tseeb
Well-known member
I was glad we stayed with a friend near Truckee as it was hard to get two 15 year-olds moving, even after 10 hours of sleep. My friend said he showed 26 degrees before 7 and the official low in Truckee was 20. We arrived Northstar about 9, got great parking and found our way through the new village to get tickets and onto gondola which has a new building that fits better with the rest of the village. Going up the gondola, we correctly suspected the Village Run was closed and we would be riding gondola back down. We went up Arrow lift and found good snow facing east as I got used to being on a board again. We used Vista lift to get to Comstock chair by coming down Magic Moguls where the snow was hard. My son took a hard fall onto his knees which he said I caused by taking his picture.
The West Ridge into Luggi's was soft, but plenty fast for me on a board. I took two run on it and then moved to slightly more difficult Ax Handle for two runs before meeting up with my friend who had to work being joining me. He used to teach snowboarding at Northstar and gave me some tips on one more run on West Ridge. Then we moved to the Plunge(Northstar black diamond) which was groomers pick of the day and gave me a wild ride after a heel turn on the steeper part. Next time down was better. We were joined by another friend who has a $2,000+ CA Gold Pass, that is transferable and valid at every ski area in the CA.
We went to the East Ridge and took Powder Bowl, a run I usually overlook on skis. It was much firmer and I had my board come from under me on a heel turn and slid on my butt, spraying snow amd getting minor road rash on my foream, until I could get stopped. We then met up at the top with the two 15 year-olds and all headed down Northstar's Backside which they said had softened. The 1800 vertical feet was a challenge for me, but the snow was good and there was only one area with many obstacles. I was the slowest of those I was with, but survived with only a couple of sit-downs. We took a quick lunch at 8,600 feet where us older guys mostly needed to keep our helmets on to protect our scalps from the sun.
We did two more backside runs after lunch, staying on Burn Out. My friends with passes left about two so I headed to the East Ridge where I went down Tonini's which I always liked on skis. It held good snow and onced I relaxed a little, I did well. The next trip to the top, I stayed on the East Ridge until Delight which I took to Vista chair where I again met up with the 15 year-olds. I came down Logger's Loop and Dropoff to Surprise which I reached by taking off my board and walking 200 feet down a road that did not have any snow. Both Dropoff and Surprise had seen very light use since they were groomed and even though the snow was thin and it was approaching 4 pm, the snowboard was still cruising through the soft corduroy.
My watch showed 15 runs and 20.3K vertical which doubles my previous daily vertical on a snowboard. I went from 6% of my 25 days on snow being on a board in 2006 to almost 12% of my 17 days in 2007. I am not converting, but find some conditions are better for a board and I can be more easily challenged without putting my life in danger if I fall.
The West Ridge into Luggi's was soft, but plenty fast for me on a board. I took two run on it and then moved to slightly more difficult Ax Handle for two runs before meeting up with my friend who had to work being joining me. He used to teach snowboarding at Northstar and gave me some tips on one more run on West Ridge. Then we moved to the Plunge(Northstar black diamond) which was groomers pick of the day and gave me a wild ride after a heel turn on the steeper part. Next time down was better. We were joined by another friend who has a $2,000+ CA Gold Pass, that is transferable and valid at every ski area in the CA.
We went to the East Ridge and took Powder Bowl, a run I usually overlook on skis. It was much firmer and I had my board come from under me on a heel turn and slid on my butt, spraying snow amd getting minor road rash on my foream, until I could get stopped. We then met up at the top with the two 15 year-olds and all headed down Northstar's Backside which they said had softened. The 1800 vertical feet was a challenge for me, but the snow was good and there was only one area with many obstacles. I was the slowest of those I was with, but survived with only a couple of sit-downs. We took a quick lunch at 8,600 feet where us older guys mostly needed to keep our helmets on to protect our scalps from the sun.
We did two more backside runs after lunch, staying on Burn Out. My friends with passes left about two so I headed to the East Ridge where I went down Tonini's which I always liked on skis. It held good snow and onced I relaxed a little, I did well. The next trip to the top, I stayed on the East Ridge until Delight which I took to Vista chair where I again met up with the 15 year-olds. I came down Logger's Loop and Dropoff to Surprise which I reached by taking off my board and walking 200 feet down a road that did not have any snow. Both Dropoff and Surprise had seen very light use since they were groomed and even though the snow was thin and it was approaching 4 pm, the snowboard was still cruising through the soft corduroy.
My watch showed 15 runs and 20.3K vertical which doubles my previous daily vertical on a snowboard. I went from 6% of my 25 days on snow being on a board in 2006 to almost 12% of my 17 days in 2007. I am not converting, but find some conditions are better for a board and I can be more easily challenged without putting my life in danger if I fall.
