Riding the lifts again: Greek Peak 2/16/09

[Sharon]

After 10 days of avoiding my local molehill, I was finally ready to ride the slow lifts.

I was ready and it was good. It was very good.

I had a great day of skiing at Greek Peak, though I'm sure it was because I had such great company. Acid Christ kept me entertained and we had a hoot skiing all over the place. The woods were in pretty good shape. We even went outta bounds and found 3" of fluff on top of a bomber base. Everything was open. Olympian skied very well and sported a dry chalky surface. All the glades skied well. Zeus was funky and Hercules was scary icy fast. There were no crowds, not lift lines. Who would know it was a holiday.

I asked AC why Arethusa was closed. It was the only trail on the mountain that had a closed sign. I figured it was a mistake. It had ice on it, but was totally skiable. He had no idea. I suggested he open it, but he said the powers that be wanted it closed. I said "let's go ski it". He said he didn't want to get into trouble, which is very surprising given his history. Hard to believe he wanted to follow the rules after all these years. I just ignored him and went ahead and blasted down it anyway. He chased after me and while doing so, passed a woman who was on the closed trail who should not have been there. He just wanted to ski it and then bust me for it, which I totally enjoyed. He looked at my pass and yelled at me and made a good attempt at ski police. It was so cool. (I couldn't stop giggling). Then we watched this poor woman who was frozen with fear. She was standing on the trail, but didn't move for more than 10 minutes. Then a guy shows up and talks her down. When they get down to the bottom AC goes over to let her know she shouldn't have been on that trail (doing his job). She said she knew that she was in over her head but was just following her boyfriend down the trail and she had no idea the trail was closed. I said to her in support "ski patrol should do a better job of marking the trail", just to bust AC's chops. Technically the boyfriend was at fault for bringing her down that trail, but it seemed he was already in the dog house.

So as I said, skiing with Acid Christ kept me entertained and it was most enjoyable. It was great to get out to Greek Peak again. The conditions were very good. I highly suggest you get out and ski while it is so good, both on and off piste.

Oh, and while you are there, buy a share at the Hope Lake Lodge waterpark condos. The building is really going up. they were working on it today and it is really taking shape. Hard to believe, but the project is well underway. It is good to see people at work building something. I just hope that they can sell enough shares to make it worthwhile. Then maybe we'll see some improvements at the ski area. They had a public information meeting to present ideas and to get ideas and input from the public. They even have an online survey http://www.greekpeak.net/promotions/ski ... urvey.aspx
Kind of unbelievable. We are keeping our fingers crossed. The slow lifts are really annoying. I'd be thrilled if they put in a high speed quad to replace chairs 1 and 1a.

I left at 2pm and went up to Tuller Hill, just across the valley and up the next hill just one mile away. It's a state forest and there was 5" of fresh untracked fluff. I had my dogs with me so we broke some trail and enjoyed the sunshine for a few hours. Didn't see another track made my humans...just coyote tracks, rabbit tracks and turkey tracks. I did some bushwacking and enjoyed some super downhill. I can tele-turn my Fischer Rebounds pretty well, which made for some nice fresh tracks. I've got 3 very tired dogs. We toured the high state forests for the last three days and today those pups had to plow through some real powder.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I went straight to question 7 and told them to replace everything immediately.

 

[cornhead]

I attended the meeting. The plan is to replace 1A with a fixed quad. A detachable is to start where the learning center is now, and extend beyond chair 4. An access from the top of the hill is to be established with a learning center there. There will be access to the entire area from the top of the detachable. A new lodge is planned at the base of chair 5, and new trails on the ridge opposite Arcadian Gate. Work on the detachable, or the fixed quad, I can't remember, is supposed to take place this Summer. I asked Al what timetable there was for these improvements, he said it is all dependent on paying off the loan for the Hotel. The regulars just laugh and say, " I'll be dead by then". We shall see. I am glad to see you were able to enjoy Greek again, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to after I return from New Mexico, the way you were sounding. AC did say hi to me as I was leaving, he was at the patrol hq.

