A quick summary of the weekend:
Friday, Jan 22 - The Return of FAC (Friday Adventure Club)
Matt and I finally got our acts together and resurrected our cool-kid Fridays. He dubbed it FAC (Friday Adventure Club), and I'm psyched to have a dependable touring partner for the rest of the winter. I had planned on getting together with climbergirl (Rebecca) as well, so the plan was something mellow that we could do multiple laps on in case she wanted to bail. I was tour guide for the day, and decided Pink Pine would be a good choice for easy approach, mellow skiing, and good snow conditions. I think I nailed it! It was a beautiful day - warm with very little wind. The skin up the ridge was nice and slow, and it was great for once to be able to chat while we skinned. We chose the steeper trees just above the big open area on the ridge to drop in. As we dropped down in, we realized it was DEEP. Matt took first dibs and disappeared into a cloud of powder, and setting up to take some photos. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
(Insert pics here)
All three of us were unbelievably psyched about the snow, and Matt and I were hellbent on another lap. Rebecca sat it out while we went up for another. Second verse, same as the first. No pics - we were too excited to ski. Another great day in the mountains.
Saturday, Jan 26 - Maddie the Anti-Social Basketcase
Josh woke up on Saturday feeling like crap, so we scrapped the ski plans for the day. After a hour or so of homework, I went outside to get something from the car and I almost started crying. It was so beautiful! I dropped what I was doing and decided to take Maddie up Neff's for one last effort at dog touring. Well, she proved to me that she can't do this anymore - after doing fine with a couple of dogs, she went after two golden labs. I leashed her up to my waistbelt (ski-jouring :)) and got up to Thomas Fork before deciding it was going to be a disaster trying to get her back down the canyon. I figured the best course of action was to take her off her leash and just go as fast as possible so she didn't have time to mess with the other dogs. Well, it worked. However, she is now a stay-at-home dog. Too bad, but I don't need a law suit.
Sunday, Jan 27 - Rollin' Deep at Deer Valley
I looked at the weather forecast on Sunday morning - high of 30 degrees, no new snow. I figured it was as good a day as any to be at Deer Valley. We had gathered quite a crew for the day, and I was really excited to hang with everyone. Alice and I got up there around 9:30AM to whipping winds in the parking lot (hmmm...I wonder how Bald Mt is?) A little discouraged, but up for whatever, she led me over to Northside lift which was staying relatively sheltered. The groomers were in primo condition - groomed snow covered with about 2-3 inched of wind-deposited powder. But it was cold. On the third or fourth ride up, I got a call from Scot who was sitting at Silver Lake eating breakfast. We jumped at the chance to go warm up.
After an hour of eating and waiting for everyone to get their shit together, we finally got back out into the storm. We met up with my parents and the group size was suddenly ridiculous. Scot, Rachel, Brooke, Alice, me, Rachel's dad Mark, my mom, dad, Laurie, and my dad's buddy Jermaine. To Sterling!
My dad led us through a white-out to the Sunset Glades, which were silly-fun. I felt like Luke Skywalker on Endor, speeding through the aspens. We took a look at Ontario on the way to Quincy and decided it was worth a shot. Good, but messy at the top and bottom. The group started splintering on Northside as we lost people on their own agenda (*coughcough Laurie coughcough*), and people with tired legs from snowplowing all weekend (Alice). Eventually, Scott, Rachel, Brooke, and I ended up on Sultan skiing suprisingly good buttered-up snow in Perseverance Bowl. A couple laps through the trees, and it was off to Silver Lake for beers.
Such a good day hanging out with some of my favorite people doing my favorite thing in the world!!
Showing posts with label quest for 70. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quest for 70. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Day 18: A Little Cross-Country Fun
As I was unstrapping my skis from my pack, recovering from the short bootpack, I looked up and saw the unmistakable lion's mane of the Wizard himself, Bob Athey. He was casually skinning up the steep crest of the Obelisk's ridge that I had just gasped and struggled up with my skis on my back.
"Hey, you got crampons on those things? How'd you do that?" joked Josh.
"What? Ya mean ski cross-country? Isn't that what we're supposed to be doin'?" He lit up a Camel and took a few puffs. "Are you guys some of those BMFR's?"
Quizzical looks all around.
"Huh?"
"Big Motha-fuckin Rippers?"
"Big Mountain Free Riders."
"Uh, no. We suck. Well, except maybe Dan. He likes to jump off stuff."
And then he was off, skiing into Hogum and towards the Hypodermic Needle. My first time ever meeting the guy, and all I can think of is what a strange old man he is. But boy howdy, the guy can skin and ski like a madman.
Saturday was on the agenda as "big day" for the weekend. Snow conditions had stabilized nicely after all of the storms, and we wanted to get out and do something new. I had been desperately wanting to go into Hogum for the last two years, especially after hearing about it from Josh last season. None of us had skied the Hogum 200, so that became as good an objective as any. Plus, Josh wanted me to see the Obelisk, a strange rock monolith on top of the hogback between Maybird and Hogum.
Chris had called earlier in the week and was psyched to get out with us. I also got a phone call from Dan the night before, having just gotten back from Costa Rica a few days prior. We started skinning around 8:30 and chugged slowly into Maybird. We ran into a lot more people than I expected, following a group of five up to the Obelisk and seeing several parties heading to the Aprons. Josh had his eye on a chute on the Maybird side, so we passed the parties dropping into the first chute and headed for the Obelisk.
After two years of wanting to see it, I was so excited to finally look down into Hogum Basin. As we reached the ridge, I realized we were so socked in I couldn't even see the basin below us, let alone the granduer of the Pfieff, Chipman Peak, and Lightening Ridge. Pisser.
Well, all was not lost. We dropped the Maybird chute to very high quality snow and got some great turns in back to the skintrack. Although the morning had not gone so well for me in terms of skinning (I felt extremely slow and run-down), the skiing had lifted my spirits and I was ready to attack the ridge again. A dozen or so switchbacks and a bootpack later, we were on the summit again.
Lo and behold, the clouds began to part and Hogum came into view. Unbelievable. The scale of Lightening Ridge was overwhelming and the North face of the Pfeiff was stunning with its big apron below. And surprise - the camera batteries were dead. Good lord, that's always the way it goes.
So we figured skiing off the summit of the Obelisk into Hogum was the way to go. We picked our way down through a rock minefield and picked a good-looking chute (which had been skied that morning). The top was windcrust city, but we took a quick left and dropped into another chute with some quality snow. All in all, it was about 2000 ft of skiing. Not bad. However, we started skiing out the canyon, and we saw what we had missed (and where Athey had gone - why didn't we pay attention??) There were several more beautiful northwest facing chutes just north of the summit with longer fall-lines. I guess it's all a learning process poking around in the Wasatch. I know where I'm skiing next time I'm in Hogum.
