J.Spin
New member
Back on January 14th, I had a chance to give a guided tour of Lost Trail to fellow SkiVT-L member Paul Terwilliger and his wife Linda. Lost Trail was the final ski area on their Montana tour, which had also included the Montana Snowbowl, Ski Discovery, Great Divide, Maverick Mountain, as well as stay at Fairmont Hot Springs. Their timing was pretty nice in terms of Lost Trail?s snowfall, because along with the 28 inches that had fallen leading up to Thursday, another 6 inches had fallen since then, meaning almost three feet of new snow was awaiting us over at Chair 4.
I arrived around 9:30 A.M. as planned, with Paul spotting me a couple minutes later as they parked their car. The parking lot was filling up quickly, and when I got to the lodge I could see part of the reason why. It was the annual telemark and randonee demo day on the mountain. In addition, it was a Saturday, so the kid?s ?All Mountain? lesson groups were taking place. Finally, there were also some ski races going on during the day. It seemed as is everything was happening at Lost Trail all at once, and everyone was there to participate.
When everyone was suited up, we headed up Chair 1 with the intention of getting over to Chair 4. Paul had said that this trip was for Linda, and that she would be interested in skiing groomed terrain. I figured the nice long cruisers on the main face of Chair 4 would be just what she was looking for. I was also more than happy to enjoy a day of gentle cruising because I was still (sigh) trying to kick out the last vestiges of a pesky stomach virus. We headed around on North Bowl/Speedway, finding excellent packed powder on the groomed terrain, and maybe 6-12 inches of powder off the sides of the trail. We checked to see if the rope was down signaling the opening of Chairs 3, 4, and 5, but it was still up, and there were no signs of any ski patrollers to suggest it would come down anytime soon. So, we headed back to the base, and since we had the time, we continued on down Drifter so Paul and Linda could get a taste of the Chair 2 area. They definitely got the full Chair 2 experience on a busy day, because we had to wait in line at least 10 minutes to get back on Chair 2 for the return to the summit.
We once again attempted the same route to get to Chair 4, this time with success since the rope had been dropped. However, I wasn?t exactly sure which trails to take to get us to Chair 4. I didn?t want to waste the run with an extremely flat green trail, but I also didn?t want to get Linda into any ungroomed terrain that was over her head. I opted to shoot off Candy Stick and head for Main Street and Side Street. Sometimes, one of these trails is groomed, which would have made a good run for Linda. However, I was still assessing the situation when I realized that Paul had already committed to Main Street. So, Main Street it was. While the top portion of Main Street was groomed, the steepest section (which is definitely a black pitch) was not. It was full of chopped up powder, which presented a steep, uneven surface. At this point, there wasn?t really any way out except for heading off into the trees, which was probably even more challenging alternative for Linda. Fortunately, Linda knew she could handle the slope; she would just need to take her time. Paul and I headed off to the side of the trail and into the trees, enjoying some nice untracked lines, and then we waited for Linda at the bottom of the steep pitch. It was actually interesting to look up the pitch from the bottom, because it was littered with numerous skiers in the same boat as Linda. Many people had followed the nice flat groomed area, which had suddenly dropped right out on them. But, the snow was soft and in general everyone seemed to be having some degree of fun coping with their situation. Now that I?ve thought about the crazy grooming practices at Lost Trail, I think I realize what they?re doing. The goal is probably not to have any of the trail groomed, but they groom the flat sections at the top and bottom because they are too flat to support skiing in powder. The steep pitch is left for the powder skiing that many people are looking for. The only problem is that they don?t indicate that there is an ungroomed black pitch coming up until it is way too late for people to take another option. They should probably just designate the whole thing black. It?s also possible that they?re just not set up (or willing) to groom some of their steeper pitches.
