Will do, it's the mini. You gonna be there?Quote:
Originally posted by xboat
count me in on the next LCC assault will ya? :D
Will do, it's the mini. You gonna be there?Quote:
Originally posted by xboat
count me in on the next LCC assault will ya? :D
man, i want to for sure but i have just enough vacation to do the tahoe summit. after this past trip though it made me realize that i can't rip very many consecutive days in a row. it kicked my ass and i tweaked my somewhat good knee at copper on sunday going from pow to catrack and getting back on my skis. :mad:
it felt like things just stretched and hurt for a couple minutes. no swelling and no pain afterwards. skied a couple more runs even, but now it just feels kinda unstable.
maybe a weekend kinda thing, we'll see??? i've been looking forward to getting back to snowbasin as much as anything. what did you think of that place?
1/4/04
Flykdog is on point and we are out the door on time to meet Meats of Evil, Lumpy and Buzzworthy at Snowbasin as planned. Damn this place is dope, a veritable Taj mahal of skiing infrastructure. Granite, Marble and a heated deck outside the main lodge combined with Gondolas and plush interiors that sit virtually unused waiting for someone to build condo's and a hotel create a local's paradise for sure.
MOE, Flykdog & Lumpy prior to boarding the gondy.
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic16882.jpg
It's snowing lightly at SB but the real story is again the wind and the cold. The upper mountain is getting blasted and is socked in the clouds. Vis is less than desireable and only gets worse as we ride the gondy higher. Through the fog I catch glimpses of the potential this place holds but sun has hit much of the terrain leaving a truly variable mix to the snow pack. Our first run leaves us all in agreement that the trees are the place to be if we want to do anything other than ski by braille.
My tour guides devise a plan and we work the Grizzly trees for nice stashes of knee deep fluff that the wind has kindly deposited in select hiding places. With a bit of traversing and duck walking we session a ridge over and over finding nice slots to play in all morning. These are followed by uber high speed blasts down the groomers to the gondy which Buzz is working triple overtime to rename the gonjy. repeated laps allow for a good study of Boss Hog and all I can say is DAMN! That thing is burly. The pics and video do not do her justice. The landing zone is way tighter than it appears on a monitor and the distance to clear the cat track is not to be trifled with. Respect level for those that have hucked meat there is raised a few notches higher in my book. Compared to my performance at Alta it's night and day. For one thing I can breath, which is nice. A good nights rest does wonders for the altitude adjustment and any lingering doubts about the strength of my ACL have faded into the fog. I'm stoked and having a blast knowing that all systems are go for the euro mini that is rapidly approaching.
The cold starts to wear on us and we vote for a nice long luxurious lunch at the the palace at the top of the gondy. This is 5 star stuff. The building is a soaring log cathedral with plush carpeting, a massive 4 sided fireplace, and leather arm chairs surround huge solid wood tables that belong in the finest eateries rather than a ski cafeteria. Even the food service area is decked out in brass rail and granite counters. $6.00 gets you a massive slice of pizza that is 1/4 of a pie and the crew does some serious grubbing. Between the gondy rides and this leisurely lunch there is plenty of time to get to know these maggots a bit and that is pretty cool. It's amazing the variety of stories, ages and walks of life we all have come from to arrive at this time and place in a shared vision of heaven and my faith in the maggot collective is once again kicked up a notch. Good peeps the lot of em and I'm honored to be the recipient of yet more maggot hospitality.
Emerging from the plush digs we are blasted with winds that are gaining strength and temps that seem to be dropping. The upside is that the sun is trying to poke through the fog and we decide to venture up higher to Lone Pine chute. The slog up the ridge is a lesson in sandblasting and by the time I gain the saddle I'm really fucking cold. Fingers are painfully numb and as we drop in one by one Flykdog informs me that my nose is looking rather white. Time to get the fuck off the top. My first turns find the top half of the chute holding deep crud with some rocks poking through what prior to "the storm" was a spine that divided it into two gullies. Lone Pine is about 1000 feet of perfect 50 degree pitch, and with untracked knee deep would be a 10 turn autobahn. Halfway down the snow is more fluff than crud and a quick cut to skiers right below the last of the rock walls yields the best turns of the trip in knee deep wind deposited super hero butter. We follow the wind buff for even more quality turns and all too soon we are out of the maelstrom and atop the grizzly ridge which is now a very familiar playground. It's nice to feel confident in the geography and we all rip off some of the most aggressive skiing of the day.
