Ski 45 - Monday Mar 30 - Willow (not the movie)

Where: Willow

With Whom: Jason

Time: 4:45am and at work at 8

Ski Conditions: 12" new snow where we were.  Wind had blown some areas quite a bit.  It turns out it is still dark at 7am nowadays.  Who knew?  The skiing was really pretty good - even in spite of having to watch out for branches that may or may not hit you in the face. 

Transitioning in the dark.  Man, we really should have brought Ultras.

Ski 44 - Saturday Mar 28 - Multi-Glisse

Where: Pow Mow

With Whom: Glissers from work - Jeff, Jason, Roody, Michel, Nate, Wade, James, Amber, and Matt (I hope I didn't forget anybody)

Time: 9ish to 4pm

Ski Conditions: I was rather impressed with Powder Mtn.  We were able to get some good inbounds skiing - including groomed and chopped powder runs.  We also went for a short hike to James peak and got some good sidecountry skiing.  Ski cuts in the sidecountry brought a few hybrid dry/wet slides moving slowly, but with a lot of weight.  Very manageable, but worth noting.

Evidently, I can't escape the heli even if I leave the central Wasatch.  This one dropped right on top of us after we had hiked to the top of James peak and traversed a bit.

Matt was one of the two boarders.

Pretty decent snow was found in the sidecountry.

Ski 43 - Thursday Mar 26 - Deepest Day of the Year

Where: Butler Fork

With Whom: Jason and John

Time: 5am to 8ish

Ski Conditions: Can you ever have too much of a good thing?  Maybe, but if you have skis big enough you can't have too much snow.  We skied around 30" of the fresh stuff this morning.  It skied a little snow and you had to not drop too low in your turn or you began to wallow, but it was pretty sweet, nonetheless.

I just couldn't tell my boss that phone calls are not allowed on the mountain.

Jason wears blue.

A sequence of shots coming down.  #1

#2

#3 - Yeah, there was a lot of snow out there.

#4

#5 - Maybe a bit much on the vignette?

Jason didn't ski close enough to me to get the hero shots.  Man, I could use that Nikkor 18-200 lens right about now.

PSA - Flagstaff Forum

I break from my usual format here to let you know about an upcoming event that addresses the most pressing issue on the Wasatch backcountry.  The Friends of Flagstaff Mountain is a group of concerned citizens motivated to prevent the construction of a lift up Flagstaff and provide alternatives.  We are having a public discussion/forum Tuesday, March 31, 2009 from 6:30-8:30pm.  Representatives of Alta Ski Lifts, UDOT, the Wasatch backcountry community, and local business will be speaking.  They will also be available for questioning.  The event is free to the public and I highly urge you to make it.  This proposed lift could absolutely devastate the most accessible areas of the Wasatch backcountry.  Come.  Get involved.  Be a part of the solution.

Ski 42 - Tuesday Mar 24 - *SICK* Day

Where: Silver Fork

With Whom: Jason

Time: 8ish to 4ish

Ski Conditions: Variable wind scoured on west/northwest facing.  Nice and consistent powder on east/northeast facing.  Some warming on the east facing stuff by the afternoon, but still skied surprisingly well.

Yes, I meant to play with the current dual use of the word "sick" in the title.

The bottom of the first run wasn't terrible.

Some AT dude.  The falling snow on the upper right of the photo makes it look like I had a dirty lens.  Oh, well.

And you thought spring had begun...

2 feet of snow may say otherwise.

sick

Ski 41 - Saturday Mar 21 - Just That Time of Year

Where: Porter Fork

With Whom: Bowie and Samwise

Time: 10ish to 1ish (I never really pay attention on Saturdays)

Ski Conditions:  Warm.

Well, it is that time of year.  The time of year when come Saturday morning you have to decide whether you want to go skiing, go for a bike ride, go swimming, go running, go climbing, or any number of other activities.  Today, I chose skiing and so did my dogs.  My wife, on the other hand, chose to go for a bike ride.

The dogs and I took it pretty easy up on the hill today.  It was more of a stroll in the hills with some photo taking and a little skiing.  It is just that time of year... at least, until next week...

Things are starting to get pretty green around the cabins.

If it weren't for the super bright snow in the corner, I would be pretty happy with this photo.

Ski 40 - Saturday Mar 14 - PowderKeg 2009

Where: Alta, UT

With Whom: Other PKegers

Time: 3hr 25min 33sec

Ski Conditions: Uhhh... Let me get to that.

2009 was a new year for the Wasatch PowderKeg.  Earlier in the season the main sponsors from the past, Black Diamond and Patagonia, pulled out and the race was considered cancelled.  This saddened many of us Wasatch backcountry skiers - some it saddened to a point that they were not willing to accept it.  Chad and Emily Brackelsberg and Mark and G Christopherson took it upon themselves to keep the race alive.  They went at it from a grassroots angle - more low level sponsors - and succeeded.  I spoke with Mark and G a few months ago and offered to help if they needed it.  I was asked to design the poster for the event.  Easy enough (see the top of this post - can anyone find the blog post that the featured photo belongs to?).  I was asked to help with a few other graphic issues they dealt with during the preparation of the race and was happy to do so.  Stacy even got into the spirit and volunteered for the race.  She was given the fine job of being a timer.

