I was disappointed about missing the apparently phenomenal powder day on Thursday, but my weekend still did not disappoint.
I started off Friday with 10 laps in the Avy Chutes. All 10 were untracked and in about boot deep powder. There were definitely icy sections, but there were always lines of nice powder. After I started feeling the effects of the hiking and the more people were heading to the Avys, I went out to P4. This was definitely not untracked, but still had plenty of soft snow. By traversing out to White Bark Bowl, I was rewarded with wind-affected but untracked powder. I did this run for the rest of the day, with one exception. I tried Dos Pasos, which was untracked, but absolutely miserable. Describing it as ice and rocks would be too generous. Nevertheless, I made it out alive, and afterwards, stuck to what I knew was decent powder. All in all, I skied untracked snow every run of the day. That's pretty incredible considering all the terrain opened the previous day.
Saturday was also excellent. The very top part of Chair 5 was still untracked (it's not worth hiking for 5 untracked turns), so I headed there immediately. Since Chair 5's opening was not advertised and Chair 10 was closed, I was completely alone. There were about 5 other people on Chair 5, and all of them seemed to just be skiing Solitude. I did 5 laps on the untracked top section and then out to the last of the untracked in the trees between Avy 2 and 3. The snow in the trees was still not affected by the sun and was extraordinary powder for 3 days after a storm in May. Once the crowds descended on 5, I went back to P4 and White Bark Bowl. P4 had gotten filled in by the wind overnight and was much better than the previous day. White Bark Bowl still had untracked lines, but I could see that would only last 1 or 2 more runs. Once the untracked was gone, I tried Wipe Out and Drop Out. These were absolutely exquisite. The top had moguls, but the wind had filled in the troughs overnight and everything was soft. In the apron, the sun had started to work its magic and the snow was soft and smooth. I was definitely feeling the effects of my Avy hikes, and following about 6 laps in Wipe Out and Drop Out, I called it a day at around 2:30.
I knew conditions would be rock solid early on Sunday, but I headed out for the first lift anyways as I want the practice on my Heads. I rode up Stump with 3 CHP officers who were planning on measuring their speed with a radar gun. I asked if I could participate, and these surprisingly nice CHP officers (are they always like this when not in uniform?) welcomed my participation. We headed up Chair 23 and went to the groomed Scotty's, which was completely empty and lead into the completely empty St. Anton. The speed reading would be taken in the mid-point of St. Anton, just before it starts to flatten out. Scotty's was windblown and bullet proof, and I ended up checking my speed a lot at the top. Once the pitch flattened out, I pretty much straight-lined it. This was probably the most terrifying ski experience of my life, but I was determined to get a good speed once. With a little help from the wind and freshly waxed skis, I managed to hit 61 MPH. It honestly felt quite a bit faster.
I was too scared to be clocked again, so I left the CHP officers and sampled pretty much every groomer Mammoth had open. They were all bulletproof. Around 11:30, the bottom half of Stump softened up, and at noon, Coyote was excellent. Anything ungroomed was still brutal when I left at 1:00. Winds were higher on Sunday than any other day, and I think this contributed to the sun not softening the snow up. I'll put up a few pictures, but I'm too lazy to do it right now.
I started off Friday with 10 laps in the Avy Chutes. All 10 were untracked and in about boot deep powder. There were definitely icy sections, but there were always lines of nice powder. After I started feeling the effects of the hiking and the more people were heading to the Avys, I went out to P4. This was definitely not untracked, but still had plenty of soft snow. By traversing out to White Bark Bowl, I was rewarded with wind-affected but untracked powder. I did this run for the rest of the day, with one exception. I tried Dos Pasos, which was untracked, but absolutely miserable. Describing it as ice and rocks would be too generous. Nevertheless, I made it out alive, and afterwards, stuck to what I knew was decent powder. All in all, I skied untracked snow every run of the day. That's pretty incredible considering all the terrain opened the previous day.
Saturday was also excellent. The very top part of Chair 5 was still untracked (it's not worth hiking for 5 untracked turns), so I headed there immediately. Since Chair 5's opening was not advertised and Chair 10 was closed, I was completely alone. There were about 5 other people on Chair 5, and all of them seemed to just be skiing Solitude. I did 5 laps on the untracked top section and then out to the last of the untracked in the trees between Avy 2 and 3. The snow in the trees was still not affected by the sun and was extraordinary powder for 3 days after a storm in May. Once the crowds descended on 5, I went back to P4 and White Bark Bowl. P4 had gotten filled in by the wind overnight and was much better than the previous day. White Bark Bowl still had untracked lines, but I could see that would only last 1 or 2 more runs. Once the untracked was gone, I tried Wipe Out and Drop Out. These were absolutely exquisite. The top had moguls, but the wind had filled in the troughs overnight and everything was soft. In the apron, the sun had started to work its magic and the snow was soft and smooth. I was definitely feeling the effects of my Avy hikes, and following about 6 laps in Wipe Out and Drop Out, I called it a day at around 2:30.
I knew conditions would be rock solid early on Sunday, but I headed out for the first lift anyways as I want the practice on my Heads. I rode up Stump with 3 CHP officers who were planning on measuring their speed with a radar gun. I asked if I could participate, and these surprisingly nice CHP officers (are they always like this when not in uniform?) welcomed my participation. We headed up Chair 23 and went to the groomed Scotty's, which was completely empty and lead into the completely empty St. Anton. The speed reading would be taken in the mid-point of St. Anton, just before it starts to flatten out. Scotty's was windblown and bullet proof, and I ended up checking my speed a lot at the top. Once the pitch flattened out, I pretty much straight-lined it. This was probably the most terrifying ski experience of my life, but I was determined to get a good speed once. With a little help from the wind and freshly waxed skis, I managed to hit 61 MPH. It honestly felt quite a bit faster.
I was too scared to be clocked again, so I left the CHP officers and sampled pretty much every groomer Mammoth had open. They were all bulletproof. Around 11:30, the bottom half of Stump softened up, and at noon, Coyote was excellent. Anything ungroomed was still brutal when I left at 1:00. Winds were higher on Sunday than any other day, and I think this contributed to the sun not softening the snow up. I'll put up a few pictures, but I'm too lazy to do it right now.