Another hour or so of bushwhacking, sidestepping down death chutes, sweating bullets, and a river crossing (no thanks to Chris and Dan laughing as I floundered across), we were back to the road and the sweet smell of burning brakes around 3:15. A little under seven hours - not too shabby.
"Hey, you got crampons on those things? How'd you do that?" joked Josh.
"What? Ya mean ski cross-country? Isn't that what we're supposed to be doin'?" He lit up a Camel and took a few puffs. "Are you guys some of those BMFR's?"
Quizzical looks all around.
"Huh?"
"Big Motha-fuckin Rippers?"
"Big Mountain Free Riders."
"Uh, no. We suck. Well, except maybe Dan. He likes to jump off stuff."
And then he was off, skiing into Hogum and towards the Hypodermic Needle. My first time ever meeting the guy, and all I can think of is what a strange old man he is. But boy howdy, the guy can skin and ski like a madman.
Saturday was on the agenda as "big day" for the weekend. Snow conditions had stabilized nicely after all of the storms, and we wanted to get out and do something new. I had been desperately wanting to go into Hogum for the last two years, especially after hearing about it from Josh last season. None of us had skied the Hogum 200, so that became as good an objective as any. Plus, Josh wanted me to see the Obelisk, a strange rock monolith on top of the hogback between Maybird and Hogum.
Chris had called earlier in the week and was psyched to get out with us. I also got a phone call from Dan the night before, having just gotten back from Costa Rica a few days prior. We started skinning around 8:30 and chugged slowly into Maybird. We ran into a lot more people than I expected, following a group of five up to the Obelisk and seeing several parties heading to the Aprons. Josh had his eye on a chute on the Maybird side, so we passed the parties dropping into the first chute and headed for the Obelisk.
After two years of wanting to see it, I was so excited to finally look down into Hogum Basin. As we reached the ridge, I realized we were so socked in I couldn't even see the basin below us, let alone the granduer of the Pfieff, Chipman Peak, and Lightening Ridge. Pisser.
Well, all was not lost. We dropped the Maybird chute to very high quality snow and got some great turns in back to the skintrack. Although the morning had not gone so well for me in terms of skinning (I felt extremely slow and run-down), the skiing had lifted my spirits and I was ready to attack the ridge again. A dozen or so switchbacks and a bootpack later, we were on the summit again.
Lo and behold, the clouds began to part and Hogum came into view. Unbelievable. The scale of Lightening Ridge was overwhelming and the North face of the Pfeiff was stunning with its big apron below. And surprise - the camera batteries were dead. Good lord, that's always the way it goes.
So we figured skiing off the summit of the Obelisk into Hogum was the way to go. We picked our way down through a rock minefield and picked a good-looking chute (which had been skied that morning). The top was windcrust city, but we took a quick left and dropped into another chute with some quality snow. All in all, it was about 2000 ft of skiing. Not bad. However, we started skiing out the canyon, and we saw what we had missed (and where Athey had gone - why didn't we pay attention??) There were several more beautiful northwest facing chutes just north of the summit with longer fall-lines. I guess it's all a learning process poking around in the Wasatch. I know where I'm skiing next time I'm in Hogum.
Another hour or so of bushwhacking, sidestepping down death chutes, sweating bullets, and a river crossing (no thanks to Chris and Dan laughing as I floundered across), we were back to the road and the sweet smell of burning brakes around 3:15. A little under seven hours - not too shabby.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Day 17: Skiing the Big Boy - West Kessler
Saturday was shaping up to be one of the best touring days of the year. After feet and feet of snow, one storm after another, we were due for at least one day of high pressure and clear skies. We talked with our dependable ski partner Scott on Friday night, and decided to call our shot in the morning.
We picked Scott up at his house around 8:00 and decided to check out Mineral Fork. Scott had skied some east-facing shots the week before and had seen some sweet stuff across the canyon on Kessler. We decided to check it out, even though none of us knew where we were going. Scott said it looked like fun, steep tree skiing.
After a false start (Scott forgot his beacon - d'oh), we started skinning a little bit before 9:00. The temps were really comfortable and there was absolutely no wind. The aspen forest in Mineral was almost magical, and it felt like we were walking through a fairyland forest. I had the strange urge to start singing "Little Bunny Foo-foo", and I kept expecting to see a forest gnome pop his head out at any given moment. It was definitely a cool morning.
We got up to the face we wanted to ski and saw a big dilemma - a large cliff band with a probable entry chute that we couldn't see. The entry was a steep right facing gully running up between the cliffs. However, the real obstacle was the choke right below the chute. There was a beautiful ice pillar coming off a rock band we had to get over. I was extremely apprehensive, and continued to say so, but the boys convinced me that we at least had to check it out. Scott skinned over and found that it was actually pretty accessible. I owe him $2 for being right about that. Damn.
We stopped for a long food and water break, getting geared up for the climb ahead of us. The sun came out, and the sky turned an impossible blue. The snow was just unbelievable beautiful, and was sparkling with a slight touch of surface hoar in the sun. The trees around us were caked with rime and the whole scene was just incredible. We all just kept looking at each other and shaking our heads in disbelief.
We came around the corner of the entry gully and saw our objective - a lone chute through the trees all the way from the ridge of Kessler. We giggled like idiots and started sniffing our way up the face. Route-finding was pretty interesting and it was fun figuring out the safe routes and working on safe travel techniques. The sun was wrecking havoc on anything that was exposed and there were a few spicy choke points on the way up. Scott is so great to be with on days like these - it's really fun to learn from him.
The upper section was steep and deep. Josh earns the Mule Award for the day for some seriously hard trail breaking for at least 1000 ft. I earn the Mooch Award for the day for not breaking trail at all. I figured it was fair since I could barely keep up as it was. Eek.
We came up over a rollover and saw the gentle rise up to the ridge. Josh finally stopped for a minute, took a breath, and said "I'm knackered." I laughed, because I knew he had been getting his ass kicked for at least an hour, but didn't want to admit it until the objective was in sight. The ridge of Kessler was breath-taking with the Twins, Dromedary, O'Sullivan, and Bonkers down-canyon, Whipple and Raymond across canyon, a mirror-calm Great Salt Lake in the distance, and Cardiff Fork below us up-canyon. After 5 hours of skinning, we were standing on top of Kessler ridge. So freaking cool.
Even after the coolest day of touring I remember, the skiing was the highlight of the day. We had about 3000 ft of perfect snow in perfect conditions. The only downer is that the camera batteries died at the very top. Curses!
