Snow Skiing 22/23
- Thread starter Chris in Santa Cruz CA
- Start date
Son of a Sailor
Super Anarchist
The conditions have been dismal this year but we got a few decent days in here and there. Last Thursday at Stowe was decent after the 8 to 10 inches overnight.
I was one of the last holdouts in our group getting a helmet until our son started skiing 8 years ago. I wish I had done it earlier. I find it so much more comfortable.
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MR.CLEAN
Moderator
- Moderator
- #123
Took wifey through a couple of the short but nice north face glades here (mt. snow, vt) after dropping kid off at school yesterday. 4" of fresh on top of 8" on Sunday, 38 degrees, no wind. Slow going as she got used to it and nothing like a day at berthoud pass or steamboat, but glorious nonetheless! We have more snow in the forecast, hopefully we'll get enough so i can get in 5 or 6 more good days in march.
We had a smattering of actual snow today and the superstitions are covered. LOL. Yea global warming isn't a thing... South of phoenix BTW... LOL.
Bump-n-Grind
Get off my lawn.
flying back out on Saturday. pick up my truck in Denver and up to Vail for a week or so before heading back east. logged right around 30 days so far and somewhere's around 650k vertical feet if you believe the apps that log that shit.
bmiller
Super Anarchist
After retiring last season I've gone then opposite direction.
Only 3 days on the hill so far, that's nuts for me.
But we had warm weather pursuits in mind this season so it worked out.
I skied Monarch yesterday on what should have been a great day. But since I haven't been hitting it hard I felt like shit most of the day. I decided to get off my ass and take advantage of all the opportunities I have to ski. Lazy ass bum........
Chris in Santa Cruz CA
Super Anarchist
- Thread starter
- #127
Over 20 days now in Tahoe. This weeks storm I am shoveling snow 10 feet up to clear the car park spot. I have skied fresh powder four out of the last 7 days. Completely nuts in the sierras this year. I finally bought powder skis. Atomic bent chetler 192cm, 120mm under foot. Total game changer in deep snow. I finally know how to ski powder I think. Will confirm tomorrow as they open the rest of homewood. You get three days of fresh tracks there cause after a big dump it takes them three days to completely open the resort.
spankoka
Super Anarchist
Heli-skiing is probably done for the season in BC after the recent incident in Invermere. If the insurers of the helicopters are liable, is above my pay grade. I think there is lots of good terrain at ski resorts that went broke, etc., that could be accessed by Snowcats in North America.
Bump-n-Grind
Get off my lawn.
if you ever make it to the chesapeake bay, give a holler and I'll get ya out on a boat.
Cruisin Loser
Super Anarchist
I'd be interested to know the details. Snowpack evaluation is pretty critical, on our trip a couple of weeks ago we got a LOT of snow, as a result we had to stay out of steeps and alpine areas the last couple of days due to slide danger. A lot of the alpine stuff is quite steep with no trees. Avalanches can still occur in the trees, with huge potential for death by trauma, i.e. getting slammed into a tree.
Heli is really unlike anything else, your reliance on the skill and knowledge of the guides and pilots is total. I return to the same place again and again because I know and trust the guides.
It's no nonsense skiing. No pot, no schnapps, no headphones. Never ski below your guide, and pay attention to everything he says.
A few years ago some europeans were seen nipping off a flask at lunch, just one nip each. They were sent down in the lunch helicopter. Tough lesson on a bluebird powder day, but zero tolerance means exactly that in the mountains.
Heli is really unlike anything else, your reliance on the skill and knowledge of the guides and pilots is total. I return to the same place again and again because I know and trust the guides.
It's no nonsense skiing. No pot, no schnapps, no headphones. Never ski below your guide, and pay attention to everything he says.
A few years ago some europeans were seen nipping off a flask at lunch, just one nip each. They were sent down in the lunch helicopter. Tough lesson on a bluebird powder day, but zero tolerance means exactly that in the mountains.
The Nelson Police have been awesome. Just found out today that they have recovered and are shipping to us most of the stolen gear and clothing. Just a few, albeit expensive, items still missing. The attention to what, in the US, might be considered minor property theft, has been astounding.
giegs
Super Anarchist
- 1,169
- 671
I'm not a huge fan of zero tolerance approaches since I've rarely seen them enforced consistently and it can encourage hiding potentially problematic behaviors. It's critical for guides and insurers, but structuring things like indulgences to have some control over client behavior is often a better path. Really depends on the clientele and staffing.
