Jay Silveira
New member
It looks like the pattern change we’ve been hoping for has finally arrived. After 2-3 weeks with essentially no precipitation, a storm came ashore over the weekend that was predicted to drop 1-2 feet on the mountains of northern Idaho/western Montana. The snowfall was well under way by Saturday morning; Lost Trail indicated that 6 inches had already fallen by 6:00 A.M., and of course it was still snowing. Temperatures in the valley jumped well above freezing for the first time in weeks, and as we left town (3,560’) in the morning, the conditions were 39 degrees and spitting rain. It certainly didn’t feel like a major system was approaching, but once we hit the bottom of Lost Trail Pass (~5,000’), steady snowfall appeared. By the time we hit the top of the pass (7,000’), it felt like a blizzard. The rate of snowfall was quite impressive, but the winds were a bit discouraging. <BR> <BR>E headed out first while I hung out with Tyler in the lodge. We did the usual things like eating, walking around, looking at other kids, eating, eating, and then having a snack. Around 11:30, E came back in and reported that the conditions were great, although the snow was a little heavy and windblown. She also indicated that most of the regular trails (chairs 1 and 2) were getting tracked up by this point. Derek and Yvette had received FRS radios over the holidays, which meant that we could greatly simplify the process of meeting up. Their latest report indicated that they were heading over to chair 4, for its anticipated opening. <BR> <BR>On my ride up chair 1, Derek told me (via radio) that they were in the chair 4 lineup, but there was no word on how long before they would load. Hearing this, I decided I’d take a quick hike up to the Bear Claw Ridge, and choose my line based on where Derek and Yvette headed. I was hoping to hit Elk Basin, which would probably be untracked and provide a quick 1,200 verts of powder. Derek gave me the word that chair 4 was loading, so Elk Basin it was. What a sight to behold when I got to the top of the ridge and found the entire Elk Basin area untracked. We’re talking a total zero here, not even a token patroller track! I dove in and soon found myself making lazy high-speed turns because there was just so much space. I was surprised to find that the snow in Elk Basin had been hit pretty hard by the wind. Usually, the basin is pretty protected, but this time the wind had snuck in and whipped the snow into ridges. The skiing was still great of course, but I was wishing I’d grabbed my fat skis off the ski rack for the extra stability (especially for the high speed turns). But, riding the midfats gave me some good practice in fore/aft balance. <BR> <BR>I planned to meet up with Derek and Yvette at the top of chair 4 after their first run. While they were riding up on the lift, I poked around at the summit. Next to the ski patrol hut was a huge (15 feet high?) snowdrift, and the patrol had dug out a snow cave in there to let light in one of the hut windows. I’m not sure if it forms every year (perhaps this year due to high winds) but it was really cool. <BR> <BR>Once Derek and Yvette arrived, we decided to hit the Ripper, which they had done previously. I had spied some nice powder in a region just to the left called “The Slot” so Derek and I cut under the chair and headed over there. I would have though that the snow up here would be hammered by the high winds, but in the Slot it was quite the contrary. There was a good foot of light powder in there, totally immune to the wind. After cranking about a dozen turns in the powder on the 30 or so degree slope, we were warned from people on the lift to cut right – below us the wind had scoured the snow and left logs and rocks hiding. We cut back onto the Ripper and caught good snow on the left side. Then, Derek and Yvette led me through the trees over to “Lewis and Clark”. It seems like Lewis and Clark was in just the right place to avoid everyone’s traffic; stuck far in between the only two entrances from above. There were about a dozen tracks on it so far (Derek and Yvette’s were two of them) but we had it to ourselves now. We didn’t see a soul the entire ride, and had to rip it up for a second run. <BR> <BR>It was great fun to see how much Yvette has improved in her powder skiing. She’s gone from basically never skiing powder a year ago, to comfortably skiing moderately steep, powdery terrain. Everyone agrees that switching from her old skinny skis to Double Xs has helped a lot. Hooray for modern gear! After our fun runs on Lewis and Clark, Derek and Yvette decided to head back to the lodge and I figured I’d join them. Tyler hadn’t really been able to take a nap in the lodge, so it turned out to be a good time to go home anyway. About 4 inches of new snow had accumulated on the car during our ~4 hours of skiing, and the forecast suggested it would continue. Unless something changed suddenly, it was going to be another powder day on Sunday. Stay tuned for an update! <BR> <BR>A few pictures from the day are available at: <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.JandEproductions.com/2004/24JAN04.html" TARGET="_top">http://www.JandEproductions.com/2004/24JAN04.html</A> <BR> <BR>J.Spin