SNOWBIRD, UT — I woke up late and missed meeting Dan and Weibke at the park & ride, unfortunately. I headed up there still. I did, however, forget my socks, which, for me, is a potentially damning circumstance.
2011 Skiing Archive
November 27, 2011
A Disaster
November 26, 2011
Test Day
ALTA, UT — I drove up to Alta instead of Snowbird today to take advantage of the easier parking, smaller crowds, and more forgiving terrain. I had planned on trying out my new Lange RX 110's from Surefoot (long story), but I immediately removed them from my feet because I knew that all they were going to do was cause pain. So, I skied with my old Salomons again.
November 19, 2011
Here We Go Again
SNOWBIRD, UT — So, another ski season in Utah begins. This one begins, however, with my ski boot issues still unresolved, and my physical fitness level at the worst it has ever been. My skiing hopes have never been lower. I am, however, very excited to introduce my cousin, Dan, a new Utah local, to the mix for this season.
September 3, 2011
September Ski Day
ALTA, UT — With this ski day, I have now skied in every calendar month! Unfortunately, the skiing was not very good. Regardless, Dan and I had a great time.
August 6, 2011
Gunsight in August
ALTA, UT — Steve, Andrew, Tyler and I ventured to Alta to ski some August turns. This would be my second time skiing in August. This time, however, there was quite a bit more snow on Gunsight, which is a chute at Alta that gets a lot of snow and holds onto it well into the summer most every summer.
June 11, 2011
June 11, 2011
SNOWBIRD, UT — The skiing continues to be pretty superb up at Snowbird. The bare spots are few and very far between. All the major cat-tracks still have plenty of snow (even those on the lower mountain). The biggest problem this weekend is the heat--and it's not even as hot as it usually is here this time of the year. The heat turned the snow into water-laden sticky mashed potatoes by about noon today on the lower mountain.
June 5, 2011
June Skiing
SNOWBIRD, UT — After a long hiatus and a hellacious couple months at work, I decided to go skiing on the best weather day of the year thus far. With temperatures rising into the upper-80s in the valley and near 70 up at Snowbird, the conditions wouldn't hold for long.
April 9, 2011
It Was One of Those Days
ALTA, UT — A late-season storm of ridiculous proportions dropped 26.5 inches of snow starting on Thursday afternoon. The timing was perfect for this ski day to be one of those ridiculously great ski days in the Wasatch. In addition to the snow that had already fallen, there was a 100% chance that it would snow all day today, too. In addition to the previous snowfall superlatives, it is April, so many people have already given up on skiing for the season, which would leave the mountain uncrowded.
March 26, 2011
Back on Skis
ALTA, UT — I had given up on skiing this season until Mindy wanted to go this weekend. I only skied the Sunnyside lift with her, but I had an absolute blast.
March 13, 2011
Snowbasin is Legit
SNOWBASIN, UT — I hadn't been to Snowbasin since 2003. Of my vague memories from that ski day, the immaculate lodges and the Grizzly downhill course stood out in my mind the most. That Snowbasin ski day was my third ski day in Utah, ever. 115 Utah ski days later, I see the mountains differently. Whereas eight years ago my friend and I stayed on the well-defined trails, today the whole mountain is a possibility. My new view of Snowbasin leads me to to conclude that this mountain is legit. There is plenty of great terrain for exploration at this ski area. The only negative about Snowbasin is that it's elevation is much lower than Alta or Snowbird, which negatively effects its snowfall and its snow conditions.
March 12, 2011
March 12, 2011
SNOWBIRD, UT — Unfortunately, the conditions were not very good for Brendan, Chris, Chris and Mike's first ski day of their trip. There were pockets of good snow, but the conditions seemed to get worse as the day progressed, despite a mid-day snow squall. My new ski boots were even worse than the conditions, but, at least, I was able to ski with Brendan and his friends. Other than enjoying my time skiing with those guys, there wasn't too much else exciting about this ski day.
February 27, 2011
First Few Tracks
ALTA, UT — Well, I finally got to ski today after last weekend's debacles. I woke up at the crack of dawn determined to get in at least one run of fresh tracks somewhere at Alta. My car was one of the first 10 or so in the parking lot, and, if I didn't have to wait for the demo shop to open, I could've put my skis in line (a custom Alta practice) ahead of everyone else.
February 12, 2011
Night Skiing at Brighton
BRIGHTON, UT — After wasting another four hours of my life at a ski boot fitting shop, I decided to take my new boots up to the mountains to give them a few test runs.
February 9, 2011
Comp Time!
SNOWBIRD, UT — After working over the weekend about a month ago, I received a much-deserved comp day off from work. I resolved to turn this Wednesday into an epic mid-week bluebird ski day at Snowbird, which had received 16 inches of fresh powder on Monday night.
February 6, 2011
Awesome Ski Day
SNOWBIRD, UT — So many things were awesome about this ski day that it's hard to know where to begin. First of all, I got my stolen skis back, and I was skiing on them again for the first time. Secondly, there were pockets of terrific powder snow conditions to be found if you knew where to look. Finally, I skied better and more aggressively than I think I ever have. Everything clicked.
January 30, 2011
Beautiful Day
ALTA, UT — It was a clear, beautiful, warm weather day up at Alta with a terrible inversion settled into the valley. I just ripped run after run on the perfectly groomed Race Arena run while Mindy did her thing on Blue Bell.
January 22, 2011
Storm Skiing at Alta
ALTA, UT — Rode the bus to Alta. Skied on Atomic Crimson Ti skis on this day. Strange day. Lots of wind in the morning. Eventually the front passed and a storm settled over Alta that produce copious amounts of snow. Found a spot off the high traverse I loved, so I skied laps. I just kept getting on at the Collins mid-station.
January 17, 2011
Terrible Conditions
ALTA, UT — I escaped from a weekend of work to possibly the worst conditions I have ever seen at Alta. (Of course, they were typical conditions for back east, but this is Alta!) Apparently there were torrential rains the day before. Mindy and I had a good time, but not at all because of the skiing. We didn't stay very long. Garlic burgers and beers at the Cotton Bottom Inn kind of saved the day.
January 9, 2011
January 9, 2011
SNOWBIRD, UT — Enjoyable ski day with Steve and his dad. A bit of fresh snow on the ground. Last run of the day down one of the Upper Cirque chutes was challenging, but fun.
(more coming soon)
Rating:
January 1, 2011
Bluebird Powder Day
ALTA, UT — Deep, fresh powder tracks coming down from Catherine's Area, and more.
(more coming soon)
Rating: