Both of these days were sunny and fairly warm like Monday. About 60% of the mountain remained packed powder.
Thursday 3/13
After the previous 2 days nobody at Iron Blosam got out bright and early. Liz and I started up the tram with Stefan, Dominic , 2 of his kids and 2 of their friends. First was Upper Silver Fox. Just below it some followed me around the skier’s left traverse to these bowls.
Liam and Nick chose a variation with a little air.
We then went through Green Forest on the way to Gadzoom. We skied Rasta and the trees left of Black Forest on the way into Gad 2. Next up was Tigertail, where most of skied to the Baby Thunder road, but Liz went right instead of left partway down, skied through trees and got to Gadzoom ahead of us because one of Dom’s kids Matt got too low and had to take the Baby Thunder chair.
Liz loaded Gadzoom just as most of us arrived, and while waiting for Matt, Andy Jorgensen and guest Andrea showed up. They went up Gadzoom and skied with Liz for the next 2+ hours. They skied Rasta, some Gad 2 trees and bumps, 3 runs in Mineral Basin and finished with South Chute.
Meanwhile I skied to the plaza for a quick bite while Dom and the rest went to mid-Gad. I tried to locate Liz, a difficult task with ATT phone service and her being in Mineral much of the time. On the tram deck at 1:30 I ran into Allene, a local lady with whom I had skied 3 times at Chatter Creek snowcat and who gave Richard and me the tour of the Draper LDS Temple just before it opened in 2009. We went up the tram with Bill, a local friend of hers, and for 2 of our tram laps were joined by another friend Bev.
The usual plan for these locals is to come up for a few hours and do tram laps, usually something in the Upper Cirque, then bomb groomers in lower Peruvian Gulch. Great Scott was the run of choice this afternoon, as its snow was smooth and the traverse in over the top of Jaws had been filled in by the recent storm. Bill dropping in from the traverse.
Allene skiing Great Scott
We did 2 quick laps, at least once reloading the same tram. From the 3rd tram Bill led a fast mid-Cirque traverse (reminiscent of chasing admin out the High T), eventually getting to the top of Lone Pine. Snow there was still partially crunchy ~3PM so we cut back to skier’s left of South Chute, which still had winter snow, though not entirely smooth. The final tram was another Great Scott to the occasionally groomed lower Primrose. I bailed at 3:30PM, with my “recovery day” after Tuesday and Wednesday’s powder being 22,900 vertical.
Friday 3/14
I skied the morning with our younger Iron Blosam group, plus John and Mike whom they met in the pool the day before. We started with a mid-Cirque, then to Peruvian into Mineral. It was a bit early so we went back to Little Cloud for 3 Rastas with tree variations. Adam takes to the air out of one of those.
We then skied right of the Guntower in spring snow into Mineral Basin. Then down to lunch at the plaza via Great Scott. Mark Meisner skier's right
Eddie skier's left
Liz had taken a morning lesson and met us for lunch at 1PM. She and I went up the tram with Ed, Stefan and Al and skied Upper Silver Fox. We saw Al in the exit chute sideslipping down trying to pick up a ski we thought had come off. It was not his ski but one from another skier who had yard-saled and slid much lower.
We moved over to Gad 2 and skied the trees right of Bananas. The others were done while Liz and I headed out the Ho Chi Minh Trail for the new tradition of a trip-ending “beach party” atop Mach Schnell. Liz wanted no part of the precarious traverse around Tower 3 and skied down the very irregular Lower Cirque.
I made it to the beach shortly before 4PM.
Patrol came by for sweep around 4:30.
I guess I was tired after 7 days of skiing as I fell on a stubby branch and tore a hole in my ski jacket on Mach Schnell. Thanks to the brisk morning pace I finished the day with 24,600 vertical.
Thursday 3/13
After the previous 2 days nobody at Iron Blosam got out bright and early. Liz and I started up the tram with Stefan, Dominic , 2 of his kids and 2 of their friends. First was Upper Silver Fox. Just below it some followed me around the skier’s left traverse to these bowls.
Liam and Nick chose a variation with a little air.
We then went through Green Forest on the way to Gadzoom. We skied Rasta and the trees left of Black Forest on the way into Gad 2. Next up was Tigertail, where most of skied to the Baby Thunder road, but Liz went right instead of left partway down, skied through trees and got to Gadzoom ahead of us because one of Dom’s kids Matt got too low and had to take the Baby Thunder chair.
Liz loaded Gadzoom just as most of us arrived, and while waiting for Matt, Andy Jorgensen and guest Andrea showed up. They went up Gadzoom and skied with Liz for the next 2+ hours. They skied Rasta, some Gad 2 trees and bumps, 3 runs in Mineral Basin and finished with South Chute.
Meanwhile I skied to the plaza for a quick bite while Dom and the rest went to mid-Gad. I tried to locate Liz, a difficult task with ATT phone service and her being in Mineral much of the time. On the tram deck at 1:30 I ran into Allene, a local lady with whom I had skied 3 times at Chatter Creek snowcat and who gave Richard and me the tour of the Draper LDS Temple just before it opened in 2009. We went up the tram with Bill, a local friend of hers, and for 2 of our tram laps were joined by another friend Bev.
The usual plan for these locals is to come up for a few hours and do tram laps, usually something in the Upper Cirque, then bomb groomers in lower Peruvian Gulch. Great Scott was the run of choice this afternoon, as its snow was smooth and the traverse in over the top of Jaws had been filled in by the recent storm. Bill dropping in from the traverse.
Allene skiing Great Scott
We did 2 quick laps, at least once reloading the same tram. From the 3rd tram Bill led a fast mid-Cirque traverse (reminiscent of chasing admin out the High T), eventually getting to the top of Lone Pine. Snow there was still partially crunchy ~3PM so we cut back to skier’s left of South Chute, which still had winter snow, though not entirely smooth. The final tram was another Great Scott to the occasionally groomed lower Primrose. I bailed at 3:30PM, with my “recovery day” after Tuesday and Wednesday’s powder being 22,900 vertical.
Friday 3/14
I skied the morning with our younger Iron Blosam group, plus John and Mike whom they met in the pool the day before. We started with a mid-Cirque, then to Peruvian into Mineral. It was a bit early so we went back to Little Cloud for 3 Rastas with tree variations. Adam takes to the air out of one of those.
We then skied right of the Guntower in spring snow into Mineral Basin. Then down to lunch at the plaza via Great Scott. Mark Meisner skier's right
Eddie skier's left
Liz had taken a morning lesson and met us for lunch at 1PM. She and I went up the tram with Ed, Stefan and Al and skied Upper Silver Fox. We saw Al in the exit chute sideslipping down trying to pick up a ski we thought had come off. It was not his ski but one from another skier who had yard-saled and slid much lower.
We moved over to Gad 2 and skied the trees right of Bananas. The others were done while Liz and I headed out the Ho Chi Minh Trail for the new tradition of a trip-ending “beach party” atop Mach Schnell. Liz wanted no part of the precarious traverse around Tower 3 and skied down the very irregular Lower Cirque.
I made it to the beach shortly before 4PM.
Patrol came by for sweep around 4:30.
I guess I was tired after 7 days of skiing as I fell on a stubby branch and tore a hole in my ski jacket on Mach Schnell. Thanks to the brisk morning pace I finished the day with 24,600 vertical.
