Powder Mountain !!!!!!!!!!!!

[mbaydala]

Powder Mountain was awesome today. I brought two friends from NY up there with me today and they had the time of their lives. That mountain is perfect for people who really have never skied Pow before. To say the least there was a TON of fresh and no one was there. Upon our arrival there was approx 12- 14 inches of new snow and it was absolutely dumping all day long. The heaviest snow came in around 2:30 and it was an absolute white out but if you stuck to the trees you could manage to see your way through the white room. Didn't take any good pics since the skiers I was with couldn't really put together any real turns but face shots were in order all day long. By the time we left we were probably looking at close to 20 inches of snow.

Only downside to the day was the drive down the canyon rd. Either the snowplow operators decided he was still on Christmas break but the road was a mess. I drive a Chevy Tahoe with snow tires and 4WD and we were all over the place. Numerous times I used the side of the road as my break, basically crashing into the snow bank in order to stop. It wasn't just me, every SUV both in front and behind us was having a hell of a time.

 

[Admin]

That's one heluva access road, so I can only imagine. Glad you made it safely down, and thrilled that you and your buds got the goods today. Pow Mow rocks!

 

[mbaydala]

Here are some shots from today. Nothing really good but figured I'd post them anyway.

 

[SoCal Rider]

I thought that winter wonderland snow was a piece of cake to drive in.

 

[yak]

The only thing scarier than driving up that road in a storm is driving down it!

 

[SoCal Rider]

The only thing scarier than driving up that road in a storm is driving down it!

Hey, Tony, scarier than Baldy (CA)?

 

[Admin]

The only thing scarier than driving up that road in a storm is driving down it!

Hey, Tony, scarier than Baldy (CA)?

No offense, but all things equal I'll take one of those roads filled with Utahans over Southern California drivers any day, so I'll hand you the "scariest" award. ;-)

 

[Tony Crocker]

It is not unknown to get stranded in Baldy's parking lot at the end of the day, waiting for the automotive carnage below to be cleared.

Baldy is the closest drive distance to snow for much of SoCal; thus my dubious decision to go there as a beginner. The half mile or so below Baldy's parking lot is a popular snow play area for much of SoCal's immigrant population that has never seen, much less driven in snow before. The 2 miles below that are switchbacks every bit as treacherous as the Powder Mt. road.

On January 6, 1989 I did not get out of Baldy's parking lot until after 10PM. Fortunately it was one of those ski days that was worth the aggravation. It was even more fortunate that I left then 4-year-old Adam at home that day.

 

[tirolerpeter]

The only thing scarier than driving up that road in a storm is driving down it!

Hey, Tony, scarier than Baldy (CA)?

No offense, but all things equal I'll take one of those roads filled with Utahans over Southern California drivers any day, so I'll hand you the "scariest" award. ;-)

While Admin is probably quite correct, my experience (this is my first full winter in UT) so far has not impressed me unduly with UT drivers. A run up from Provo on I-15 in a few inches of snow a couple of Saturdays ago left me underwhelmed with local drivers. Too many vehicles, with their "all-season" (no -season) tires and "invincible" 4 wheel drive systems couldn't seem to stay in their lanes or maintain any sort of safe distance between vehicles. I also came down the LCC canyon road last week and made the mistake of NOT cutting ahead of an Audi Quattro when pulling out of the Alta parking lot. The woman was so panicked about a little blowing snow that I think I never got beyond 2nd gear the entire way down!