Linda made it down the steep pitch in good shape, and we moved on to Chair 4. We were immediately informed that we would need to unload at the Chair 4 mid-station, because the winds were too strong at the summit. From where we were, there was almost no wind, and it seemed like the lift operators were crazy, but once we got up higher on the mountain, the wind really picked up. It was obvious when we unloaded at the mid-station that the wind was strong, and I overhead lift operators discussing the winds at the summit, which they said were 35 MPH sustained with gusts to 65 MPH. I could also see that the upper slopes of the Chair 4 area had been absolutely blasted by wind.
In an effort to get out of the strong wind and into the best snow, I took Paul and Linda over to Sacajewea, the furthest skier?s left on the Chair 4 face. Crossing through the trees at the top of the area, it was obvious that the sparse assortment of evergreens had done nothing to protect the snow from the wind. There was a good two-inch wind crust that was intermittently breakable, and made for difficult skiing. Fortunately, the groomed surface was very nice, and as we progressed lower onto the trail, the snow along the sides of the trail transformed into about 6 inches of nice light powder. Paul and I took advantage of this, and I actually encountered some spots with nice open trees along the left side of Sacajewea that I hadn?t really explored in the past. Continuing the tour, we hit Super G, which is the furthest skier?s right of the Chair 4 face, and drops down rather steeply into the Elk Basin as it turns south. Although I was hoping for a change from what we?d experienced at the top of Sacajewea in terms of wind, conditions were similar. As we dropped down further, the conditions became better as before, but we still never really found the deep, light powder that I was looking for. Linda also had to face another one of Lost Trail?s peculiar ungroomed steeps sandwiched between mellower groomed runs. The final steep pitch of Super G hadn?t been groomed, and even though we cut left onto the more frequently used Bob?s Run, the equivalent pitch had been left in the same state. Linda took her time again and made it down fine, and we also ran into Dom and Val, who joined us for the remainder of the run. Since we?d explored the edges of the main Chair 4 face, I figured we could split the middle on the next run, so we took Lewis and Clark. Conditions were similar again, and I don?t even think I made an effort to ski the slabby snow in the upper elevations, waiting instead to catch some of the powder in the lower areas that were out of the wind.
We decided it was a good time to break for lunch, and opted for the convenience and minimal crowds of the yurt. Linda and Paul got a little of the chili, and while I was definitely craving a bit of chili myself, I knew that was the last thing my gastrointestinal tract needed. So, I resolved to keep my meal as simple as possible and had another packet of energy gel. I actually should comment on these energy gels for anyone that hasn?t used them. I really recall being aware of these things after filming a mountain bike race for team Dirtworld a few years back. They had a sponsored supply of energy gels, and the guys would tape a bunch of packets to their handlebars to eat during the race. With the gels being semi-solid and packed with energy, I think the point is to quickly get fuel into your body. I tried a packet and liked it a lot, so at some point down the line I bought a few. They?re a bit more expensive than your typical energy bar, so I was saving them for an appropriate time, and my day with Paul and Linda turned out to be the perfect occasion. I wanted my foods to be as simple as possible, but I needed energy to ski, so I downed a few gels during the day and they worked out great. Most people may be sensible enough to stay off the skis when they?re significantly under the weather with a stomach virus, but if you?re not, energy gels are a great option.
With that little digression aside, I?ll get us back to the ski day. After lunch we decided to return to the main side of the mountain, so we took the trip up Chairs 3 and 5. Paul and I took a quick shot down through the woods from the Raven trial, and the tree-protected snow was in much better shape than the stuff we?d experienced at the top of Chair 4. There was a subtle crust that may have been from sun or warming, but for the most part the powder was skiing like it was at least a foot deep, and the short tree shot was over way too fast.
Linda went into the Lodge for a bathroom break, so I took the opportunity to hit something steep with Paul. I introduced him to the trail called ?Slides?, which is one of the chutes that drops in from the trees above Femur Ridge. It was all tracked out of course by this point in the day, but it skied well. We then traversed way over to the right side of the little bowl area below Femur Ridge, and got some nice powder turns.
