J.Spin
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There hasn?t been any snowfall in the Bitterroot since last Sunday/Monday, when Lost Trail picked up about 5 inches. I heard the skiing on Monday was quite good, but after my ski vacation the previous week, I wanted to catch up on some other stuff. The sunshine we?ve had all week was probably doing a number on the powder, but it must have been nice skiing weather with valley highs between 40 and 50 F, and mountain highs probably in the 30s. Sunday was a continuation of this trend, and it was hard to turn down skiing on such a beautiful day, even if it meant just cruising a few groomers.
As usual, we spent the first part of the day skiing with Ty. I optimistically brought the H-Bar, although I anticipated Ty would be afraid of it as he?s been much of the time. Using the H-Bar is certainly the next step we?d like him to reach, since working with him between our legs takes a lot more effort. To our surprise, he was actually willing to try it today. He seemed to really enjoy the experience, and we proceeded to take six runs on the Bunny Hill. Even when he was done, he simply asked for some food instead of becoming tired and grumpy. With the bar, Ty certainly made some progress in supporting more of his own weight, and mom and dad didn?t have to bend over as much.
Once Ty was finished, I headed out for a few runs on my own. Sun protected places like the skier?s right of Side Street still held some powder, but it was quite variable. In some spots there just a few inches of unsettled snow, and in other places there was more than a foot. I was on my 165 cm Pilot Hots (110/75/100), so I certainly felt the nuances in snow consistency more than if I had been on my fats or my snowboard. There were also a lot more tracks in the powder than usual, since even the Chair 3&4 terrain had been open for a few days without new snow.
On Chair 4, I looked down and checked out the most promising runs. The trees between ?Two Dot? and ?Lewis and Clark? looked the least tracked, so I decided to check them out. I got there by heading down ?The Slot? and cutting left. The snow in the Slot/Face area was tracked up, baked, and re-frozen. It was actually quite challenging skiing. Once I got into the untracked snow in the trees, things became a little easier, but this snow had also been cooked by the sun so I had to stay on my toes. The best part of the run was probably the lower groomed region of ?Lewis and Clark?. It was nice packed powder, I could really sink my edges in, and I had it all to myself to cruise at whatever speed I wanted.
After Lewis and Clark, I decided that the groomed runs were certainly the best surfaces of the day, so I made my wake back to the main base via Oreo. It was more great snow all the way to the top of Elk Basin. They had groomed much of Elk Basin, and even though I could see powder lines off to the sides, I decided to keep on track and get back to the base to meet up with E and Ty. It looks like the upcoming week may bring in some moisture, so we?ll have to see how conditions change for next weekend.
A few shots from the day can be found at:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2005/27FEB05.html
J.Spin
There hasn?t been any snowfall in the Bitterroot since last Sunday/Monday, when Lost Trail picked up about 5 inches. I heard the skiing on Monday was quite good, but after my ski vacation the previous week, I wanted to catch up on some other stuff. The sunshine we?ve had all week was probably doing a number on the powder, but it must have been nice skiing weather with valley highs between 40 and 50 F, and mountain highs probably in the 30s. Sunday was a continuation of this trend, and it was hard to turn down skiing on such a beautiful day, even if it meant just cruising a few groomers.
As usual, we spent the first part of the day skiing with Ty. I optimistically brought the H-Bar, although I anticipated Ty would be afraid of it as he?s been much of the time. Using the H-Bar is certainly the next step we?d like him to reach, since working with him between our legs takes a lot more effort. To our surprise, he was actually willing to try it today. He seemed to really enjoy the experience, and we proceeded to take six runs on the Bunny Hill. Even when he was done, he simply asked for some food instead of becoming tired and grumpy. With the bar, Ty certainly made some progress in supporting more of his own weight, and mom and dad didn?t have to bend over as much.
Once Ty was finished, I headed out for a few runs on my own. Sun protected places like the skier?s right of Side Street still held some powder, but it was quite variable. In some spots there just a few inches of unsettled snow, and in other places there was more than a foot. I was on my 165 cm Pilot Hots (110/75/100), so I certainly felt the nuances in snow consistency more than if I had been on my fats or my snowboard. There were also a lot more tracks in the powder than usual, since even the Chair 3&4 terrain had been open for a few days without new snow.
On Chair 4, I looked down and checked out the most promising runs. The trees between ?Two Dot? and ?Lewis and Clark? looked the least tracked, so I decided to check them out. I got there by heading down ?The Slot? and cutting left. The snow in the Slot/Face area was tracked up, baked, and re-frozen. It was actually quite challenging skiing. Once I got into the untracked snow in the trees, things became a little easier, but this snow had also been cooked by the sun so I had to stay on my toes. The best part of the run was probably the lower groomed region of ?Lewis and Clark?. It was nice packed powder, I could really sink my edges in, and I had it all to myself to cruise at whatever speed I wanted.
After Lewis and Clark, I decided that the groomed runs were certainly the best surfaces of the day, so I made my wake back to the main base via Oreo. It was more great snow all the way to the top of Elk Basin. They had groomed much of Elk Basin, and even though I could see powder lines off to the sides, I decided to keep on track and get back to the base to meet up with E and Ty. It looks like the upcoming week may bring in some moisture, so we?ll have to see how conditions change for next weekend.
A few shots from the day can be found at:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2005/27FEB05.html
J.Spin