The snow was nice today, it was kinda slow first thing in the morning, but boy could it hold an edge! I was there yesterday, I was going down Olympian and there were four college age girls, two of them were sliding down the trail. Out of the corner of my eye, I see one girl start to tumble head over heals down the hill next to me. She came to a stop, I stopped to ask if she was O.K., she was. Meanwhile here friend continued down the hill, finally stopping. Again I stopped to ask if she was O.K., she was. I asked them if this was their first time on the trail, they said " No, we were on it once before today". I said, " You mean you slid and tumbled down it once already?" Luckily no one was hurt, but it was scary seeing the one cartwheeling next to me. The one that just slid down the hill had here snow pants fill with snow as she slid 100 or so yards down the hill. They were having fun, probably didn't belong on Olympian however.

 

[Sharon]

It's hard to believe that is Olympian in you photo...it doesn't even look very steep. Photos don't do a trail's pitch any justice.

 

[Marc_C]

It's hard to believe that is Olympian in you photo...it doesn't even look very steep. Photos don't do a trail's pitch any justice.

Look at the trees in the background. The frame is tilted about 15 degrees (unless there's regularly a strong wind there that causes all the trees to lean uphill. :wink: ).

 

[Marc_C]

Oh, and while you are there, buy a share at the Hope Lake Lodge waterpark condos. The building is really going up. they were working on it today and it is really taking shape. Hard to believe, but the project is well underway. It is good to see people at work building something. I just hope that they can sell enough shares to make it worthwhile.

Gee, isn't that going to make the place awfully urban and polluted?

 

[jamesdeluxe]

The frame is tilted about 15 degrees (unless there's regularly a strong wind there that causes all the trees to lean uphill. )

It's the same brand of camera that was used for Skidog's Little Chute photos last season. You never know which way it'll rotate.

Whereas people at Alta are always trying to make the terrain look steeper than it really is, at Greek Peak, it's considered proper form to tilt the camera in the other direction, so the prospective clientele doesn't get frightened by the many DFU zones.

 

[rfarren]

It's the same brand of camera that was used for Skidog's Little Chute photos last season. You never know which way it'll rotate.

Whereas people at Alta are always trying to make the terrain look steeper than it really is, at Greek Peak, it's considered proper form to tilt the camera in the other direction, so the prospective clientele doesn't get frightened by the many DFU zones.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
nice!

 

[Sharon]

Oh, and while you are there, buy a share at the Hope Lake Lodge waterpark condos. The building is really going up. they were working on it today and it is really taking shape. Hard to believe, but the project is well underway. It is good to see people at work building something. I just hope that they can sell enough shares to make it worthwhile.

Gee, isn't that going to make the place awfully urban and polluted?

Dude, it's a freakin resort, not an industrial complex. With the way the economy is right now, it's nice to see people at work, even though what they are building, people aren't really able to buy.

The Greek Peak management has said they will upgrade the lifts and facilities if they sell enough condo shares. In these difficult economic times, it is all hard to imagine it actually happening, but seeing the building going up is at least giving us hope.

They are trying to attract people to the area, but it seems unlikely that a small molehill with old slow lifts and facilities in desperate need of repair is going to attract people to buy shares in a waterpark condo across the street. We are all very skeptical, so seeing it going up is actually quite unbelievable.

 

[j howard]

maybe it'll bring a few more jobs. the area sure could use some

 

[Sharon]

maybe it'll bring a few more jobs. the area sure could use some

exactly

Marc is still bitter because I dissed his SLC.

 

[Admin]

maybe it'll bring a few more jobs. the area sure could use some

exactly

Marc is still bitter because I dissed his SLC.

No, Marc just realizes that you forgot what the "C" in SLC stands for.

 

[Sharon]

No, Marc just realizes that you forgot what the "C" in SLC stands for.

I didn't forget, I just became aware of how much I dislike the "C" until I spent 2 weeks there.

Sometimes we don't realize what is important to us until we are away from it for a while. That was the whole basis for those comments previously. I know that the living there is an improvement for many of you who came from the suburban east coast. Certainly the skiing is tops, but IMO, I would prefer to live in a small mountain town than a big city if I was going to be a ski bum. Though I also can see how that awesome snow is the major attraction and how it is worth the trade-off to live in suburban hell for the skiing.