An epic day called for beer and nachos, and we gladly basked in the glory of a great day for an hour or so at the Porcupine. Thanks to my dear husband and Scott Keller for the best touring day I remember. You guys are the best touring partners I could ask for. I always feel like I'm a part of the process and part of the crew, that my concerns are valid, and that I'm never a hindrance. And I always laugh my ass off, even if I'm always getting crop-sprayed in the back of the pack. :)
The word of the day is "sick".
Stats for the day:
5.4 miles
3592 ft vertical
(click on the maps below for route and profile info!)
Trying something new. Click on the image below!
We picked Scott up at his house around 8:00 and decided to check out Mineral Fork. Scott had skied some east-facing shots the week before and had seen some sweet stuff across the canyon on Kessler. We decided to check it out, even though none of us knew where we were going. Scott said it looked like fun, steep tree skiing.
After a false start (Scott forgot his beacon - d'oh), we started skinning a little bit before 9:00. The temps were really comfortable and there was absolutely no wind. The aspen forest in Mineral was almost magical, and it felt like we were walking through a fairyland forest. I had the strange urge to start singing "Little Bunny Foo-foo", and I kept expecting to see a forest gnome pop his head out at any given moment. It was definitely a cool morning.
We got up to the face we wanted to ski and saw a big dilemma - a large cliff band with a probable entry chute that we couldn't see. The entry was a steep right facing gully running up between the cliffs. However, the real obstacle was the choke right below the chute. There was a beautiful ice pillar coming off a rock band we had to get over. I was extremely apprehensive, and continued to say so, but the boys convinced me that we at least had to check it out. Scott skinned over and found that it was actually pretty accessible. I owe him $2 for being right about that. Damn.
We stopped for a long food and water break, getting geared up for the climb ahead of us. The sun came out, and the sky turned an impossible blue. The snow was just unbelievable beautiful, and was sparkling with a slight touch of surface hoar in the sun. The trees around us were caked with rime and the whole scene was just incredible. We all just kept looking at each other and shaking our heads in disbelief.
We came around the corner of the entry gully and saw our objective - a lone chute through the trees all the way from the ridge of Kessler. We giggled like idiots and started sniffing our way up the face. Route-finding was pretty interesting and it was fun figuring out the safe routes and working on safe travel techniques. The sun was wrecking havoc on anything that was exposed and there were a few spicy choke points on the way up. Scott is so great to be with on days like these - it's really fun to learn from him.
The upper section was steep and deep. Josh earns the Mule Award for the day for some seriously hard trail breaking for at least 1000 ft. I earn the Mooch Award for the day for not breaking trail at all. I figured it was fair since I could barely keep up as it was. Eek.
We came up over a rollover and saw the gentle rise up to the ridge. Josh finally stopped for a minute, took a breath, and said "I'm knackered." I laughed, because I knew he had been getting his ass kicked for at least an hour, but didn't want to admit it until the objective was in sight. The ridge of Kessler was breath-taking with the Twins, Dromedary, O'Sullivan, and Bonkers down-canyon, Whipple and Raymond across canyon, a mirror-calm Great Salt Lake in the distance, and Cardiff Fork below us up-canyon. After 5 hours of skinning, we were standing on top of Kessler ridge. So freaking cool.
Even after the coolest day of touring I remember, the skiing was the highlight of the day. We had about 3000 ft of perfect snow in perfect conditions. The only downer is that the camera batteries died at the very top. Curses!
An epic day called for beer and nachos, and we gladly basked in the glory of a great day for an hour or so at the Porcupine. Thanks to my dear husband and Scott Keller for the best touring day I remember. You guys are the best touring partners I could ask for. I always feel like I'm a part of the process and part of the crew, that my concerns are valid, and that I'm never a hindrance. And I always laugh my ass off, even if I'm always getting crop-sprayed in the back of the pack. :)
The word of the day is "sick".
Stats for the day:
5.4 miles
3592 ft vertical
(click on the maps below for route and profile info!)
Trying something new. Click on the image below!
Day 16 - The Deer Valley Experience
Friday was my first Deer Valley ski day of the year. After weeks of incredible storms and bottomless powder in the cottonwoods, I decided to see how the better half lives.
Hmmmm.
Deer Valley is definitely it's own microcosm of skiing. I'm sure the culture is shared with placed like Vail and Aspen, but I've never been to those places, so I get to rip on Deer Valley. It has its own fashion trends, its own gear trends, and even its own skiing style. It seems like every year, there's some new fashion trend that just blows my mind. Last year it was fur-lined coats, white sunglasses, and gigantic fur boots. This year, it seems, is the year of the helmet cover! And I don't mean the cute panda or pig ones that the kids wear. I'm talking 100% real fur bling-a-licious helmet covers on adult women. I have no idea where these people find this stuff. Good lord, I wish I had my camera. Where is Rachel when you need her?
Hmmmm.
Deer Valley is definitely it's own microcosm of skiing. I'm sure the culture is shared with placed like Vail and Aspen, but I've never been to those places, so I get to rip on Deer Valley. It has its own fashion trends, its own gear trends, and even its own skiing style. It seems like every year, there's some new fashion trend that just blows my mind. Last year it was fur-lined coats, white sunglasses, and gigantic fur boots. This year, it seems, is the year of the helmet cover! And I don't mean the cute panda or pig ones that the kids wear. I'm talking 100% real fur bling-a-licious helmet covers on adult women. I have no idea where these people find this stuff. Good lord, I wish I had my camera. Where is Rachel when you need her?
Monday, January 7, 2008
Ski day catch-up
I've been woefully bad about keeping up on my ski day tracking. Here's a quick rundown of my last hadnful of ski days.
Dec 24, Xmas eve: Chase and Tara were in town, so I borrowed Brooke's Silver Card and met them up at Alta. There was no significant new snow, but it was warm and the snow was soft.
Dec 28: Tara and I decided to do a tele day up at Solitude on Friday. First run of the day, I lost control and had a stupid little fall, just falling over onto my hands. As I stood up, I thought "uh, oh" - my back was screaming. I figured I had pulled something, but I wanted to keep skiing. We went back to the car to get my other skis. We lasted until about noon, and I had to get home to ice my back. It was ugly. Jamie and Kate showed up that night and I was couched. I don't want to say much about the weekend because it was so incredibly frustrating, but let's just say I didn't get to ski. By New Year's Eve, it was starting to loosen up, but still no skiing. I went snowshoeing on New Year's day and it felt pretty good, but....
Jan 2: Josh was a good sport and was willing to go up LCC to see if I could tour. We decided to hit Flagstaff to check out Day's and Toledo and see what we could do. Disappointingly, I made it about halfway up Flag before my back started spasming. We de-skinned and had a few good turns back to the road. Not much, but at least I was improving.
