Day 52: This is spring skiing?! :shock:
With up to 20 inches of new snow falling in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Monday, working was painful. It was even worse when Mira called around 1:30 p.m. "Leave work now," she urged. "You've got to come up here."
Alas, I couldn't. Skidog met the same fate via a call from Tele Jon, who was skiing with visitors Mira and Sima. The phone calls were enough to convince both myself and Skidog to cash in a vacation day for Tuesday.
Fortunately for us, the Snowbird Ski Patrol was thoughtful enough on Monday to reserve everything out Road to Provo and Powder Paradise for our arrival on Tuesday morning. 8)
The snow was bottomless, and Snowbird was deserted. We boarded the Tram by 9 a.m. and headed straight to Powder Paradise and the Bookends Traverse, which was open as far as Hilary Step while Patrol bombed the Bookends and the Sunday Cliffs. We lapped Toad Hill three times, finding untracked lines on each loop. We hit a very lightly tracked Chamonix I while four or five skiers lined up at Hilary Step, waiting for the gate to open.
We arrived back on top to find Road to Provo now open, so we shot straight out to the Knucklehead Chutes where a mere five skiers, farming the snow in tight lines, had ventured before us. That left the entire rest of the bowl available for our pleasure. By the time we returned to Hidden Peak the Hilary Step gate had opened, and we zipped directly out to The Bookends for more of the same.
Four straight days of hard charging had taken its toll on poor Sima, and his legs began to betray him...with increasing frequency. He therefore opted for a groomer while the rest of us struck out for the Bass Benches, breaking trail on the traverse beyond the Knuckleheads for pure untracked bliss on the descent.
By now the brief morning sunshine was filtered by high overcast. We reconvened on the Tram Plaza and headed for Great Scott via the Rat's Nest, finding a howling wind developing ahead of the approaching storm and wind-sifted chalk that had been blown smooth by the breeze, filling in all tracks. Skidog headed for work while the rest of us ran a couple of laps on North Baldy, finding yet more fresh and milking each run with various options off the Blackjack Traverse.
By this point it was 1:30 and my legs were fried. I bid my friends farewell and headed back up Peruvian Express to gain access to my truck on the Bypass Road, and had all I could do to simply make it down Chip's Run.
With up to 20 inches of new snow falling in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Monday, working was painful. It was even worse when Mira called around 1:30 p.m. "Leave work now," she urged. "You've got to come up here."
Alas, I couldn't. Skidog met the same fate via a call from Tele Jon, who was skiing with visitors Mira and Sima. The phone calls were enough to convince both myself and Skidog to cash in a vacation day for Tuesday.
Fortunately for us, the Snowbird Ski Patrol was thoughtful enough on Monday to reserve everything out Road to Provo and Powder Paradise for our arrival on Tuesday morning. 8)
The snow was bottomless, and Snowbird was deserted. We boarded the Tram by 9 a.m. and headed straight to Powder Paradise and the Bookends Traverse, which was open as far as Hilary Step while Patrol bombed the Bookends and the Sunday Cliffs. We lapped Toad Hill three times, finding untracked lines on each loop. We hit a very lightly tracked Chamonix I while four or five skiers lined up at Hilary Step, waiting for the gate to open.
We arrived back on top to find Road to Provo now open, so we shot straight out to the Knucklehead Chutes where a mere five skiers, farming the snow in tight lines, had ventured before us. That left the entire rest of the bowl available for our pleasure. By the time we returned to Hidden Peak the Hilary Step gate had opened, and we zipped directly out to The Bookends for more of the same.
Four straight days of hard charging had taken its toll on poor Sima, and his legs began to betray him...with increasing frequency. He therefore opted for a groomer while the rest of us struck out for the Bass Benches, breaking trail on the traverse beyond the Knuckleheads for pure untracked bliss on the descent.
By now the brief morning sunshine was filtered by high overcast. We reconvened on the Tram Plaza and headed for Great Scott via the Rat's Nest, finding a howling wind developing ahead of the approaching storm and wind-sifted chalk that had been blown smooth by the breeze, filling in all tracks. Skidog headed for work while the rest of us ran a couple of laps on North Baldy, finding yet more fresh and milking each run with various options off the Blackjack Traverse.
By this point it was 1:30 and my legs were fried. I bid my friends farewell and headed back up Peruvian Express to gain access to my truck on the Bypass Road, and had all I could do to simply make it down Chip's Run.
Attachments
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10 snowbird sima knuckleheads fall 20080406.jpg -
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07 snowbird skidog knuckleheads 20080406.jpg -
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05 snowbird sima toad hill 080406.jpg -
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03 snowbird mira toad hill 080406.jpg -
02 snowbird skidog toad hill 080406.jpg -
01 snowbird skidog toad hill 080406.jpg
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