Pico Mtn - 3/1/08 - Have you seen my ski?

[sszycher]

If you find a Dynamic-brand white and black ski, it’s mine!!

OK, I’m getting ahead of myself here. The 7” that fell Fri nite, combined with the foot that fell during mid-week made for a fantastic day of skiing. There was soft snow everywhere, and everything was wide open. And as typical at Pico, there’s never more than a 1-2 minute wait at the lower quad at “primetime” (i.e. 11 AM). For those of you stuck in liftlines this wknd, my condolences.

I also had the pleasure of “hosting” my buddy from Portsmouth, NH, whom I get together with for at least one day of skiing each season. Of course, I took him to all the sweet spots, and he was duly impressed. We hit almost all my faves, including early-morning runs on 49er & Sunset 71, Birch Glade, Birch Woods, the tree runs off the Outpost chair (found some deeeep snow there, as that lift doesn’t usually operate on non-holiday weekdays), and A-slope.

I always seem to get in an unwanted adventure when I ski with my NH buddy. Last year @ Cannon, I went too far to the left off the entrance to the Mittersill trial (towards Sugar Hill, instead of back towards Cannon, and had to hike back to the trail junction! This year, I lost a ski in the gully coming out of the woods at the top of Upper Birch Glade. That gully collects a lot of snow, and I came out of my binding and subsequently could not find my ski in the deep stuff. After searching for 15 minutes, I skied down the rest of the way with one ski, which is far less fun than it looks – what a quad burn you get!!!

Fortunately, the rentals staff at Pico was extremely cool, and comped me a pair of rentals to use for a few hours and to look for my ski – which my friend and I did not find despite our efforts. Given that this area of the mountain is probably not “swept” by the Patrol, I think I would need a thaw, and then a patroller or someone to find the ski & report it to lost & found.

Beyond calling the resort’s “Lost & Found” – which I intend to do – if anyone has any suggestions for me (besides going back to that spot and continuing to look), let me know, as I am now staring down the barrel of using my brother’s old Dynastar GS skis from the mid 90’s.

That’s kind of like going from dating a beautiful, intelligent woman to dating Janet Reno. God help me!

 

[Skidog]

If you find a Dynamic-brand white and black ski, it’s mine!!

OK, I’m getting ahead of myself here. The 7” that fell Fri nite, combined with the foot that fell during mid-week made for a fantastic day of skiing. There was soft snow everywhere, and everything was wide open. And as typical at Pico, there’s never more than a 1-2 minute wait at the lower quad at “primetime” (i.e. 11 AM). For those of you stuck in liftlines this wknd, my condolences.

I also had the pleasure of “hosting” my buddy from Portsmouth, NH, whom I get together with for at least one day of skiing each season. Of course, I took him to all the sweet spots, and he was duly impressed. We hit almost all my faves, including early-morning runs on 49er & Sunset 71, Birch Glade, Birch Woods, the tree runs off the Outpost chair (found some deeeep snow there, as that lift doesn’t usually operate on non-holiday weekdays), and A-slope.

I always seem to get in an unwanted adventure when I ski with my NH buddy. Last year @ Cannon, I went too far to the left off the entrance to the Mittersill trial (towards Sugar Hill, instead of back towards Cannon, and had to hike back to the trail junction! This year, I lost a ski in the gully coming out of the woods at the top of Upper Birch Glade. That gully collects a lot of snow, and I came out of my binding and subsequently could not find my ski in the deep stuff. After searching for 15 minutes, I skied down the rest of the way with one ski, which is far less fun than it looks – what a quad burn you get!!!

Fortunately, the rentals staff at Pico was extremely cool, and comped me a pair of rentals to use for a few hours and to look for my ski – which my friend and I did not find despite our efforts. Given that this area of the mountain is probably not “swept” by the Patrol, I think I would need a thaw, and then a patroller or someone to find the ski & report it to lost & found.

Beyond calling the resort’s “Lost & Found” – which I intend to do – if anyone has any suggestions for me (besides going back to that spot and continuing to look), let me know, as I am now staring down the barrel of using my brother’s old Dynastar GS skis from the mid 90’s.

That’s kind of like going from dating a beautiful, intelligent woman to dating Janet Reno. God help me!

did you let patrol know? I know Utah isnt VT, but here at Alta if you lose a ski (which happens to many very often), just go to patrol and let them know what it is, and when it thaws and someone finds it they will call you.

Ive seen people literally searching for 6+ hours for skis.

Maybe ill get a metal detector and bring it up on DEEP days and start charging people. . ;-)

good luck with getting the ski back..

Sounds like Pico delivered the goods like it ALWAYS does...pity POWDR thinks its some red headed stepchild... :roll:

M

 

[Patrick]

Many years ago my friend's girlfriend lost a ski in the woods at Red when they were living in Rossland. Someone found it during the Summer, however it was pretty rusted.

 

[berkshireskier]

Good luck. Skis, once they come off your boot, often go much further downhill under the snow than you would imagine - almost a submarine-like effect. It is not always that easy to find the ski, especially in deep snow. My guess is that the ski is further downhill from where you were looking. I guess this is why some people wear "powder straps" when skiing in deep snow.

 

[Admin]

Q: How can you tell an Alta local from a visitor?

A: The visitor's the one with the powder cords..

And careful there, they're powder cords, not powder straps. As I emerged from the Rustler after lunch yesterday and grabbed my skis from the rack a guy standing there asked if I had a knife on me. I handed him one and he proceeded to cut a hopelessly knotted powder cord from around his boot. I then proceeded to explain the concept of windmilling gear and why he's better off rolling the cord up and tucking it into the cuff of his ski pants. He said that he asked the guy in the ski shop how to use them but the guy said he didn't know. No big surprise there.

