tseeb
Well-known member
We left San Jose a few minutes after 5 but did not arrive Kirkwood until after 9, due to my friend mostly keeping speed down to 30 mph for a lot of the 35+ miles of chain control even though he was driving a 4X4 pickup with good tires. Snow level was 3,000' but most of the 8" new (and 28" in last 48 hrs) Kirkwood reported fell when it was warmer or had been packed by E wind as it was very dense. I took two laps on Reut, which did not start loading until 9:10 according to Coop's FB post and the best lift running early, and found some untracked on Shotgun and in Waterfall, but was concerned about people skiing/boarding too fast/close to me. (Maybe that's just how it feels when last powder days were cat skiing.)
After Cornice opened and line went down a little, I moved there, where they were not letting you go towards Sentinel (to prevent fools poaching Palisades [-X ), and took a couple laps to False Peak chute where I found more untracked snow. On the first lap I hiked up to where I could easily traverse to top of chute, then lost a ski (toe released) going off the cornice. I started to hike up for it before seeing it 20 feet below me. On second lap I did not go as far out and noticed the Wall was running so I went up it and did a lap into the corner of Wagon Wheel Bowl from the Wall via Notch Chute where I almost had to downclimb over snowboarders who were putting their boards back on one a a time in the choke rather going a little farther to big flat area.
After an early and quick lunch, where I heard Backside would not open, my friend and I rode and skied Reut where I found some untracked on edges and in one little chute in trees I've found. We rode Cornice and found not only was Sentinel side open, but they were allowing gravity traverse towards the Palisades. I took two laps there finding a lot of places where there was room to get closer to trees and make more tracks. My friend headed back to Reut and I was going to load Cornice when I was told Backside had opened so I hiked past chair 5 and up and around lodge then rode the Wall. I skied some of Eagle Bowl and E side of Norms Nose to get to chair 2 and rode up it and skied with the hordes heading for the Backside.
There was only one groomed run that I got my friend started on, then I ducked into trees and skied a very lightly tracked slope for the middle 1/2. Towards the bottom I skied more untracked to skiers right of rock band that people often jump. I went up again and skied towards Thunder Saddle. I went down Moon Bowl where top was only OK and middle had a lot of slide debris - Kirkwood has thrown hundreds of bombs. I saw a couple of foot high fracture line above me and was wondering if it all slid. But a little further down I found such deep and steep untracked that I wondered if it was safe. It held and skied great. I did one more chair 2 then up Backside lap and skied high entrance to main Thunder Saddle run. I found a few stretches of good steep untracked snow, but when I came off a high wall into the main/tourist's Thunder Saddle run found it was full of avalanche debris. I found some untracked to the left at bottom, then rode up chair 2 and skied High W-facing High Whiskey to the base.
I quit a little at 3:30 with over 19K. I was a little concerned when I got to the truck as I did not see my friend and hoped he had made it out of the Backside, but then I saw his skis in the back and figured he had gone the lodge. It turned out he was sleeping in front of truck and had me drive to So. Tahoe as he was beat. It had begun to snow hard in PM, but was not yet sticking over Carson Pass. I was able to get by one slow car that was holding everyone up far down on other side. On Luther Pass, the snow started to stick and I had to pull over at top to remove ice from wipers and slow car got ahead of me and there were too many others to pass so drive to So. Tahoe was well over an hour. Chains were required leaving So. Tahoe for both Luther Pass and Echo Summit.
After Cornice opened and line went down a little, I moved there, where they were not letting you go towards Sentinel (to prevent fools poaching Palisades [-X ), and took a couple laps to False Peak chute where I found more untracked snow. On the first lap I hiked up to where I could easily traverse to top of chute, then lost a ski (toe released) going off the cornice. I started to hike up for it before seeing it 20 feet below me. On second lap I did not go as far out and noticed the Wall was running so I went up it and did a lap into the corner of Wagon Wheel Bowl from the Wall via Notch Chute where I almost had to downclimb over snowboarders who were putting their boards back on one a a time in the choke rather going a little farther to big flat area.
After an early and quick lunch, where I heard Backside would not open, my friend and I rode and skied Reut where I found some untracked on edges and in one little chute in trees I've found. We rode Cornice and found not only was Sentinel side open, but they were allowing gravity traverse towards the Palisades. I took two laps there finding a lot of places where there was room to get closer to trees and make more tracks. My friend headed back to Reut and I was going to load Cornice when I was told Backside had opened so I hiked past chair 5 and up and around lodge then rode the Wall. I skied some of Eagle Bowl and E side of Norms Nose to get to chair 2 and rode up it and skied with the hordes heading for the Backside.
There was only one groomed run that I got my friend started on, then I ducked into trees and skied a very lightly tracked slope for the middle 1/2. Towards the bottom I skied more untracked to skiers right of rock band that people often jump. I went up again and skied towards Thunder Saddle. I went down Moon Bowl where top was only OK and middle had a lot of slide debris - Kirkwood has thrown hundreds of bombs. I saw a couple of foot high fracture line above me and was wondering if it all slid. But a little further down I found such deep and steep untracked that I wondered if it was safe. It held and skied great. I did one more chair 2 then up Backside lap and skied high entrance to main Thunder Saddle run. I found a few stretches of good steep untracked snow, but when I came off a high wall into the main/tourist's Thunder Saddle run found it was full of avalanche debris. I found some untracked to the left at bottom, then rode up chair 2 and skied High W-facing High Whiskey to the base.
I quit a little at 3:30 with over 19K. I was a little concerned when I got to the truck as I did not see my friend and hoped he had made it out of the Backside, but then I saw his skis in the back and figured he had gone the lodge. It turned out he was sleeping in front of truck and had me drive to So. Tahoe as he was beat. It had begun to snow hard in PM, but was not yet sticking over Carson Pass. I was able to get by one slow car that was holding everyone up far down on other side. On Luther Pass, the snow started to stick and I had to pull over at top to remove ice from wipers and slow car got ahead of me and there were too many others to pass so drive to So. Tahoe was well over an hour. Chains were required leaving So. Tahoe for both Luther Pass and Echo Summit.