We then met back up with Linda and took one of the classic groomed runs on the main mountain: Meadow Run to Far Out. I actually would have crossed back to Southern Comfort since it is typically groomed the most, but it was closed for racing. I could tell it had been a busy day, because small bumps were starting to form on Far Out, and this rarely if ever happens. The moguls were fun though and Linda seemed to work through them well because at one point, Paul and I were standing lower on the trail discussing ski stuff, and she passed right by us without even a pause.
Linda decided to call it a day after that, so she headed back to the base via Meadow Run/Meadow Trail, and I took Paul on a powder excursion. The way the strong south wind had blasted the powder in most open areas, and the closing of the Chair 4 summit had limited access to the north side of Elk Basin, timing was right for a trip up to the Bear Claw Ridge. We weren?t the only ones with the idea, as we hiked up amidst a half dozen others looking for a last chance at the ridge before Chair 3 shut down. We traversed past the first chutes off the north side of the ridge, which were being eyed by many other powder hounds anyway, and continued down the ridge to some of my favorite lines at the end. There had been little traffic through the area, so we had to forge some new traverses around the wind drifts and small cornices. Finally, we reached the line I was hoping to hit, which dropped into a nice steep snowfield. I caught a line near the center of the snowfield, and Paul found a really nice steep untracked shot off to the skier?s right. This terrain, off the north side of the ridge, was protected from the sun and wind, and provided by far the best powder of the day. Even with my fat skis I was sinking into the snow a foot or two, and it was bottomless. We caught additional powder turns on one of the dead end trails below the Chair 5 summit, and then a few more in the Main Street/Side Street area. The whole area had actually been tracked up fairly extensively due to the day?s crowds.
Paul and I called it a day after that, and it had certainly been a full one. We didn?t quite have perfect powder conditions everywhere due to the heavier snow and excessive wind, but we hit some nice fluff in some of the wind-sheltered areas and especially off the north side of the Bear Claw ridge. The crowds had been some of the biggest I?d ever seen, and I hear they sold 1,400 tickets. But I think Paul and Linda got a nice introduction to the mountain overall.
A few more pictures from the day can be found at:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2006/14JAN06.html
J.Spin
I arrived around 9:30 A.M. as planned, with Paul spotting me a couple minutes later as they parked their car. The parking lot was filling up quickly, and when I got to the lodge I could see part of the reason why. It was the annual telemark and randonee demo day on the mountain. In addition, it was a Saturday, so the kid?s ?All Mountain? lesson groups were taking place. Finally, there were also some ski races going on during the day. It seemed as is everything was happening at Lost Trail all at once, and everyone was there to participate.
When everyone was suited up, we headed up Chair 1 with the intention of getting over to Chair 4. Paul had said that this trip was for Linda, and that she would be interested in skiing groomed terrain. I figured the nice long cruisers on the main face of Chair 4 would be just what she was looking for. I was also more than happy to enjoy a day of gentle cruising because I was still (sigh) trying to kick out the last vestiges of a pesky stomach virus. We headed around on North Bowl/Speedway, finding excellent packed powder on the groomed terrain, and maybe 6-12 inches of powder off the sides of the trail. We checked to see if the rope was down signaling the opening of Chairs 3, 4, and 5, but it was still up, and there were no signs of any ski patrollers to suggest it would come down anytime soon. So, we headed back to the base, and since we had the time, we continued on down Drifter so Paul and Linda could get a taste of the Chair 2 area. They definitely got the full Chair 2 experience on a busy day, because we had to wait in line at least 10 minutes to get back on Chair 2 for the return to the summit.
