I had to shovel off the parking pad and clear off the communication array at the Trailer this morning, where very light and fluffy essence had fallen overnight. The snow was falling profusely as I left for the hill, but the clouds parted revealing a blue bird day on the hill. Only 4” of delight was reported on the Bird site, which seemed to discourage the faithful from showing up in any numbers. This eventuality made the Tram line manageable, though there was a push later in the AM. I opted to take advantage of the full Sun in Mineral Basin, and made a bee line for the North facing aspects, which had been smoothed during
Morning Clearing
the last week. Today’s installment was so light in density, that it did not cushion the bottom, which was fully in play. Care needed to be taken when choosing a shot, as the underlying frozen crustulation of the direct Sun exposures made the ride dubious at best. The North facing offered the smoothest ride, which is important on a Dust On Crust morning. As the hill got worked over, the Groomers morphed into the Tiles and Piles mode, where a longer more averaged turn worked best. Quick turns were thwarted by tip grabbing piles as the tails slid around the tips. That is a tough situation for my knees, so I called it a day at 1:30 PM. and headed back down to further rest my legs after last weeks shred fest. Tomorrow, look for the grooming to be the signature place to be for the ultra buffed, with the North facing still holding the best off trail quality. The Bumps remain tricky with the light density snow obscuring the details, and makes a consistent line difficult to maintain. Remember that the South and East facing will still be crusty and bouncy, so keep that in mind for route selection. More snow is forecast for later in the week, which will heal the inconsistency markedly. See you there dark and early!!! Ciao! P.S. Here is a shot of the clouds moving off up high as it snowed hard in the valley at the same time; curious!
Hey Dave –
Just wondered how many vertical feet you ski on average each day and if you do anything in the off/on season to prepare? Given how many years you’ve been skiing, and how often you ski, I’d say you have a pretty good system worked out!
I try to get 30,000′ per day. which is roughly 10 trams, though I mix it up with some chairs if the line is too long. In the off season I skate board at a nearby skate park. I have skated all my life and was stoked to get one near by. I use an old 28” Street Stick made by the Winterstick company back in 77. It is a carve machine and it helps hone my timing and movement through the turns. As you are not attached to a skate board you have to be where you are and moving to where you want to be next at the same time. When I take that feeling back to skis, I am able to stand in the middle of the ski and not use the boots to hold me up. That feeling removes the stresses and torque of the turn, making my stamina hold up much longer in the day, and do non stop top to bottom runs with out fading.