Jan 5: My goal for last week was to ski on Sat. That's all I cared about. Massage, ice, heat, stretching, you name it. A big storm was lining up for Friday night, Sat day, and Sunday, so I didn't want to miss another good weekend. Sat morning, I did a long warm-up at home and we busted up to Solitude. I brought a book in case I had to sit in the lodge all afternoon. :) My back felt surprisingly good all morning, albeit a little unstable. The wind-buff was super fun and it started dumping snow around 10:00. By about 2:00 I was ready to go, and the snow was getting a little heavy, so we decided to save ourselves for Sunday.
Jan 6: I woke up praying that my back wouldn't be wrecked. I felt pretty good, and did another good warm-up at home. My met Chris at 8:45 and got in the first group up Eagle. We were a little disappointed as we dropped into Paradise that the overnight snow had not completely covered the heavy bumps from yesterday. We picked around for a few runs, meeting up with Robin and Joe, and playing phone tag with the rest of the Soli crew. Summit, Milk Run, and Parachute all opened sround 10AM, and it was mayhem all afternoon. We were the second group that dropped into Milk Run, and it was incredible. Next run we hit Parachute to get over to Summit - again, the coverage was awesome and the snow was incredible. As we got to the top of Summit, the Honeycomb gates opened, and we proceeded to take three laps of the best skiing of the day. Eventually, we made our way back to Summit and met up with Lis. After a run in Headwall forest (sick), we met a huge group for lunch (Jack, Lisa, Pat, Jake, John). After lunch, it was back up to Summit as it started puking snow again. We skied until 3:30, and did one more Vertigo run off Powderhorn. Untracked powder at 4:00 - can't beat it.
Dec 24, Xmas eve: Chase and Tara were in town, so I borrowed Brooke's Silver Card and met them up at Alta. There was no significant new snow, but it was warm and the snow was soft.
Dec 28: Tara and I decided to do a tele day up at Solitude on Friday. First run of the day, I lost control and had a stupid little fall, just falling over onto my hands. As I stood up, I thought "uh, oh" - my back was screaming. I figured I had pulled something, but I wanted to keep skiing. We went back to the car to get my other skis. We lasted until about noon, and I had to get home to ice my back. It was ugly. Jamie and Kate showed up that night and I was couched. I don't want to say much about the weekend because it was so incredibly frustrating, but let's just say I didn't get to ski. By New Year's Eve, it was starting to loosen up, but still no skiing. I went snowshoeing on New Year's day and it felt pretty good, but....
Jan 2: Josh was a good sport and was willing to go up LCC to see if I could tour. We decided to hit Flagstaff to check out Day's and Toledo and see what we could do. Disappointingly, I made it about halfway up Flag before my back started spasming. We de-skinned and had a few good turns back to the road. Not much, but at least I was improving.
Jan 5: My goal for last week was to ski on Sat. That's all I cared about. Massage, ice, heat, stretching, you name it. A big storm was lining up for Friday night, Sat day, and Sunday, so I didn't want to miss another good weekend. Sat morning, I did a long warm-up at home and we busted up to Solitude. I brought a book in case I had to sit in the lodge all afternoon. :) My back felt surprisingly good all morning, albeit a little unstable. The wind-buff was super fun and it started dumping snow around 10:00. By about 2:00 I was ready to go, and the snow was getting a little heavy, so we decided to save ourselves for Sunday.
Jan 6: I woke up praying that my back wouldn't be wrecked. I felt pretty good, and did another good warm-up at home. My met Chris at 8:45 and got in the first group up Eagle. We were a little disappointed as we dropped into Paradise that the overnight snow had not completely covered the heavy bumps from yesterday. We picked around for a few runs, meeting up with Robin and Joe, and playing phone tag with the rest of the Soli crew. Summit, Milk Run, and Parachute all opened sround 10AM, and it was mayhem all afternoon. We were the second group that dropped into Milk Run, and it was incredible. Next run we hit Parachute to get over to Summit - again, the coverage was awesome and the snow was incredible. As we got to the top of Summit, the Honeycomb gates opened, and we proceeded to take three laps of the best skiing of the day. Eventually, we made our way back to Summit and met up with Lis. After a run in Headwall forest (sick), we met a huge group for lunch (Jack, Lisa, Pat, Jake, John). After lunch, it was back up to Summit as it started puking snow again. We skied until 3:30, and did one more Vertigo run off Powderhorn. Untracked powder at 4:00 - can't beat it.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Days 8, 9, 10 - Big Storms, Maiden Dawn Patrol, and Going Bust at Alta
As expected, I'm behind on my ski day logging. But I guess that's not so bad since I've been busy skiing.
Day 8 - Dawn Patrol!!
Thursday morning (Dec 20), Josh and I decided we wanted to get a piece of the big storm that was hitting SLC. We got up at 4:00AM and busted up to Solitude and Willow to ski hourglass/USA Bowl. It was snowing as we skinned, but relatively pleasant. We made good time to the top of the ridge, but when we got there the wind was whipping! Wished we had a rope as we looked down into the Monitors - I bet they would've went huge with a nice fat cornice drop. Huckering down, we traversed the ridge to USA Bowl, hoping that it was sheltered from the wind. Um....not so much. USA Bowl was completely raked. Gametime decision to traverse back to hourglass and get off the ridge. The snow was good and deep, with a little bit of a windslab on top. Tricky skiing on the top half, but nice soft snow in the bottom half of the run. Not a lot of turning to be had in 1+ feet of new snow on 20 degree slopes, but it was an awesome workout. Great way to start the day.....except for the drive down. The Element needed tires in a bad way, and that morning the plow happened to not be plowing down the canyon in the morning. The result was a ice-skating 2 mph drive down the canyon that took about five years off my life. Let's just say we got new tires on Friday night. Much better.
Stats for the day:
4.4 miles
1800 ft vertical
(click on the maps below for route and profile info!)
Day 9 - A First at Solitude, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Honeycomb Canyon
After beating my head against my desk on Friday (Dec 21) as two feet of snow was being skied up the canyons, I felt a small bit of respite when I heard that Solitude hadn't opened Honeycomb. Josh and I got up to Powderhorn by about 9:15, psyched to get some well-deserved powder. However, honeycomb wasn't open. We spent the morning skiing the Powderhorn trees and finding some good stuff off Summit, but we were getting a little worried that we were going to get the shaft. I started bitching about how I always have the worst timing, and I'm never the one that's getting off the lift as patrol opens gates. I'm always the one that takes off down the slope right before the rope drops. Well, maybe it was my time. Lo and behold, as we're getting off the lift, patrol is flipping the Honeycomb sign to "open". We followed the patroller off into Black Bess and dropped in early to avoid the massive amounts of avy debris from the morning's bombings. Good stuff. After Josh completely exploded on a compression in the Honeycomb runout (funny, but I'm glad you're not hurt honey!) we hauled down to the lift, and rallied back down to Sunrise. 20 minutes later, we were hiking up the Summit ridge to ski Buckeye. Good lord, it was good. We did about 4 more laps before we had to leave, and it was hard to say goodbye. Skiing next to your tracks after the 40 minute lift loop is pretty sweet.
