break, but still passed a lot of slow skiers on my way down. It seemed like Powder Bowl loaded well after 4 PM, but it and Roundabout were closed when I arrived so I was forced into the line for Groove chair. After skiing down Gunbarrel at the top and cutting to the Face as low as possible, I jumped the road above World Cup. I left the gapers standing there with less than 10 turns down World Cup. I saw the line for the bus to the gondola base where my son was watching Avatar so went in for a $9 beer at CA Bar. The bus I took got stuck in traffic so it was 5:30 PM when I got to the car at Gondola parking. 12 runs/over 14K vertical No pictures as I left my camera and water in the car.

Kirkwood says they will be in full operation tomorrow.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I had my son drop me at Heavenly tram

Confirms my impression of Heavenly on a holiday. I would have gone for the Nevada Stagecoach or Boulder base rather than the busier CA tram base.

Was Sierra-at-Tahoe an option with Kirkwood closed?

 

[tseeb]

Sierra gets very crowded on holidays as Northstar/Sierra passes are blacked out at Northstar and not at Sierra. They also get a lot of drive-up traffic from Sacramento and the foothills. Plus I could not get much of a deal and did not get an early start with a teenager sleeping in. The best strategy for Heavenly (with a pass) is to be there at 8:30, when they open on weekends, and hit it hard at the top, then move down when crowds build and quit at 1 pm. I got a cheap ticket from someone quitting for the day at 2 PM and got in a lot of skiing by staying low where the crowds were non-existent. The tram is only about a mile from our cabin and last weekend was the first time my 18 year-old son drove at Tahoe so Nevada was not a good option for me.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Thanks for the heads-up that Sierra is not a good crowd escape option. I have skied Heavenly enough (18 days) to have a strong preference for using the Nevada bases if possible. I understand that your circumstances precluded that option this time.