We once again attempted the same route to get to Chair 4, this time with success since the rope had been dropped. However, I wasn?t exactly sure which trails to take to get us to Chair 4. I didn?t want to waste the run with an extremely flat green trail, but I also didn?t want to get Linda into any ungroomed terrain that was over her head. I opted to shoot off Candy Stick and head for Main Street and Side Street. Sometimes, one of these trails is groomed, which would have made a good run for Linda. However, I was still assessing the situation when I realized that Paul had already committed to Main Street. So, Main Street it was. While the top portion of Main Street was groomed, the steepest section (which is definitely a black pitch) was not. It was full of chopped up powder, which presented a steep, uneven surface. At this point, there wasn?t really any way out except for heading off into the trees, which was probably even more challenging alternative for Linda. Fortunately, Linda knew she could handle the slope; she would just need to take her time. Paul and I headed off to the side of the trail and into the trees, enjoying some nice untracked lines, and then we waited for Linda at the bottom of the steep pitch. It was actually interesting to look up the pitch from the bottom, because it was littered with numerous skiers in the same boat as Linda. Many people had followed the nice flat groomed area, which had suddenly dropped right out on them. But, the snow was soft and in general everyone seemed to be having some degree of fun coping with their situation. Now that I?ve thought about the crazy grooming practices at Lost Trail, I think I realize what they?re doing. The goal is probably not to have any of the trail groomed, but they groom the flat sections at the top and bottom because they are too flat to support skiing in powder. The steep pitch is left for the powder skiing that many people are looking for. The only problem is that they don?t indicate that there is an ungroomed black pitch coming up until it is way too late for people to take another option. They should probably just designate the whole thing black. It?s also possible that they?re just not set up (or willing) to groom some of their steeper pitches.
Linda made it down the steep pitch in good shape, and we moved on to Chair 4. We were immediately informed that we would need to unload at the Chair 4 mid-station, because the winds were too strong at the summit. From where we were, there was almost no wind, and it seemed like the lift operators were crazy, but once we got up higher on the mountain, the wind really picked up. It was obvious when we unloaded at the mid-station that the wind was strong, and I overhead lift operators discussing the winds at the summit, which they said were 35 MPH sustained with gusts to 65 MPH. I could also see that the upper slopes of the Chair 4 area had been absolutely blasted by wind.
In an effort to get out of the strong wind and into the best snow, I took Paul and Linda over to Sacajewea, the furthest skier?s left on the Chair 4 face. Crossing through the trees at the top of the area, it was obvious that the sparse assortment of evergreens had done nothing to protect the snow from the wind. There was a good two-inch wind crust that was intermittently breakable, and made for difficult skiing. Fortunately, the groomed surface was very nice, and as we progressed lower onto the trail, the snow along the sides of the trail transformed into about 6 inches of nice light powder. Paul and I took advantage of this, and I actually encountered some spots with nice open trees along the left side of Sacajewea that I hadn?t really explored in the past. Continuing the tour, we hit Super G, which is the furthest skier?s right of the Chair 4 face, and drops down rather steeply into the Elk Basin as it turns south. Although I was hoping for a change from what we?d experienced at the top of Sacajewea in terms of wind, conditions were similar. As we dropped down further, the conditions became better as before, but we still never really found the deep, light powder that I was looking for. Linda also had to face another one of Lost Trail?s peculiar ungroomed steeps sandwiched between mellower groomed runs. The final steep pitch of Super G hadn?t been groomed, and even though we cut left onto the more frequently used Bob?s Run, the equivalent pitch had been left in the same state. Linda took her time again and made it down fine, and we also ran into Dom and Val, who joined us for the remainder of the run. Since we?d explored the edges of the main Chair 4 face, I figured we could split the middle on the next run, so we took Lewis and Clark. Conditions were similar again, and I don?t even think I made an effort to ski the slabby snow in the upper elevations, waiting instead to catch some of the powder in the lower areas that were out of the wind.