Day 10 - Remembering Why We Have to Get Alta Season Passes Next Year
I try to deny it. I try to say how much I love Solitude. I try to convince myself that Alta is not all it's worked up to be. God damn, I'm not going to fight it anymore. I LOVE THAT PLACE.
I met up with Tara and Chase on Monday Dec 24, as they were working on day 3 in a row. Chase was pretty worked, but he was up for another awesome morning. The temps had risen considerably overnight and we were stripping layers all morning in the heat. We started the day in Supreme and found some awesome snow in Supreme Bowl. Definitely heat-affected, but still soft and really creamy. It was great catching up and laughing on the chairlift - it seems like nothing ever changes when we all get back together. We hit the rope tow to get back over to Collins (Sugarloaf traverse was closed) and Gwen and Tara wanted to get up to Gunsight. We hit the wrong traverse and ended up at Thirds. The wind was raking the ridge, but once we dropped down into Gunsight, it was beautiful. I forgot how fun it is to ski long, steep runs. Another rope tow, and the Hays wanted to go in for lunch. I wasn't ready, so I took off and decided to check out Jitterbug/No Name. The entrance wasn't too great, but the skiing was awesome. I met up with Connie and Craig, and Tara joined us since Chase was done. We did a few more runs off the high T and I called it day to get home to my boy. Of course, as if to reciprocate for Saturday's excellent luck, I left right about the time it started snowing. Craig told me later that High Boy was on all afternoon. God, I suck.
I love that place. The snow stays good longer. The runs are long and steep. There are lots of friends to ski with. The views are spectacular. I guess we're skiing at least 11 days at Solitude this year, because I'm ready to go back to Alta.
Day 8 - Dawn Patrol!!
Thursday morning (Dec 20), Josh and I decided we wanted to get a piece of the big storm that was hitting SLC. We got up at 4:00AM and busted up to Solitude and Willow to ski hourglass/USA Bowl. It was snowing as we skinned, but relatively pleasant. We made good time to the top of the ridge, but when we got there the wind was whipping! Wished we had a rope as we looked down into the Monitors - I bet they would've went huge with a nice fat cornice drop. Huckering down, we traversed the ridge to USA Bowl, hoping that it was sheltered from the wind. Um....not so much. USA Bowl was completely raked. Gametime decision to traverse back to hourglass and get off the ridge. The snow was good and deep, with a little bit of a windslab on top. Tricky skiing on the top half, but nice soft snow in the bottom half of the run. Not a lot of turning to be had in 1+ feet of new snow on 20 degree slopes, but it was an awesome workout. Great way to start the day.....except for the drive down. The Element needed tires in a bad way, and that morning the plow happened to not be plowing down the canyon in the morning. The result was a ice-skating 2 mph drive down the canyon that took about five years off my life. Let's just say we got new tires on Friday night. Much better.
Stats for the day:
4.4 miles
1800 ft vertical
(click on the maps below for route and profile info!)
Day 9 - A First at Solitude, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Honeycomb Canyon
After beating my head against my desk on Friday (Dec 21) as two feet of snow was being skied up the canyons, I felt a small bit of respite when I heard that Solitude hadn't opened Honeycomb. Josh and I got up to Powderhorn by about 9:15, psyched to get some well-deserved powder. However, honeycomb wasn't open. We spent the morning skiing the Powderhorn trees and finding some good stuff off Summit, but we were getting a little worried that we were going to get the shaft. I started bitching about how I always have the worst timing, and I'm never the one that's getting off the lift as patrol opens gates. I'm always the one that takes off down the slope right before the rope drops. Well, maybe it was my time. Lo and behold, as we're getting off the lift, patrol is flipping the Honeycomb sign to "open". We followed the patroller off into Black Bess and dropped in early to avoid the massive amounts of avy debris from the morning's bombings. Good stuff. After Josh completely exploded on a compression in the Honeycomb runout (funny, but I'm glad you're not hurt honey!) we hauled down to the lift, and rallied back down to Sunrise. 20 minutes later, we were hiking up the Summit ridge to ski Buckeye. Good lord, it was good. We did about 4 more laps before we had to leave, and it was hard to say goodbye. Skiing next to your tracks after the 40 minute lift loop is pretty sweet.
Day 10 - Remembering Why We Have to Get Alta Season Passes Next Year
I try to deny it. I try to say how much I love Solitude. I try to convince myself that Alta is not all it's worked up to be. God damn, I'm not going to fight it anymore. I LOVE THAT PLACE.
I met up with Tara and Chase on Monday Dec 24, as they were working on day 3 in a row. Chase was pretty worked, but he was up for another awesome morning. The temps had risen considerably overnight and we were stripping layers all morning in the heat. We started the day in Supreme and found some awesome snow in Supreme Bowl. Definitely heat-affected, but still soft and really creamy. It was great catching up and laughing on the chairlift - it seems like nothing ever changes when we all get back together. We hit the rope tow to get back over to Collins (Sugarloaf traverse was closed) and Gwen and Tara wanted to get up to Gunsight. We hit the wrong traverse and ended up at Thirds. The wind was raking the ridge, but once we dropped down into Gunsight, it was beautiful. I forgot how fun it is to ski long, steep runs. Another rope tow, and the Hays wanted to go in for lunch. I wasn't ready, so I took off and decided to check out Jitterbug/No Name. The entrance wasn't too great, but the skiing was awesome. I met up with Connie and Craig, and Tara joined us since Chase was done. We did a few more runs off the high T and I called it day to get home to my boy. Of course, as if to reciprocate for Saturday's excellent luck, I left right about the time it started snowing. Craig told me later that High Boy was on all afternoon. God, I suck.
I love that place. The snow stays good longer. The runs are long and steep. There are lots of friends to ski with. The views are spectacular. I guess we're skiing at least 11 days at Solitude this year, because I'm ready to go back to Alta.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Day 7 - Pain, Suffering, and Good Turns in Days Fork
Josh was out-of-his-mind psyched to get out skiing on Saturday, and I was having a hard time motivating. My tour on Friday with Chris had really kicked my ass, and I knew it was going to be a matter orf mental strength to get out of bed the next day. I did, however slowly, and we ended up meeting James at Alta a little after 9:00.