 

[Marc_C]

Certainly the skiing is tops, but IMO, I would prefer to live in a small mountain town than a big city if I was going to be a ski bum. Though I also can see how that awesome snow is the major attraction and how it is worth the trade-off to live in suburban hell for the skiing.

Unsurprisingly, that's an incredibly myopic view. The major attraction here is proximity to the mountains and outdoors activities/lifestyle, not just the skiing, plus having the amenities of a major US city and highly livable suburbs if you don't want to live in the city. You keep missing the point that the major attraction is this fairly unique combination.

This photo was taken....from my driveway:

And this one from my front porch:

 

[Tony Crocker]

I personally agree completely with MarcC. The major disadvantages of cities are things like traffic and overpriced housing, neither of which seems to be much of a problem yet in SLC.

But I've read enough of Sharon's posts to realize that she will insist upon living most of the time in a true rural area.

 

[rfarren]

I've always thought that the skiing in SLC can't be beat. However, I tend to side with Sharon on this. I would rather live in a small town in the mountains, than live in the suburbs. I love new york city because it is in fact a city, not just a metropolitan area. In SLC I always felt I might as well be in Indianapolis. I mean there are mountains, and there are a lot of outdoor activities, but it just feels so commercial. You need a car and it seems like there are cul-di-sacs and McMansions everywhere. The downtown area is hardly conducive for walking at least compared to the east coast. Now maybe I've not visited the right places, but I've never felt that SLC was particularly "hip" or "charming." Frankly, if I moved out west to ski I would rather live in Bozeman, Crested Butte, or Santa Fe. However, if I could move anywhere in the world for skiing I might move to Torino. There I could have an urban life with culture, and still have skiing.

 

[BigSpencer]

Glad to read you're getting the goods as much as possible Sharon........

STeveD

 

[Sharon]

Certainly the skiing is tops, but IMO, I would prefer to live in a small mountain town than a big city if I was going to be a ski bum. Though I also can see how that awesome snow is the major attraction and how it is worth the trade-off to live in suburban hell for the skiing.

Unsurprisingly, that's an incredibly myopic view. The major attraction here is proximity to the mountains and outdoors activities/lifestyle, not just the skiing, plus having the amenities of a major US city and highly livable suburbs if you don't want to live in the city. You keep missing the point that the major attraction is this fairly unique combination.

This photo was taken....from my driveway:

And this one from my front porch:

Marc, I see why you love it, and it makes a lot of sense for you. I don't diss you for that at all. I think it is great that you found all the things in a place that make you happy. I just doesn't suit me at all.

As Tony pointed out, I need to live further from the city to be happy. I need a rural landscape and to able to open my door up to let my dogs go out without leashes and restriction, to run, swim and play, right on my land without fear of neighbors and cars. And for me, SLC is no attraction. Bozeman, Missoula, Hood River and Ouray are more likely places for me (though my dogs are more likely to be eaten by cougars and bears out there). But what I have here that can't be replicated anywhere is the community I have here after 25+ years of living here. It is something very special to me and I've got dear friends who would be there for me in a pinch, and most lives in the rural hills or in a very walkable and vibrant small city that has all the amenities that anyone would want. When I have a potluck dinner, usually 40 or more people show up...which exemplifies the warm and loving community that I enjoy so much. The tradeoff is...the skiing here is mediocre and we have no mountains, or we have to drive 4-5 hours to get to the bigger mountains and fly to the west. I've lived with it this long, and I will continue to enjoy it.

When I do retire, I will not sell my land, though I plan to take extended trips during the ski season, and hopefully I'll still be able to ski with you at Alta in all the years ahead.

 

[Patrick]

plus having the amenities of a major US city and highly livable suburbs if you don't want to live in the city.

Okay this might sound great for you suburbs folks. Suburbs from New Jersey to Salt Lake. The only difference is the price and the scenery. You can say all you want about suburbs, but I hate them. A place where there is no sidewalks and you have to take the car to go anywhere. Okay, some of you might bike.

But I've read enough of Sharon's posts to realize that she will insist upon living most of the time in a true rural area.

Although I'm a city person, love the city and I've never lived in the country year round. I would choose the country over a living in a suburbs anytime.

 

[BigSpencer]

Really great to see you still have a view Marc...and looks like..will have one for a while... 8)