Zero tolerance often just means more lying and associated increase in risk.
Skiing some cinder cones this weekend. Most years I'd be concerned about dead & down trees from an old wildfire, but with the snow pack this year it should be gravy. Makes for some really fun backcountry touring.
Zero tolerance often just means more lying and associated increase in risk.
Skiing some cinder cones this weekend. Most years I'd be concerned about dead & down trees from an old wildfire, but with the snow pack this year it should be gravy. Makes for some really fun backcountry touring.
bmiller
Super Anarchist
I will definitely do that if I ever get out there. I do have a brother who lives in Norfolk so you never know.
Which pass do you have? Can you get on Copper so we can ski again? Not likely I'll buy a Vail ticket.
Bump-n-Grind
Get off my lawn.
Im right across the bridge tunnel from your brother. About a minute off I64. I get both big passes every year. I may work at vail again next season but will still buy the ikon pass.
giegs
Super Anarchist
- 1,169
- 671
A couple weeks of laying around really tanked my cardio. Zero chance of keeping up with friends for a full day today, but got to ski some new terrain. 140+" so far this season, another round of storms will make for some great t-shirt weather soon. Hopefully I can get my ass back in gear before it all melts.
giegs
Super Anarchist
- 1,169
- 671
What the heck is the Sonoran Avalanche Center?
A sardonic social media account gains popularity from taking down sacred ski idols and imagining a future without snow.
www.hcn.org
Bump-n-Grind
Get off my lawn.
an almost springlike day cruising thru all the bowls at Vail. my legs haven't hurt this good in a while 
should be a rerun tomorrow
should be a rerun tomorrow
MR.CLEAN
Moderator
- Moderator
- #137
Pretty crazy few days in southern vermont. 46" of actual snow recorded at Mt. Snow, we had a few less. Had to swim through the snow to clean my boiler vent this morning, we had no heat. Went out yesterday in 3"/hour stuff with wife and kid, not quite sierra cement but more like a typical rocky mountain march blast. Heavy, very bouncy, and I'm definitely buying fatter skis this off season.
Kid loved it for one run, then wore out and got stuck and had to be rescued and went in for pizza with wife. I was loving it on my third run ready for more until I went through a drifted up section with a bit too much weight forward and did a full face plant with both skis releasing 6 feet under the surface and my entire body stuck vertically in the freezer. By the time I found my skis and dug myself out, I was soaked to the core in sweat and finished too. Been probably 15 years since I was in powder that deep, but it came back well and I wasn't constrained by knowledge or skill - just by old ass muscles and worn out knees.
Kid loved it for one run, then wore out and got stuck and had to be rescued and went in for pizza with wife. I was loving it on my third run ready for more until I went through a drifted up section with a bit too much weight forward and did a full face plant with both skis releasing 6 feet under the surface and my entire body stuck vertically in the freezer. By the time I found my skis and dug myself out, I was soaked to the core in sweat and finished too. Been probably 15 years since I was in powder that deep, but it came back well and I wasn't constrained by knowledge or skill - just by old ass muscles and worn out knees.
[email protected]
Banned
- Banned
- #138
wow, beautiful! hopefully casa de clean has the heat situation sorted! do you have some sort of a back-up heating device like a wood burning stove?
MR.CLEAN
Moderator
- Moderator
- #139
That porch is normally 4 feet above grade, and the railing is 4 feet above that.
Turns out the "Induction fan" which runs the exhaust on the boiler is on its last legs. I manually spun it up and got the boiler running again, but it sounds like the bearing is shot and the boiler guys just told me it's only available as a unit with solenoid and circuit board and squirrel cage. Fucking 1000$ for the part!
I do have a fireplace insert with a fan that does a decent job of keeping the living room warm, a space heater in the bedroom, and one of those big Empire burners on the wall in the basement, so I should be OK. Little brother driving up tonight for a nice day of running groomers in the sun tomorrow.
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Old Pirate
New member
- 27
- 14
The Lake Tahoe region is at 662 inches for the season, with more coming. Yes it is possible to have too much of a good thing, I had over 8 feet of snow on the roof of the house, got about half of that shoveled off before a couple of warmer storms came in that had rain at 6200 feet. I'm at 28 days of skiing so far this season with some epic powder days, and the spring skiing will probably go until the end May. Palisades will likely re-open for July 4.