The day started out beautiful, and we followed the cattle train up Flagstaff. I felt alright, just plugging along at my snail's pace. As typical, the wind whipped up as we were approaching the ridgeline and I silently cursed that horrid approach. The clouds had moved in and the light was ridiculously flat. Great.
But, the silver lining to the horrid cold was that the snow was still great. We dropped in on Two Dogs and decided to do a lap on West Bowl in the trees. We motored up to the ridgeline and were extremely excited by the quality of the snow. A quick pit showed three feet of consolidated snow to a small facet layer at the ground. Shear testing looked good, so we hit it. The snow was awesome, and the extra hike was so worth it.
After more fueling up, we started the slog back up to the LCC ridge. Now the fun really got started. The south-facing exit getting out of LCC was NASTY. An inch of breakable crust was coming off in plates while we dodged buried trees and rocks. Lots of traversing and kick-turning (FUN!) We skied the bottom of Toledo Bowl, and finally the snow softened out a bit for the last couple hundred feet. After watching Josh double-ejecting on a compression, we got back to the car and headed straight for Lone Star.
One good thing - I think I found a good method to keep my hands warm. I tried out our Mammut ice climbing gloves for skinning. The concept was that if I never had to take my gloves off, my hands would never get TOO cold. Well, it seemed to work. I was able to get in and out of my bag, handle skins, eat, dress, and everything else without ever having to expose my hands to the air. No more glove liners. I used my mittens for skiing and for when my hands got cold, and it was extremely manageable. I think I'm going to toss those stupid REI gloves.
Stats for the day:
3.0 miles
2833 ft vertical
Click below for route and profile info!
The day started out beautiful, and we followed the cattle train up Flagstaff. I felt alright, just plugging along at my snail's pace. As typical, the wind whipped up as we were approaching the ridgeline and I silently cursed that horrid approach. The clouds had moved in and the light was ridiculously flat. Great.
But, the silver lining to the horrid cold was that the snow was still great. We dropped in on Two Dogs and decided to do a lap on West Bowl in the trees. We motored up to the ridgeline and were extremely excited by the quality of the snow. A quick pit showed three feet of consolidated snow to a small facet layer at the ground. Shear testing looked good, so we hit it. The snow was awesome, and the extra hike was so worth it.
After more fueling up, we started the slog back up to the LCC ridge. Now the fun really got started. The south-facing exit getting out of LCC was NASTY. An inch of breakable crust was coming off in plates while we dodged buried trees and rocks. Lots of traversing and kick-turning (FUN!) We skied the bottom of Toledo Bowl, and finally the snow softened out a bit for the last couple hundred feet. After watching Josh double-ejecting on a compression, we got back to the car and headed straight for Lone Star.
One good thing - I think I found a good method to keep my hands warm. I tried out our Mammut ice climbing gloves for skinning. The concept was that if I never had to take my gloves off, my hands would never get TOO cold. Well, it seemed to work. I was able to get in and out of my bag, handle skins, eat, dress, and everything else without ever having to expose my hands to the air. No more glove liners. I used my mittens for skiing and for when my hands got cold, and it was extremely manageable. I think I'm going to toss those stupid REI gloves.
Stats for the day:
3.0 miles
2833 ft vertical
Click below for route and profile info!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Day 6 - Unexpected goodness on Red Stack
I love those storms that you don't see coming. The sleeper storms. No one really cares - 5" overnight? Come on, that's nothing when we need like 3 feet to be able to ski.
But today, the sleeper storm came through in a big way. Chris got to the house around 8:30 and we sauntered up the canyon, skinning up around 9:30. The snow looked like good ol' UTAH snow, and we were psyched. We didn't really have a game plan, other than staying off the NE to NW aspects. We got up to the meadow below the lake and decided that west-facing Red Stack looked pretty nice.
The skin up Tri-Chutes was a little rough on the legs and lungs(early season tours are nasty), so we decided to follow the skin track as far as we could. We cut off from the old skin track about half way up and traversed north into another small gully. The snow was REALLY nice, and the coverage was great in the wind-loaded gully. That 5" that no one cared about turned out to be fun as shit.
I was cold as BALLS today, and my hands really suffered. As long as the sun was out, I was OK, but the clouds arrived around noon and it was a fight for the fingertips. I've got to come up with a better solution.
Miles = 5.1
Vertical = 2595'
But today, the sleeper storm came through in a big way. Chris got to the house around 8:30 and we sauntered up the canyon, skinning up around 9:30. The snow looked like good ol' UTAH snow, and we were psyched. We didn't really have a game plan, other than staying off the NE to NW aspects. We got up to the meadow below the lake and decided that west-facing Red Stack looked pretty nice.
The skin up Tri-Chutes was a little rough on the legs and lungs(early season tours are nasty), so we decided to follow the skin track as far as we could. We cut off from the old skin track about half way up and traversed north into another small gully. The snow was REALLY nice, and the coverage was great in the wind-loaded gully. That 5" that no one cared about turned out to be fun as shit.
I was cold as BALLS today, and my hands really suffered. As long as the sun was out, I was OK, but the clouds arrived around noon and it was a fight for the fingertips. I've got to come up with a better solution.
Miles = 5.1
Vertical = 2595'
Monday, December 10, 2007
Day 5 - Where's my snorkel? Wallerin' at Solitude
On Friday morning, I rolled into the office early and did my usual check of the avy report and weather. The NWS was forecasting a pretty good storm and it looked like 8-9" of snow had already hit the Cottonwoods. I instantly got the "ants-in-the-pants" feeling I always get when a good powder day is brewing while I'm at work. I couldn't sit still, and I kept rotating from work, NWS, TGR, SkiDiva, work, NWS....you get the picture. Anticipation was running high and I felt like I was ready to burst.
After lunch, I checked the forecast again and to my surprise it had been updated. Instead of an additional 6-10" overnight, it had increased to 10-16" overnight. And the storm was forecasted to last through Saturday night. Cue ants-in-pants.
I stayed up late Friday night trying to get my ski clothes through the dryer, and right before I went to bed at 11:00, I saw an update pop up on NWS..."Storm forecasted to stall over Salt Lake area". Ding, ding, ding! The ants had moved from the pants and were now crawling up my neck. I cursed my study group for planning a Saturday morning meeting, although they were nice enough to move it to 8AM.
The next morning, I had to do a double-take at the snow report. Solitude was reporting a 24 hour snow total of 32". Are you fugging kidding me? I pranced through he house all morning and left for school early since I was so antsy. Luckily the group meeting was fast and efficient and I was on my way up the canyon by 10:45. I called Chris to get an update on conditions, and he said "It sucks." My heart dropped a bit since I figured nothing was open and he was bored as hell. "Huh?" I said. "Yeah, it sucks...if you don't like over-the-head blower so deep that you can't breathe. And skiing on to lifts all morning." Joy!!
