tseeb
Well-known member
I was not in line early, but still loaded Gunbarrel 12 minutes after 9 AM opening. I'd added a base layer on bottom, but could tell from wind blowing over top of chair that I should have also added vest I'd left in car (or quilted liner that I left at cabin and that I will use today). I took three cold laps on Canyon, stopping to add heat packs to gloves. Sky opened at 948 and I loaded it 8 minutes later and skied to NV using almost always good line on Milky Way Bowl with windsift into big, well-formed bumps on exit. Mott was not yet open so I skied Nevada trail to Stagecoach base hoping to warm up. But it was cold enough to drive me into East Peak Lodge at 1030 for hot chocolate/coffee (I took whatever was working once I'd bought cup). Signs on doors to lodge said proof of vaccination required for entry, but they barely have enough employees to staff food court and bar, not doors or to keep coffee maker ahead of customer demand.
Most people were not wearing masks. I was not sure if I was in Area 51 or at Table 51, but I sat by window in sun and removed boots to take wrinkles out of socks. I went back our not much after 11 and did a warmup on Comet, then a lap on Big Dipper before skiing Milky Way Bowl into Mott Canyon Gate 1.
I've seen the "You May Die" signs on Heavenly's side country gates, but not sure I've seen them on Mott gates. I skied Bills which was good at top, but had a lot of 2-3’ foot tall ledges starting about 1/4 of the way down and then almost seemed like a slide path in middle starting about halfway down. I spotted a skier down near the bottom of steeps with one ski and pole far above him. I flipped the ski over twice and it slid most of the way to him and picked up the pole and eventually the ski and brought them to him. He said his friends were taking another lap to bring his gear to him. I shared my self-arrest tips (try to stop before you lose your skis, then feet first and face down and dig in toes and poles, don't stop trying to stop) and left him.
When I stopped to take picture I saw boarder on long slide and warned skier to watch out as he was just missed. From lift I saw him and boarder both still on hill, then later saw them walking down. Not sure if boarder was one of his friends retrieving ski, but it was not a good day/place to get in over your head. (I’ve heard about fatal slides in last week at both Palisades resorts.)
I did another Mott lap skiing Hully Gully, but found many wider openings were bumped out and some narrower/steeps shots OK, but also treacherous. On both of my Mott laps I got closer to the edge of control than I liked.Even though it was out of the NE, wind was lower in NV and dropped so they eventually opened gondola and Tamarack. I skied Galaxy run and rode that chair while eating half my sandwich, then after skiing to and riding Stagecoach, I skied decent right side of Boulder Chute and ate rest of sandwich on my first of 2 North Bowl chair rides. I stayed in NV until after 3 riding Dipper six more times, skiing Milky Way Bowl twice and Big Dipper run into Dipper Bowl 3x before returning to CA. There I rode Sky and did a top to bottom run skiing Ridge, some of High Five, more of Ridge (where the 1/2-1” of sugary windsift had deepened to 1-2”), Ridge Bowl, Mombo, Swing Trail and Steins Way, then riding Groove to ski Advanced Roundabout to Roundabout. I didn't take any more pictures until last run where they were making snow from one gun where Roundabout crosses Gunbarrel and from multiple guns on East Bowl.
I quit about 3:30 with 30.4K. After a quick stop at Safeway, I poached lakefront hot tub for the first time in more than 2 years.
After cold day (reported high in SLT was 31) it was hard to get out of it long after I’d finished very good Goose Island IPA. I plan to go early to Northstar today as OpenSnow predicts wind there to be 10-15 mph with gusts of 25-30 vs. 30-40 with gusts 55-65 at Heavenly.
Dry January headline in local paper. Not me.
Most people were not wearing masks. I was not sure if I was in Area 51 or at Table 51, but I sat by window in sun and removed boots to take wrinkles out of socks. I went back our not much after 11 and did a warmup on Comet, then a lap on Big Dipper before skiing Milky Way Bowl into Mott Canyon Gate 1.
I've seen the "You May Die" signs on Heavenly's side country gates, but not sure I've seen them on Mott gates. I skied Bills which was good at top, but had a lot of 2-3’ foot tall ledges starting about 1/4 of the way down and then almost seemed like a slide path in middle starting about halfway down. I spotted a skier down near the bottom of steeps with one ski and pole far above him. I flipped the ski over twice and it slid most of the way to him and picked up the pole and eventually the ski and brought them to him. He said his friends were taking another lap to bring his gear to him. I shared my self-arrest tips (try to stop before you lose your skis, then feet first and face down and dig in toes and poles, don't stop trying to stop) and left him.
I quit about 3:30 with 30.4K. After a quick stop at Safeway, I poached lakefront hot tub for the first time in more than 2 years.