A few more runs and it's beer thirty down at the base lodge where even MOE is allowed to enjoy a cookie while we sample some liquid pleasures. While Lumpy and Buzz drool over a cougar here with her gaper man I begin the process of dreading my trip home. There is a storm brewing in the midwest and my flight plans are putrid even if all goes according to plan. The only trip home I could get had me leaving SLC at 8 pm and in Kansas City with a layover from midnight until 6 am, at which point I would catch a short hop into Chicago and head directly to work. After grabbing a shower at Flyk's I head out early to SLC in hopes of finding a more pleasant route home. No dice. The midwest is under siege and I'm lucky to be on any flight at all as cancelled flights are beginning to mount. First flight is delayed an hour and I arrive in KC to find the airport a ghost town. There are no airline employees in the entire building as the place was shut down with an ice storm. To make matters worse the airport consists of three terminals that require a bus ride to get from one to another. I grab a bus from A to C and look for somewhere to get a bottle of water if not some food. Not gonna happen. Nothing is open and I ask a wandering cop where I might be able to procure some sort of nourishment. He tells me the only prayer is a bagel shop in terminal B. A 30 minute wait for another bus and I'm in terminal B.
A bagel and a bottle of water now in my possession and I'm looking for somewhere to hang for the night. I opt to remain near the food source and start to seek a seating area to pass out in. No dice. Seems the place was built just prior to 9/11 and in order to secure the gates all the waiting areas have been surrounded in 10 foot tall glass walls the doors of which are locked once the last flight is gone. There are no seats, chairs benches or even a carpeted floor on which to rest. I find a corner and curl up on the terrazzo, my back pack the lone source of comfort for the next three hours.
Having set my phone to wake me @ 4 am so I could grab a bus to terminal C to check in for my flight I arrive before anyone including any airline employees. I spy the United E-ticket kiosks that are pleasantly broadcasting that they will come on-line at 4:30. The magic hour arrives and I slide the CC into the slot and try to get my ticket. Up comes my reservation on the 6:30 to Chicago followed rapidly by a standby re-reservation on the 1:30 pm flight. WTF?!@#%^^&#! I decline the ticket and park my ass in the front of the line to deal with a real person.
Actual human airline employees don't even show up unitl 5:30 and I question the first arrival as to what the deal is. The alternative lifestyle gentleman quickly lisps off that the flight is cancelled and that I'm lucky to be standby on the 1:30. WTF!@##!@# He disappears into the bowels of the airport and it's another 45 minutes before an all to disheveled yet perky woman emerges and directs me to use a kiosk which I ever so politely decline. Informing her of my experience in KC up to this point she pulls up my info and hands me a ticket on the 6:30 am flight! WTF!@#@#@# whatever, I'm glad to be on my way. Arriving in Chicago just after 8 am I am worked.
The thought of going to work is in stark contrast to the vision of my GF all snug in her bed with the day off. I phone the office and inform them that, sadly, I'm stuck in KC until at least 1:30 pm. They are not surprised as there was 6 inches of snow in Chicago and temps are hovering around 0 degrees F. Sneaking into my GF's I wake her with a grimy hug, grab a shower and slip into bed between her and Taylor, her 160# mastiff. Life is good and all is right with the world.
To all the Utards, another huge thanks. If you have yet to partake in the maggot network of hospitality I urge you to do so, it's a beautiful thing.
Excellent report from start to finish Truth...look forward to your next visit out here! Stop at the Shooting STar is in order during the mini.
good sheet mang!
you really like showers.
see you in slc.
Yeah...I guess my secrets out now.;)Quote:
Originally posted by tuffy109
you really like showers.
see you in slc.
The mini is gonna be a blast.
yes...yes it is.Quote:
Originally posted by truth
The mini is gonna be a blast.
OH YEAH!!!!Quote:
Originally posted by truth
The mini is gonna be a blast.
Excellent TR as usual!! Glad to be able to make some turns with ya and grab a cold one.
See ya in less than a month!!
Killer write up, can't wait to make more turns with you at the mini.
What is this 'shower' of which you speak?Quote:
Originally posted by tuffy109
you really like showers.
DTM, Buzz, Lumpy...no doubt fellas. Can't wait to hang with you folks again.
Roo...I think they are something like an upside down bidet. Does that help?
:D
Kinda odd reading about the ex...but still cool.
Thanks mang.