After hooking up randomly with John and Jack in the parking lot, we met up with Chris as the Powderhorn lift was opening. First run, we decided to hit the trees to skiers left and I had to gasp a little bit as I dropped off the cat track. I instantly dropped in to my waist and it just kept getting deeper. We all giggled like idiots down through the trees, as none of us could turn and I was literally choking on snow. A couple more laps and we were actually whining that the snow was maybe even a little bit too deep. Poor babies.
Rachel met up with us and we got to watch her try out the new snow. We had to help dig her out a couple of times, but she was a good sport and was psyched about her new knee. Jack lost not one, but two poles in the waller-fest. I was worked by 2:30 (sad), but it was a day I won't forget anytime soon. Thank god the snow finally came, and that the season has officially started with a bang!
Saturday night was the Campbell's christmas party and it was a great time. I ended up with a pineapple (who's gifter had to show me how to remove the stem. Huh?) Josh got a redneck Xmas album and iTunes gift card. It was great seeing everyone, but Josh and I both paid the next day. Instead of skiing we had a uneventful (but sorely needed) day full of Costco, movies, and lounging. I was still pretty happy by the end of the day, as I know now that every weekend for the rest of the season will be a ski weekend.
Anxiously waiting for the next ants-in-the-pants day....
After lunch, I checked the forecast again and to my surprise it had been updated. Instead of an additional 6-10" overnight, it had increased to 10-16" overnight. And the storm was forecasted to last through Saturday night. Cue ants-in-pants.
I stayed up late Friday night trying to get my ski clothes through the dryer, and right before I went to bed at 11:00, I saw an update pop up on NWS..."Storm forecasted to stall over Salt Lake area". Ding, ding, ding! The ants had moved from the pants and were now crawling up my neck. I cursed my study group for planning a Saturday morning meeting, although they were nice enough to move it to 8AM.
The next morning, I had to do a double-take at the snow report. Solitude was reporting a 24 hour snow total of 32". Are you fugging kidding me? I pranced through he house all morning and left for school early since I was so antsy. Luckily the group meeting was fast and efficient and I was on my way up the canyon by 10:45. I called Chris to get an update on conditions, and he said "It sucks." My heart dropped a bit since I figured nothing was open and he was bored as hell. "Huh?" I said. "Yeah, it sucks...if you don't like over-the-head blower so deep that you can't breathe. And skiing on to lifts all morning." Joy!!
After hooking up randomly with John and Jack in the parking lot, we met up with Chris as the Powderhorn lift was opening. First run, we decided to hit the trees to skiers left and I had to gasp a little bit as I dropped off the cat track. I instantly dropped in to my waist and it just kept getting deeper. We all giggled like idiots down through the trees, as none of us could turn and I was literally choking on snow. A couple more laps and we were actually whining that the snow was maybe even a little bit too deep. Poor babies.
Rachel met up with us and we got to watch her try out the new snow. We had to help dig her out a couple of times, but she was a good sport and was psyched about her new knee. Jack lost not one, but two poles in the waller-fest. I was worked by 2:30 (sad), but it was a day I won't forget anytime soon. Thank god the snow finally came, and that the season has officially started with a bang!
Saturday night was the Campbell's christmas party and it was a great time. I ended up with a pineapple (who's gifter had to show me how to remove the stem. Huh?) Josh got a redneck Xmas album and iTunes gift card. It was great seeing everyone, but Josh and I both paid the next day. Instead of skiing we had a uneventful (but sorely needed) day full of Costco, movies, and lounging. I was still pretty happy by the end of the day, as I know now that every weekend for the rest of the season will be a ski weekend.
Anxiously waiting for the next ants-in-the-pants day....
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Bikes, Bruises, Booze, and Binging - A Thanksgiving to Remember
Ah, Thanksgiving. A time to be with your family, eat until you're sick, and drink for 12 hours straight. This year did not disappoint.
It started at Bill and Kathy's. Josh and I had spent the morning at the skate park and making appetizers (pigs in a blanket) which also became a pseudo-lunch (healthy, I know). The drinking started in earnest at about 2:30. I had brought a 20 oz bottle of my apple mead and proceeded to drink almost the entire thing before dinner. Needless to say, the huge meal helped me out. It was great seeing Bart and Kate, gabbing with Jacque and Kathy, and just chilling out.
Around 6:30, we arrived at my parents house and I promptly started arguing with Tad. Aren't the holidays such a great time to catch up with family members? The night turned into drinking beer and bickering around the kitchen table until Josh got a phone call from the AG household. My parents were all about partying, so we all arrived at the AG's in time for MacDaddy to pour us a shot. Everyone loved the family, and it was a great time. Although Connie and Craig both dropped the ball on my new bike....ugh.
(Speaking of my new bike....I got a new bike!! Josh found a killer deal on an Ironhorse 7Point5 that we just couldn't pass up. We picked it up a few Saturdays back and promptly took it up to Bountiful. I had such a great day and I am so excited about it!)
So the rest of the weekend consisted of bouts of studying in between bike rides and more partying. Friday night was Ricky and Molly's shower at the Hidden Valley BerMansion, complete with a full sushi spread and martini bar. Drunk again. But turkey burning was on the agenda for Saturday and we met up with a huge crew to ride the LCC covert White Pine trail. Extremely difficult, but after the second lap I started to feel more comfortable. I ended up doing the pipe ride and subsequent pipe drop, and I have to admit I felt like a rockstar.
Sunday = more turkey burning. Due to Craig and Rob's pure frustration, yet another huge crew decided to head up to Alta. It ended up being a beautiful day, and the manmade snow wasn't too bad. Connie and I hacked it up on tele gear, and there was a veritable feast of turkey, stuffing, crack cookies, and beer at the top of Collins. The hard core crew had brought their bikes up to Alta and completed the Thanksgiving LCC duathlon with style on the White Pine trail. I wasn't part of the hard core crew, as I sadly had to go home to put some study time in.
So the result of an awesome four day weekend? About 2 pounds of extra junk in the trunk, sleep-deprivation from three post-1:00AM nights, gnarly bruises in mysterious places on my legs, complete depletion of the Petersen PBR stores, a couple of school assignments in the bag, and a huge mutha-fuggin smile on my face.
(3rd ski day, 1840 vertical feet, 3 miles)
It started at Bill and Kathy's. Josh and I had spent the morning at the skate park and making appetizers (pigs in a blanket) which also became a pseudo-lunch (healthy, I know). The drinking started in earnest at about 2:30. I had brought a 20 oz bottle of my apple mead and proceeded to drink almost the entire thing before dinner. Needless to say, the huge meal helped me out. It was great seeing Bart and Kate, gabbing with Jacque and Kathy, and just chilling out.
