WINTER WIND

5-11-14 by dave

The wind was nuking this morning as we waited for the first Tram with conditions very much like  a deep Winter storm.   The Tram went down due to wind, and the Peruvian Chair was fired up provide access to the mountain.  The wind was so strong that this too was shut off after only a short while.  Reports of trees falling in the high wind were coming back as the few chair riders descended.  Conditions on the hill was very variable with a crusty layer with wind slab on top.  When the Tram was called off, I made a bee line to the Forklift Chair to wait out the maelstrom.  Here is a shot of the scene out on the Plaza with the wind leaving pine tree boughs and snow blowing around like it was January.   I have to admit that I did not wait for the re opening of the Tram, but my calls to those who did told me that there were fun times for the last day of the full operations.  I am glad that they got things going, but my knees were not up to severe variations.  I want to thank all the folks who make the bird turn;  The Patrol, Lift Operations, Grooming Crew, Snow Making, the Forklift Crew, and all the many people that work hard to make it happen seamlessly every day.  The Bird is such a vast expanse and it amazes me that it goes so smoothly.  It was a great season and I am glad to have shared it with all of you.  I will be reporting on the coming weekend opening, so stay tuned for the updates.  Thanks to all of you who read this site and it is a great pleasure to meet you all.  Stay Frosty!!!DSC02117

9 Responses to “WINTER WIND”

  1. Randy says:

    Thanks Dave!

  2. Dave Nathan says:

    Yeah Guru Dave. Thanks for all you do! See you Saturday for the Running of the Elvii!

  3. Markoo says:

    When the Tram opened it took us to Little Cloud
    the land of milk and honey.

  4. Tom says:

    Dave, thanks for letting us join you at breakfast. The mountain opened up and there was be goodness to be had, but had to look for it and work for it and above all stay frosty. Channels of powder and crusty wind slab side-by-side. See you Friday!

  5. Mt Safety Dave says:

    Thanks for sharing the dream.

  6. Lisa says:

    Thanks for keeping it real. See you next year.

  7. Rady says:

    Thanks for the reports and pics …enjoy the off season and look forward to you resuming your updates next season.

  8. Dick Mahoon says:

    Dave, I found your website earlier this year and I enjoy kicking back reading about your daily adventures….what a treat it is. And you have such a way with words to describe the conditions, I know EXACTLY where you’re coming from.
    I spent a season in the Wasatch mountains back in 84/85 – The Bird, Alta, Park City and 5 dollar Mondays at Solitude, such fun and so many face shots.
    Now I’m stuck in the monsoon rains over here in old Hong Kong but one day I hope to get back to the promised land for some dance floor Essence that hits me right in the nose.
    I’ll be sure to look you up when I get there.

    DM

  9. dave says:

    Thanks for the props Dick. That is what I had hoped my site would provide the world. A daily glimps into the Promise of the Wasatch. I hope you get back as soon as you can, and in the mean time the Bird is going off all the time. Big news here with the Cumming family getting into the process. There will be big things to come. Rock on!!

Leave a Reply