Marc Guido
New member
While last night's storm was a bit more fizzle than sizzle, we did pick up 3 or 4 inches of new snow on Solitude's slopes. I took a short break from work today to head up for a few runs with friend Roger, visiting from Vermont, and his Utah friend Keith.
The rain/snow line was around 7,000 feet, yet the new snow was drier than expected. We met at the Eagle Express lift corral and headed up.
First run was down Stumble, which held surprisingly good turns through the alders poking up through the snow. With a lack of snow back East, Roger hasn't yet had the chance to build up his conditioning, and found himself having to stop often to recuperate. No big deal, for he seemed more bothered by it than Keith and I were.
Back up Eagle Express, we headed out to Paradise Lost where you still need to watch your step here and there for ledge poking through. The wind was beginning to crank ahead of the next squall line, and snow in the Paradise Lost/Vertigo area was rather heavily wind-affected.
We continued down Main Street to board the Powderhorn Chair, and exit via the Powderhorn Gate to access Black Forest. Again, more wind-affected snow, although the trees and gullies helped to shelter little pockets of fluffier stuff. We traversed out to Crystal Point, although the untracked out there was a bit heavier due to lower elevation.
We rode up Honeycomb Return. Roger, feeling the burn, opted for Sunshine Bowl while I headed further east into the trees to skier's left of Olympia. At one point I dropped down onto a cat road, right as another skier was doing the same from the opposite direction - it was Marc_C, leading a group of relatives visiting from New Jersey. Chance meeting!
Roger took a load off at The Roundhouse while I skied back to the car and headed back to work, 4 runs and 4,900 vertical feet later.
The parking lot at Moonbeam was full when I left, the first time that I've seen that all year, yet we skied onto the chair each time. Las touristas are certainly here, though, for I was cut off by a car making a U-turn at the entrance to the Moonbeam driveway while the passenger was shooting video out the window. :roll:
The rain/snow line was around 7,000 feet, yet the new snow was drier than expected. We met at the Eagle Express lift corral and headed up.
First run was down Stumble, which held surprisingly good turns through the alders poking up through the snow. With a lack of snow back East, Roger hasn't yet had the chance to build up his conditioning, and found himself having to stop often to recuperate. No big deal, for he seemed more bothered by it than Keith and I were.
Back up Eagle Express, we headed out to Paradise Lost where you still need to watch your step here and there for ledge poking through. The wind was beginning to crank ahead of the next squall line, and snow in the Paradise Lost/Vertigo area was rather heavily wind-affected.
We continued down Main Street to board the Powderhorn Chair, and exit via the Powderhorn Gate to access Black Forest. Again, more wind-affected snow, although the trees and gullies helped to shelter little pockets of fluffier stuff. We traversed out to Crystal Point, although the untracked out there was a bit heavier due to lower elevation.
We rode up Honeycomb Return. Roger, feeling the burn, opted for Sunshine Bowl while I headed further east into the trees to skier's left of Olympia. At one point I dropped down onto a cat road, right as another skier was doing the same from the opposite direction - it was Marc_C, leading a group of relatives visiting from New Jersey. Chance meeting!
Roger took a load off at The Roundhouse while I skied back to the car and headed back to work, 4 runs and 4,900 vertical feet later.
The parking lot at Moonbeam was full when I left, the first time that I've seen that all year, yet we skied onto the chair each time. Las touristas are certainly here, though, for I was cut off by a car making a U-turn at the entrance to the Moonbeam driveway while the passenger was shooting video out the window. :roll: