Ski 10 - Saturday Dec 27 - How Do You Rate a Ski Day?

The money shot.

Where: Mill D - Short Swing

With Whom: Jer

Time: 7am to 11:30

Ski Conditions: Excellent.  The snow was not quite as deep as I was expecting, but it was enough to make for some bitchin' skiing.  We were the first to get to the top of the hill this morning, but there were a few to follow.  We took a little different route down the hill and found fresh turns to the bottom.  We were able to get two runs in before we had to be back.

Jer reaches the top

How do you rate a ski day?  This is a problem I have.  I go skiing and people ask, "How was it?"  Do I just say, "Great."?  A day in Mill D or Butler Fork is different from a day in Wolverine, but I enjoy them both.  I think that is one of the best things about skiing in the backcountry.  No two days are alike.  It is a lot like fingerprints... except ski days cannot be burned off when you become a secret agent for the government.

I ski across the few tracks we saw at the top.

Jer sees the light (or, at least, skis out of it).

Ski 9 - Wednesday Dec 24 - Christmas Eve is a Great Day for Telemarking

Where: Snowbird

With Whom: Cole

Time: 8am to 2:30ish

Ski Conditions: Got Cole out on tele gear for his first time today.  We stuck to Gad Zoom and the groomers serviced thereby.  He struggled a bit at first, but as the day went on he began to get the hang of it.  Avy danger is not great out in the backcountry, so it wasn't a bad day to break out the K2s and get some groomers under my belt.  

Ski 8 - Saturday Dec 20 - Huffin and Puffin

Where: Circle Awl 

With Whom: Tom and Nate

Time: 8am to Noon

Ski Conditions: Well, the storm that came in yesterday appeared to be the first big storm of the year.  The only problem is that the snowpack is not terribly stable right now.  So we decided to ski the Butler trees thinking it would be stable.  We were right.  The only problem is that just wasn't enough snow to cover all the small brush in that area.  The top was super nice, but once you got a bit lower it became more of a hunt for your line than it was skiing.  It was fun all the same, though.

Splitboarding through the trees

Randonnee: French for "Can't Tele"

Ski 7 - Monday Dec 15 - Close Encounters of the Moose Kind

Where: Pink Pine

With Whom: Jer

Time: 5am to the 8:55 train

Snow Conditions: Great skiing out there.  We did not notice any stand-out instabilities in the snowpack.  There were a few tracks where we skied, but the area was big enough to offer us great untracked turns for two laps.  

Jer on the first lap (it was still too early to ski without headlamps - yes, that is Jer)

Pink Pine lives up to its name

On the way out I came face to face with a moose.  I bailed off the trail one way and he bailed off the other way.  I then hurriedly got the camera out to get a shot of him.

Ski 6 - Saturday Dec 13 - Powder. Adventure. Snickers

Where: Wolverine, Grizzly Gulch

With Whom: Jer

Time: 7ish to 12:30ish

Snow Conditions: Some spots over the head blower, others less than that but still good.  Some cracking and collapsing in the snowpack.  A little moving snow (on purpose).

Jer dropping into Granny's Chute

Me exiting the chute and entering the bowl (nice shot, Jer)

Jer finishes his line in the Wolverine Cirque

A look at the snow we moved (on purpose)

Ski 5 - Tuesday Dec 9 - So Begins the Real Ski Season

Where: Patsy Marley Ridge

With Whom: Jer, Dave, Has, and Matt

Time: 5ish and to work by 10

Snow Conditions: A foot of new snow on top of crusts and rocks.  But don't be fooled folks, it was great!

I have been hearing people question the validity of this winter.  C'mon, people!  It is only December 9th.  Winter has not begun.  We cannot begin to write it off just yet.  I feel like this happens every year.  We get one or two early storms and people get all excited (myself included) and then it melts away and nothing happens for a while.  This is the point when people start freaking out and thinking it is not going to be a good winter.  Let me point you to what was probably the best winter of my adult life - last year.  Just look back at what was happening at this same time period in 2007... the same thing!  Don't fret, people.  Just be patient and the snow will come.  Oh yes, the snow will come.  

Lucky for me, the snow came yesterday.  I informed my boss that I was feeling something coming on and was not going to be able to make it to work in the morning.  But instead, I would be in around 10.  He agreed.  I met Jer at the LCC park n ride at 5am.  20 minutes later, Dave, Has, and Matt showed up.  I drove the new Suzuki SX4 for its very first ski day and it did great.  They had not been super on top of things with plowing the road and it was nice to have the AWD.  Upon arriving at the upper parking lot, I got a phone call from Has saying his transmission had blown.  I turned around and picked them up.  Then Dave realized he had forgotten his poles.  Needless to say, we got started a little later than I would have liked.  No problem.  We made good time.  We skinned to the top of Patsy Marley peak and arrived just as light was sufficient for some skiing.  We made some turns.  They were great.  As long as you weren't terribly worried about hitting some rocks with your skis, it was really great.  If you found yourself trying to tiptoe around them, then it was too much hassle.  That is why everyone should have a dedicated rock ski.  Now, if you plan it right, you can get several runs down Grizzly Gulch without having to put your skins back on.  You just ski the top bowl, traverse west, ski the center line, traverse west, and ski the opening bowl.  Jer and I did this while the others went to deal with the car issues.  We had some great turns and decided we had time to skin up for another in the lower bowl.  These last two runs were the best I have had so far this season.  I know this may not be saying much, but they were great runs.  My turns felt really good and things seemed to go quite smoothly.  We drove down the canyon with the soothing sounds of Kanye West and called it a quality ski day.  On Ski.