The race came along fine and I even hear that they did not lose money which is great.  We had a storm earlier this week, but it has been warm since.  The PKeg course encompasses two north facing slopes and two south facing slopes.  The north facing stuff wasn't bad, but the south facing stuff wanted to gobble you up - it did not succeed.  I did the race division again this year and it took me 3hr 25min and 33sec.  Not bad, but I definitely have room to improve.  

It was a good race.  Friends were involved (Jer even came back into town just for the race) in racing and volunteering.  I look forward to doing it again next year.

All of the following photos were taken by Neils Valentiner (Jer's dad):

Isn't she just the cutest timer you've ever seen?

Jer goes down as he crosses the finish line.  How embarrassing.

Somehow, though, I don't think he was very embarrassed.

Thos came in shortly thereafter.

Then Dan - shouldn't he be a little more excited?

Ray just looks good enough for all of us.

Then there was me having done the longer course.

Jer, me, Jason, and Mark.

All smiles after the race - during the race it is a different story.

Ski 39 - Thursday Mar 12 - Apologies and Reconciliation

Where: Butler Fork

With Whom: Jason

Time: 5:40 to 7:15

Ski Conditions: Good

So, here's the story.  I spoke yesterday with Jason about doing a dawn patrol this morning.  It was all set.  We were going to meet at 5 at the park-n-ride.  Somehow, from the time we had spoken (around 7:30pm) to the time I prepared for bed (around 9:30pm) I had completely forgotten about it.  I slept as if I was waking up at 6 to get ready for work.  I was awoken from my deep slumber at 5:10am with a text message from Jason reading only, "WTF?"  

Oh, no.  I had forgotten about the dawn patrol.  This is only the second time I had ever done this and I felt awful.  I responded, "I am so sorry.  I totally spaced it.  I can be there in 20 minutes."  

To which he said, "No prob.  I'll go for a short hike.  Go back to sleep."

There was no way I was going to be able to fall back asleep knowing that I left him totally stranded (at least the one other time I have done this there were two of them together).  I responded, "No.  I am getting up.  Go get yourself a chocolate milk and I will be there in no time."  I got up and got everything ready as quickly as possible (thanks for your help, Stacy).  I grabbed my race skis as I could use the exercise and training for the Powderkeg this weekend.  I was out the door.  It was during the drive over that I realized I had not received a response from Jason.  This meant he had not received my note saying I was coming.  Now what?  I decided to drive up BCC and find his car (I had a pretty good idea of where he was heading).  I would then skin at Powderkeg speeds to catch up and ski down with him (I was about 30 minutes behind him at the start of my ascent).  I skinned as fast as I could.  The skin track did not make this easy for me as it was super slick and I was sliding badly in places.  I would catch glimpses of his headlamp above me while I was going, but they were deceiving as to how close they made me feel.  

I reached the top saddle and still had not caught up.  As I began to climb the final vertical feet hoping he was at the summit I heard, "I thought I told you to stay home."  I nearly wet myself.  He had turned his light off and was standing only 10 feet away from me.  I commenced my apologetic story and told him I would make it up to him.  He accepted (I think).  I practiced a quick transition at the top, took a quick photo, and we skied down by headlamp.  The skiing was surprisingly nice, and I was happy with the turns I was able to make even on those little skis that I stole from my wife.

I believe in the rules of the dawn patrol.  I live by them.  I do not expect others to hold me at a different standard.  That is why I felt I had to get up.  That is why I still feel like I owe Jason.  That is why this will never happen again.

Ski 38 - Tuesday Mar 10 - Wizardry

Where: Park City Ridgeline

With Whom: Bob, Mark, and Marla

Time: 8:15am and back to the car around 7pm

Ski Conditions: 2 feet of snow overnight.  It was a little inverted which translated to it skiing a little slow, but it was still great skiing.  We got in some good lines.  I wasn't as focused today on getting action ski shots.  It was kinda nice to just ski.  I still shot some, though.  Enjoy.

You can learn a lot from just watching how Bob assesses the snowpack.

Bob was splitting today.

There was snow.

I thought it was going to be windy and cold all day, but it turned out to be bluebird.

Hence the sunburn on my face.

Mark makes uniform turns.

Bob going up.

Bob coming down.

Marla shreds.

See?

Thus begins the final ascent.

And the long walk out.

Some nice 'biler gave us a ride down the canyon.  Due to space restrictions, I was in the back with the gear.

Ski 37 - Saturday Mar 7 - Bonkers

Where: Broads Fork - Bonkers

With Whom: Jason

Time: 8:30ish to 2:00ish

Ski Conditions: I don't want to use the following term lightly, but I believe today included my best run of the year.  The snow was light.  I never felt any crust layers.  The run was long and steep.  That is the way I wish all ski days were.

The walk in was rather pleasant.

Broads Fork

I was skinning fast enough that I had time to take a self-portrait.  Can you tell which hand I have the camera remote in?

Jason caught up and I got a quick shot of him, as well.

I had never been back here before.  Who knew it was so beautiful?  I plan to be back here more often.

The view from the top of Bonkers where you can see the valley (in the breaks of the clouds).

Jason can't believe how great the skiing is.

Going Bonkers?

Yep.

Having just gone Bonkers.