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I hiked to the top of Caviahue. That was worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by dunfree
I had great snow at other places in NZ, just not at Cardrona and Coronet Peak. Oh and Mt Hutt which was shut on the three separate occasions I tried to ski it over the course of my month long visit.
You can load the dice in snowsure areas of Europe.
I slept in the toilet block at 49 North on a US & Canada roadie back in 2000.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive
Woke to awesome powder but no lifts running :(
How completely bizarre that you've named 5 random, off-the-beaten-path runs in 3 different countries, all requiring a scramble or hike to access, but which I have ALSO skied and consider exceptional. There can't be that many people in the world who have skied the exact same mix of 5 runs can there? It makes me wonder if one of my ski buds changed his online alias but never told me... LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by mogul5480
Definitely have not changed the alias, though that is really funny and random. The Chilean van shuttles were guided by a guy occasionally posting under cover here on the board, fwiw.
Oh I forgot that the best coincidence of all with maskinut is that my coldest day was ALSO -25 degrees at Mont Sutton, QC (thankfully no wind...-10 with -75 wind chill at Stratton was much worse). I dropped a glove off the lift onto a closed trail and had to ski down to it with my hand in my crotch to avoid frostbite.
I've added two this season already so here is a bump for 69...Ski Brule in the Yoopeee. 68 was Seven Oaks in Boone, Ia last weekend.
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Elko Ski Bowl opening Jan 7
I’d love to go there
69! Nice!Quote:
Originally Posted by uglymoney
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15 more areas added in the past year:
262 SNØ Oslo, Norway
263 Austdal Glacier, Norway
264 Valloire-Valmeinier, France
265 Sansicario, Italy
266 Sestriere, Italy
267 Sauze d'Oulx, Italy
268 Puy St. Vincent, Fance
269 Montgenevre, France
270 Claviere, Italy
271 Auron, France
272 Alpe d'Huez, France
273 Les Deux Alpes, France
274 Sybelles, France
275 Pebble Creek, ID
276 Great Divide, MT
We have a small group at firsttracksonline.com, but it is a well traveled one:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...e.14795/page-2
Individual details are on page 1 of that thread.
Chiming in a year late to give major respect to TonyC. Bestsnow.net has started me on some great adventures over the years!Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyC
10 more areas added in the past year:
277 Grimentz, Switz.
278 Crans-Montana, Switz
279 Aletsch Arena, Switz.
280 Lauchernalp, Switz.
281 Kleine Scheidegg-Wengen, Switz.
282 Murren-Schilthorn, Switz.
283 La Thuile, Italy
284 La Rosiere, France
285 Beaver Mt., Utah
286 Afriski, Lesotho
TR from July 10 at Afriski:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...10-2024.15022/
We were in southern Africa for a Namibia safari package trip June 20-30. So being in the vicinity I could not resist the chance to ski my 7th continent.
This has led to speculation of how many people have skied 7 continents. Charlie Sanders wrote an excellent article on the history, culminating in Kit DesLauriers being the first person to ski the Seven Summits in 2006:
https://bestsnow.net/Jimmy%207%20Con...%20Sanders.pdf
I was forwarded the above article by Jimmy Petterson (https://www.skiingaroundtheworldbook.com/) who lives in Austria during ski season but visits SoCal (where he grew up) during Dodger playoff season.
I skied Antarctica on the second Ice Axe Expedition cruise in 2011:
https://bestsnow.net/TRsFTO/20111114ChiriguanoBay.html
Doug Stoup continues to run these trips annually, though no longer exclusively for skiers.
https://antarctica.iceaxe.tv/ski/
At least one other company will accommodate skiers on Antarctic cruises:
https://www.travelandleisure.com/ski...itions-8603936
Jimmy Petterson skied Antarctica in 2003 with https://www.oneoceanexpeditions.com/antarctica
At that time I'd be surprised if as many as 100 people had skied Antarctica. A SWAG now might be more like 1,000 people. The further unknown question is how many of those have skied the other 6 continents. It took nearly 13 years for me to get around to it.
Seems like a long flight to only be in LA for a few days? :fmicon:Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyC
Jimmy arrives mid-September, visits old friends for awhile. He attends most late season home games too, some of them with me as I have 40% season tickets.Quote:
Seems like a long flight to only be in LA for a few days?
Are you a Rothschild? Jesus . Jet setter extrodinaire. Well doneQuote:
Originally Posted by TonyC
I'm 71 and have been retired since Sept. 2010. As noted before there was little unusual about my ski profile through 1996:Quote:
Are you a Rothschild? Jesus . Jet setter extrodinaire. Well done
I averaged 24 days/season during early family years 1984-1996. I was only intermittently competent in powder on traditional skis.Quote:
http://bestsnow.net/bionet.htm was what Leslie Anthony wrote about me for the 1995 Powder magazine cover story. At that point I had skied 62 areas, all in the western US except 4 days in New Zealand in 1982, 6 at Whistler in 1991 and 4 in the Northeast associated with business trips.