And take note, they're not streamers, either! We see that one often enough, too.

 

[berkshireskier]

Yea, I've never used "powder cords" but I can imagine there is always the danger of the "windmill" effect if you come out of your binding in a fall. I believe this is the main reason the ski industry got away from using safety straps and went to ski brakes on bindings. A lot of people got cut or hurt when their ski or skis were flying around attached to their boots by the safety straps after they came out of their bindings in a fall. I guess you're better off to lose the ski than get cut, but with the price of top-of-the-line skis today, it is painful to lose one ski. I have sympathy for this guy.

 

[Admin]

Cuts are the least of your worries. A fractured skull or worse is a bigger concern.

Powder cords are actually designed to be left loose and tucked into your pants leg to deploy when the binding releases. the loose end of the cord generally stays on the surface.

 

[ChrisC]

Good luck. Skis, once they come off your boot, often go much further downhill under the snow than you would imagine - almost a submarine-like effect. It is not always that easy to find the ski, especially in deep snow. My guess is that the ski is further downhill from where you were looking. I guess this is why some people wear "powder straps" when skiing in deep snow.

This definitely true. I lost a ski in the Vail Back Bowls on a powder day for about an hour. The ski traveled a good 200-300 vertical under the snow - like a missile. Vail patrol were kind enough to help to look for it and find it.

With newer fat skis, I find they come to the surface more often.

Overall, I am not a fan of white graphics on powder skis for this reason. The louder the better.

 

[Patrick]

You can also put your DIN settings at 24!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Tony Crocker]

And when searching for the buried ski, use your other ski, not poles, as the ski will dig deeper.

 

[rfarren]

I use my other ski and repeatedly swipe across the hill with it. Its a trick I learned from skinet.com. I find it works really well. Just swipe while walking uphill and most times you'll find it.

 

[Sharon]

Q: How can you tell an Alta local from a visitor?

A: The visitor's the one with the powder cords..

Marc, is this why the locals spend so much time looking for their skis?

When my ski popped off and I realized how difficult it was to find the in the deep snow, I quickly went and purchased a pair of powder cords. They gave me some peace of mind. We saw too many people looking for lost skis for quite some time. I didn't want to chance losing my skis while on vacation. Maybe that's why the visitors tend to have them more often than locals.

Also, the poking with your ski technique doesn't work very well with twin tips.

Thanks for helping me find that ski that day :wink:

 

[Admin]

Q: How can you tell an Alta local from a visitor?

A: The visitor's the one with the powder cords..

Marc, is this why the locals spend so much time looking for their skis?

Nah, we just make sure that we don't give them a reason to come off anytime before beer-thirty. :wink:

 

[rfarren]

Also, the poking with your ski technique doesn't work very well with twin tips.

Don't poke with your ski. When you poke you are only checking a small area. Swipe like a golf swing. That way you check an area of 3 feet or so. After every swipe, take a step in the direction in which you suspect your ski is and repeat. It is much more effective than poking with skis or poles.

 

[Patrick]

As I'm reading this, I'm thinking that we can't be to far off from the time someone invents a beacon (same as avy beacon) in order to find your ski in powder. :roll:

There is probably a market (ie. rich gaper ski tourist with $$$ to spend).

 

[Admin]

Oh, and I forgot to ask...

Marc, is this why the locals spend so much time looking for their skis?

How are you so certain that you saw locals spendng so much time looking for their skis? I didn't poll anyone I saw regarding their home town, although the only one searching for a ski that I have personal knowledge of hailed from a college town in upstate New York.

 

[Admin]

As I'm reading this, I'm thinking that we can't be to far off from the time someone invents a beacon (same as avy beacon) in order to find your ski in powder. :roll:

There is probably a market (ie. rich gaper ski tourist with $$$ to spend).

It's already dawned on us that this may finally be the use for those Recco corpse locators. The receivers are too big and wieldy to cart around as a habit, but a ski patrol could certainly pad its budget by charging for locator services.

 

[Geoff]

As I'm reading this, I'm thinking that we can't be to far off from the time someone invents a beacon (same as avy beacon) in order to find your ski in powder. :roll:

There is probably a market (ie. rich gaper ski tourist with $$$ to spend).

It's already dawned on us that this may finally be the use for those Recco corpse locators. The receivers are too big and wieldy to cart around as a habit, but a ski patrol could certainly pad its budget by charging for locator services.

Naah. Just go back to "safety straps". I had one fracture my tibia back when I was running gates as a kid. I was on ski brakes back in 1970 when you needed to have a fake safety strap so they'd let you ride the lifts.

 

[ricks]

I know powder cords saved me at Whistler a few years back. The snow was waste deep the whole week. I didn't see my skis while skiing until I got back to the room. Popped out of a ski at some point way back up hill. Didn't know it until I went to make my next turn on it and it wasn't there. Of course I was way down slope by now. The only thing showing was the little button at the end of the cord. After tracing it back via the cord I figured that I would have never found that ski without the cord. The really fun part was getting the ski back on in snow that deep. So I don't care what other people say about them. I love them. I watched a bunch of kids look for a ski at PCMR in McConkeys Bowl right under the lift. I got in 5 laps while this poor guy and 6 friends probed that entire bowl. I left the area after the fifth run and don't know if they ever found it that day. At the cost of a lift ticket there, that was a big loss of ski time.

 

[phil]

I have never used powder cords having never had the pleasure of skiing where they might be of use, but i have used a similar concept for other gear in various outdoor activities. When out with the scouts i usually clip my car key onto a bright lanyard. First it is around my neck and second if i drop it there is a couple of feet of bright orange fabric with the tiny key.