My plane back to Minneapolis from SLC got in at 11:30 p.m. instead of the scheduled 9:45 p.m. It is almost 1 a.m., I'm beat and I've got to catch a 10 a.m. flight in the morning to Orlando for work, so this is gonna have to be quick.
A friend from Seattle and I spent four days in Utah, skiing Solitude on Friday (fresh tracks in Honeycomb!), Alta Saturday (fresh tracks out in the castle!) and Sunday, and Snowbasin today. We picked Snowbasin today because their snow report this morning said they already had 3 inches (Alta and Snowbird reported zero) and we knew the storm was coming in from the North. We got to the top of the Needles Express at about 9:20 a.m. and there was about 6 inches of fluff. By the feel of the of the ice below, you could tell Snowbasin really needed the snow. We stuck to groomers and low-angle trees until about 10:30 a.m. by which time it was getting difficult to hit bottom. By 11:45 a.m. it was all good to go and we were able to find fresh lines in bottomless snow everywhere except the ridge tops, which were getting wind blown. We spent the remainder of the day skiing trees off of John Paul and Porcupine. The snow slowed down for an hour or two at mid-day, but it was absolutely hammering down for the last couple of hours before we called it quits at 3:15 p.m. to drive back to the airport. Even through the storm, it only took an hour to get to the airport.
I've always wanted to catch Snowbasin with powder and today it did not disappoint. It honestly took no effort to find and ski fresh lines all run, every run, and the snow was light and dry. Tomorrow should be epic. Wish I could have stayed.
I'll try to get some pictures and a lengthier report posted sometime later in the week.
A friend from Seattle and I spent four days in Utah, skiing Solitude on Friday (fresh tracks in Honeycomb!), Alta Saturday (fresh tracks out in the castle!) and Sunday, and Snowbasin today. We picked Snowbasin today because their snow report this morning said they already had 3 inches (Alta and Snowbird reported zero) and we knew the storm was coming in from the North. We got to the top of the Needles Express at about 9:20 a.m. and there was about 6 inches of fluff. By the feel of the of the ice below, you could tell Snowbasin really needed the snow. We stuck to groomers and low-angle trees until about 10:30 a.m. by which time it was getting difficult to hit bottom. By 11:45 a.m. it was all good to go and we were able to find fresh lines in bottomless snow everywhere except the ridge tops, which were getting wind blown. We spent the remainder of the day skiing trees off of John Paul and Porcupine. The snow slowed down for an hour or two at mid-day, but it was absolutely hammering down for the last couple of hours before we called it quits at 3:15 p.m. to drive back to the airport. Even through the storm, it only took an hour to get to the airport.
I've always wanted to catch Snowbasin with powder and today it did not disappoint. It honestly took no effort to find and ski fresh lines all run, every run, and the snow was light and dry. Tomorrow should be epic. Wish I could have stayed.
I'll try to get some pictures and a lengthier report posted sometime later in the week.