We decided it was a good time to break for lunch, and opted for the convenience and minimal crowds of the yurt. Linda and Paul got a little of the chili, and while I was definitely craving a bit of chili myself, I knew that was the last thing my gastrointestinal tract needed. So, I resolved to keep my meal as simple as possible and had another packet of energy gel. I actually should comment on these energy gels for anyone that hasn?t used them. I really recall being aware of these things after filming a mountain bike race for team Dirtworld a few years back. They had a sponsored supply of energy gels, and the guys would tape a bunch of packets to their handlebars to eat during the race. With the gels being semi-solid and packed with energy, I think the point is to quickly get fuel into your body. I tried a packet and liked it a lot, so at some point down the line I bought a few. They?re a bit more expensive than your typical energy bar, so I was saving them for an appropriate time, and my day with Paul and Linda turned out to be the perfect occasion. I wanted my foods to be as simple as possible, but I needed energy to ski, so I downed a few gels during the day and they worked out great. Most people may be sensible enough to stay off the skis when they?re significantly under the weather with a stomach virus, but if you?re not, energy gels are a great option.
With that little digression aside, I?ll get us back to the ski day. After lunch we decided to return to the main side of the mountain, so we took the trip up Chairs 3 and 5. Paul and I took a quick shot down through the woods from the Raven trial, and the tree-protected snow was in much better shape than the stuff we?d experienced at the top of Chair 4. There was a subtle crust that may have been from sun or warming, but for the most part the powder was skiing like it was at least a foot deep, and the short tree shot was over way too fast.
Linda went into the Lodge for a bathroom break, so I took the opportunity to hit something steep with Paul. I introduced him to the trail called ?Slides?, which is one of the chutes that drops in from the trees above Femur Ridge. It was all tracked out of course by this point in the day, but it skied well. We then traversed way over to the right side of the little bowl area below Femur Ridge, and got some nice powder turns.
We then met back up with Linda and took one of the classic groomed runs on the main mountain: Meadow Run to Far Out. I actually would have crossed back to Southern Comfort since it is typically groomed the most, but it was closed for racing. I could tell it had been a busy day, because small bumps were starting to form on Far Out, and this rarely if ever happens. The moguls were fun though and Linda seemed to work through them well because at one point, Paul and I were standing lower on the trail discussing ski stuff, and she passed right by us without even a pause.
Linda decided to call it a day after that, so she headed back to the base via Meadow Run/Meadow Trail, and I took Paul on a powder excursion. The way the strong south wind had blasted the powder in most open areas, and the closing of the Chair 4 summit had limited access to the north side of Elk Basin, timing was right for a trip up to the Bear Claw Ridge. We weren?t the only ones with the idea, as we hiked up amidst a half dozen others looking for a last chance at the ridge before Chair 3 shut down. We traversed past the first chutes off the north side of the ridge, which were being eyed by many other powder hounds anyway, and continued down the ridge to some of my favorite lines at the end. There had been little traffic through the area, so we had to forge some new traverses around the wind drifts and small cornices. Finally, we reached the line I was hoping to hit, which dropped into a nice steep snowfield. I caught a line near the center of the snowfield, and Paul found a really nice steep untracked shot off to the skier?s right. This terrain, off the north side of the ridge, was protected from the sun and wind, and provided by far the best powder of the day. Even with my fat skis I was sinking into the snow a foot or two, and it was bottomless. We caught additional powder turns on one of the dead end trails below the Chair 5 summit, and then a few more in the Main Street/Side Street area. The whole area had actually been tracked up fairly extensively due to the day?s crowds.
Paul and I called it a day after that, and it had certainly been a full one. We didn?t quite have perfect powder conditions everywhere due to the heavier snow and excessive wind, but we hit some nice fluff in some of the wind-sheltered areas and especially off the north side of the Bear Claw ridge. The crowds had been some of the biggest I?d ever seen, and I hear they sold 1,400 tickets. But I think Paul and Linda got a nice introduction to the mountain overall.
A few more pictures from the day can be found at:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2006/14JAN06.html
J.Spin
