After a lengthy drive through a near whiteout we arrived back in SLC around midnight with a few cases of real beer from Wyoming and stories to tell that no one would believe.
After not enough sleep it is off to Alta for the day, they only got 6" at mid mountain overnight. I'm feeling a bit under the weather, touch of a virus along with a long roadie the day before. 'Bird is correcting his planktitudinally challenged ways, we picked him up a pair of XXX's on the way up 7200 S. this morning so he is joining us. The rest of the single plankers went to hit Snowbird, they'll have to tell their own stories.
Arriving at Alta the lower mountain was socked in and bombs were going off like crazy, most of the upper mountain is closed when Collins opens. Heading up Collins we break out of the clouds, looks like once the clouds burn off it will be a bluebird day.
Ropes just dropped on the Shoulder.
Bird on skis for the 1st time in 6 years
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham042.jpg
Teledave
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham038.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham048.jpg
I wasn't feeling it today, so I bailed early and went to the car for a beer. Met up with Treskow on the bottom floor of the GMD and hung for a while, shared some tales and expressed my regrets for not being able to make the UT Mini the next weekend.
After I got back on the lift I recognized DanTheMan a couple of chairs in front of me. When I got off I stopped to chat with him, bagtagley, Stump, and some others I can't remeber for a minute. On my best day I would have been holding this crew back, so I declined making any runs with them and made a few nice mellow pow runs before lunch.
Some nice Alta scenics
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Alta-KC048.jpg
I saw a few tracks up on lookers right of the shoulder of Superior, maggots?
Probably.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Alta-KC046.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham037.jpg
Castle just opened
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham055.jpg
Had to take MBlacky to the airport, and pick up GaTom (aka Marshall Tucker) on Tuesday night. I think both would admit the screwed up by not making the whole week.
Wednesday, gotta hook up with flykdog at Powder Mountain. Someone wanted to know if I knew how to get there, "Hell no!" I figured I was good to just go past Snowbasn and keep going, turns out that was a pretty good plan. It's pouring rain as we leave Salt Lake.
About the time we passed the Sinclair station near Snowbasin the snow started, hard. The drive up to PowMow was pretty rough, wetter, slicker conditions than normal; turns out the storm system that week was always just barely below freezing and PowMow's lack of altitude didn't really help any.
Good to see a familiar face as we rolled into the lot, not much chance of being lost in the crowd at PowMow though. We shared the parking lot with maybe 75 other vehicles all day.
Visibility was somewhere between zero and I can just barely see 2 chairs in front of me, snow is wet, quickly covering the chairs and then soaking your ass on the ride up. Skiing, well it was damn good. Given the visibility we stayed predominately on the Paradise and Timberline chairs, but still had no trouble finding the goods. Next time I want to hit the place on a bluebird after storm day so that I can actually see where I'm going.
GaTom on his first day out
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b8...6/IMG_8600.jpg
Mr. Stinky
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham336.jpg
GreshamB
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham335.jpg
'Bird
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...wMow-KC005.jpg
Mark
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...wMow-KC002.jpg
Host for the day-Flykdog
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham315.jpg
Teledave-doing his best Flykdog imitation
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Gresham332.jpg
My ass has never been as cold and wet as it was at PowMow, worth every bit of it though.
On to Snowbird and Solitude to wind out the circuit....
tomorrow, maybe.
