tseeb
Well-known member
I got up too early and drove to Kirkwood, getting one of the best free Yellow parking spots. I caught first chair on Timber Creek at 8:55 which liftee said is when they are scheduled to open. I rode it 3x skiing a couple of warmup runs before moving to Cornice which I rode 6x, alternating between main groomer Zachary’s and Sentinel. There was strong enough wind to almost blow me to Sentinel vs. usual poling required to get across nearly flat road. Both main groomers were generally good although both had steep areas near bottom where they wrapped around that had some rocks showing that probably affected grooming. I tried bottom half of Lookout Janek, but it was too firm with many places showing clear ice. I went into lodge and adjusted boots and relaxed there before it got too busy.
After a moderate singles line with many racers using it to avoid longer doubles line, I loaded Reut and found Dave from England waiting for me at top. We moved to Cornice for four groomer laps, including one where I led him across above top of Solitude chair so we could ski that side without riding slow chair that stops a lot.
Above - Clouds moved in just before noon. Chair 2 that takes you to Backside (that never opens when windy) at far right.
Below - Dave skiing bottom of Upper Monte Wolf after traverse.
We then did two more laps on Reut. It had gotten cold and started snowing so we went into a usually quiet lodge that was very busy and ate our lunches. Wind was strong during our break, then snow started dumping and wind died.
Line on Reut had gone down so we rode it 4x, starting with opened Race Course, but finding better snow and some powder on edges of Short Spoke that we skied twice. Our last Reut run was main groomer Buckboard that was not as good as Short Spoke. We moved to Cornice, which ran all day (unlike many other Tahoe area upper lifts), and skied Sentinel. I found best snow along right edge. You could still feel, and mostly hear, the firm layer underneath on steeper runs so Dave and I finished our day with three laps and many turns in powder on lower angle, high-speed Timber Creek. My watch counted 24 runs and 24K.
I was able to ski down road past some residences and across Kirkwood's entrance road to my SUV where I measured 5" on hood at 3:10.
My 35 mile drive to So. Tahoe took 1.5 hours. A small truck was stuck going up the hill after Kirkwood Inn and a SUV with chains on rear went off corner going W before main Caples Lake dam.
I talked to a couple of patrollers about holds and closures on 1/2. The one who shared the most info said Timber Creek was held for grooming after rain and hard freeze made it icy. When I asked why Sentinel was closed all day while steeper, ungroomed Olympic and Lookout Janek were open, he said it was because it was a groomer (and I'm assuming would attract people who could not handle it and could get hurt.) I should have asked him why main Cornice groomer was open (and got scraped off.)
After a moderate singles line with many racers using it to avoid longer doubles line, I loaded Reut and found Dave from England waiting for me at top. We moved to Cornice for four groomer laps, including one where I led him across above top of Solitude chair so we could ski that side without riding slow chair that stops a lot.
Above - Clouds moved in just before noon. Chair 2 that takes you to Backside (that never opens when windy) at far right.
Below - Dave skiing bottom of Upper Monte Wolf after traverse.
Line on Reut had gone down so we rode it 4x, starting with opened Race Course, but finding better snow and some powder on edges of Short Spoke that we skied twice. Our last Reut run was main groomer Buckboard that was not as good as Short Spoke. We moved to Cornice, which ran all day (unlike many other Tahoe area upper lifts), and skied Sentinel. I found best snow along right edge. You could still feel, and mostly hear, the firm layer underneath on steeper runs so Dave and I finished our day with three laps and many turns in powder on lower angle, high-speed Timber Creek. My watch counted 24 runs and 24K.
I was able to ski down road past some residences and across Kirkwood's entrance road to my SUV where I measured 5" on hood at 3:10.
I talked to a couple of patrollers about holds and closures on 1/2. The one who shared the most info said Timber Creek was held for grooming after rain and hard freeze made it icy. When I asked why Sentinel was closed all day while steeper, ungroomed Olympic and Lookout Janek were open, he said it was because it was a groomer (and I'm assuming would attract people who could not handle it and could get hurt.) I should have asked him why main Cornice groomer was open (and got scraped off.)