Around 6:30, we arrived at my parents house and I promptly started arguing with Tad. Aren't the holidays such a great time to catch up with family members? The night turned into drinking beer and bickering around the kitchen table until Josh got a phone call from the AG household. My parents were all about partying, so we all arrived at the AG's in time for MacDaddy to pour us a shot. Everyone loved the family, and it was a great time. Although Connie and Craig both dropped the ball on my new bike....ugh.
(Speaking of my new bike....I got a new bike!! Josh found a killer deal on an Ironhorse 7Point5 that we just couldn't pass up. We picked it up a few Saturdays back and promptly took it up to Bountiful. I had such a great day and I am so excited about it!)
So the rest of the weekend consisted of bouts of studying in between bike rides and more partying. Friday night was Ricky and Molly's shower at the Hidden Valley BerMansion, complete with a full sushi spread and martini bar. Drunk again. But turkey burning was on the agenda for Saturday and we met up with a huge crew to ride the LCC covert White Pine trail. Extremely difficult, but after the second lap I started to feel more comfortable. I ended up doing the pipe ride and subsequent pipe drop, and I have to admit I felt like a rockstar.
Sunday = more turkey burning. Due to Craig and Rob's pure frustration, yet another huge crew decided to head up to Alta. It ended up being a beautiful day, and the manmade snow wasn't too bad. Connie and I hacked it up on tele gear, and there was a veritable feast of turkey, stuffing, crack cookies, and beer at the top of Collins. The hard core crew had brought their bikes up to Alta and completed the Thanksgiving LCC duathlon with style on the White Pine trail. I wasn't part of the hard core crew, as I sadly had to go home to put some study time in.
So the result of an awesome four day weekend? About 2 pounds of extra junk in the trunk, sleep-deprivation from three post-1:00AM nights, gnarly bruises in mysterious places on my legs, complete depletion of the Petersen PBR stores, a couple of school assignments in the bag, and a huge mutha-fuggin smile on my face.
(3rd ski day, 1840 vertical feet, 3 miles)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Day 2 - 10/21/07 Snowbird Cirque
No way it's October.
I kept saying that to myself all morning because I couldn't believe how good the skiing was. Definitely better than 75% of last year. Every lap was perfect Utah powder. It's one of those days that I know I'm going to remember for quite a while. And it's only October.
After meeting Scott K, Chris C, Jake, and Jason at 7:30AM and dealing with a "rumor" Scott heard about the tram running for free (as we found out later, they were filming all of us skiers from the tram that day), we decided to hit the Cirque. 12-14" of new, perfect density snow that had stayed sheltered from the wind all night awaited us.
We joined two other dudes that got there before us and cranked out 2 quick laps in the lower bowl. Scott led the way up to the upper bowl and we did a few more. We called it quits around noon with smiles on our faces and our powder hunger fully satiated.
Link to full album: http://www.zoto.com/joshp/albums/11756/
Snowbird video (thanks Jason!): http://www.snowbird.com/video/october21_2007.html
Friday, October 19, 2007
Day 1 - 10/19/07 Wolverine Bowl
I can't believe what I did for my first day out! I hooked up with Derek, Seth, Mark, and Tyler at 6:30AM this morning and we decided to try a tour rather than hang out with the crowds at Alta. Our route was Grizzly Gulch to TLP, up to Patsy Marley, and on to Wolverine. The morning was beautiful.
Derek of course went way down to the bottom of Wolverine Bowl so we had to skin our asses back up to the ridge. On the way back, the boys decided to hit Granny Chute in Wolverine Cirque. I chickened out for the sake of my skis (rocks were abundant) - Mark and I skied the punchy north face of Patsy Marley. The temperature rose ridiculously fast and we hacked our way down Griz in slush.
Derek's take on the day (and more pics)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Quest for 70
After a long hiatus from blogging, and a handful of months with school, sparse workouts, and very little motivation, I've decided to set myself a goal. I think a physical goal that I can mark on the calendar will help keep me not only gain back the fitness I so desperately need, but finally work off that pesky ten pounds.
My masochistic husband always seems to come up with the best ways to kick his own ass, so I asked him last night, "What would be a good ass-kicker goal for me to set this ski season?" I mentioned the Wasatach Powderkeg in March, but I still needed something to keep me going through Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb. Inspiration struck this morning and Josh called me at my desk.
"How about 100 days?" Great! I thought. What better way to get my ass out of bed than tick marks on the calendar? However, I started thinking about it and 100 days just isn't physically possible with my schedule. So, I started counting. Including all of my Fridays off, and not counting holidays as extra days, I counted 83 available days from Nov 1 through the end of May. Knowing that skiing every single available day may not be realistic, I'm shooting for 70 days. Earlier days (this weekend), later days (June), and mid-week dawn patrols will just be icing on the cake.
So welcome to my "Quest for 70" Blog for the 2007-2008 ski season, including the Powderkeg. I'll try to post TR's and pictures as much as possible for each of my days, giving me a kick-ass reminder of a kick-ass ski season. All weather conditions, all snow conditions, and a host of random partners....it's gonna be a good winter.
Here's to a long season, a stable snowpack, and lake effect!
(On the subject of blogging, Josh wrote up a great report on Matt and Elisabeth's wedding. Check it out at http://joshpetersen.blogspot.com)
My masochistic husband always seems to come up with the best ways to kick his own ass, so I asked him last night, "What would be a good ass-kicker goal for me to set this ski season?" I mentioned the Wasatach Powderkeg in March, but I still needed something to keep me going through Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb. Inspiration struck this morning and Josh called me at my desk.
"How about 100 days?" Great! I thought. What better way to get my ass out of bed than tick marks on the calendar? However, I started thinking about it and 100 days just isn't physically possible with my schedule. So, I started counting. Including all of my Fridays off, and not counting holidays as extra days, I counted 83 available days from Nov 1 through the end of May. Knowing that skiing every single available day may not be realistic, I'm shooting for 70 days. Earlier days (this weekend), later days (June), and mid-week dawn patrols will just be icing on the cake.
So welcome to my "Quest for 70" Blog for the 2007-2008 ski season, including the Powderkeg. I'll try to post TR's and pictures as much as possible for each of my days, giving me a kick-ass reminder of a kick-ass ski season. All weather conditions, all snow conditions, and a host of random partners....it's gonna be a good winter.
Here's to a long season, a stable snowpack, and lake effect!
(On the subject of blogging, Josh wrote up a great report on Matt and Elisabeth's wedding. Check it out at http://joshpetersen.blogspot.com)
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