I acquired then new Volant Chubbs for the 1997 trip to Island Lake, Red, Fernie and Whitewater and thus got up to speed for powder skiing. The timing also coincided with the rapid expansion of cat/heli tenures in British Columbia, so I was able to try many of them, eventually settling upon Mustang Powder from 2010-2020.Quote:
Leslie is Canadian and touted interior B.C. skiing including snowcat and heliskiing, and you can see from the length of the British Columbia list that I heeded that advice starting in 1997 and have been up there nearly every season since.
My ex faded out of skiing by 1998. With that constraint gone I went on Extremely Canadian tours to Las Lenas in 2005 and La Grave in 2008 and also my only full heli week with Mike Wiegele in 2006. Average ski days per season jumped from 28 before divorce to 45 after.Quote:
I place some priority on skiing new places and the pace of that quest picked up considerably after divorce in 2004
The 9 seasons between retirement and COVID averaged 65 days. Having one's spouse be an enabler rather than a drag on one's ski aspirations helps a lot. Liz prioritizes new adventure experiences even more than I do.Quote:
retirement in 2010 and finding a partner in crime with Liz in 2011.
Despite the exotic travel, my Snowbird timeshare week and my early and often extensive late season skiing at Mammoth are very modest in cost. Wandering around the Alps flexibly in a rental car can probably be done less expensively than in the American West, considering the much cheaper lift tickets. I realize part of that is being retired with the Alps trips being close to 3 weeks.Quote:
When I retired in September 2010, the published reports were coming out of the first commercial ski cruise to Antarctica by Doug Stoup's Ice Axe expeditions in 2009, so I signed up for the next one in November 2011. I also took my first Japan trip in January 2011.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyC
truth here ^^^ would ski double the current days if it weren't for the tensions it creates...
That’s some early days of Island Lake as well before it jumped the gentrified shark. Nicely done
Ski Categories:
Most exotic: Antarctica, Lesotho
Most challenging runs skied:
Big Couloir, Big Sky, 2001
La Voute, La Grave, 2008
Little Chute, Alta, 2014
Errare Humane, Las Lenas, 2015
Eduardo’s, Las Lenas, 2015
Most consistent powder:
Mustang Powder Snowcat: 31 days in 10 seasons, the worst of them still half powder, 2/3 of them would make the top 3% of lift served ski days.
Japan: on fat skis 22 out of 23 ski days
Deepest powder: Chatter Creek Snowcat, Feb. 2, 2008, Mammoth, April 9, 1999
Overall best powder day: 28K vertical in ~4 feet new, Chugach Powder Guides, March 25, 2007
Link to TRs of top Heli/Cat/Powder/Vertical/Backcountry days: https://bestsnow.net/triprpts.htm#heli
Favorite North America Ski Areas, based equally upon terrain and snow reliability
1) Alta/Snowbird
2) Whistler/Blackcomb
3) Mammoth
4) Vail. Yes I’d like to see more true steep terrain, but steep enough for continuous powder skiing is what matters.
5) Jackson: magnificent terrain but exposure often degrades snow conditions by President’s week. That’s a really short reliable season when you’re spoiled by Mammoth being your home area.
6) Palisades: Low altitude in combination with Sierra snow volatility is a big problem. Intermediate runs can maintained by grooming. Steep areas are more sensitive to snow conditions. That’s the main reason Alta/Snowbird is #1. You can count on the exciting terrain having good snow more consistently than anywhere else.
7) Mt. Bachelor, some of the same issues as Vail, often best spring skiing in North America
8) Fernie
9) Crystal Mt.
10) Castle Mt., long fall lines in alpine and subalpine terrain, frequent wind reloaded snow, very low skier density.
In the Alps Val d’Isere/Tignes is the clear cut intersection of top 5 terrain quality and top 5 snow reliability. St. Anton is the Jackson of Europe: high snowfall, great terrain but predominant sunny exposure
Best uncrowded areas in North America, perhaps subject to change with evolving skier patterns:
1) Castle Mt., if you have ever skied there, no explanation is necessary.
2) Discovery, long fall line groomers on Grizzly, technical steep skiing on Limelight
For powder, Wolf Creek (excluding Texas holidays) and Targhee are still low density. Powder Mt.’s powder is generally degraded by sun or wind before it’s tracked out, though its new pricing strategy is a deterrent.
Brundage is a weekend area for Boise, deserted midweek, excellent spaced trees.
Apex and Red Mt. in B.C. have exciting terrain but are quiet because other regional areas are more accessible.
Sunlight is an interesting mountain completely ignored due to proximity to Aspen and Vail.
Similarly Sundance flies under the radar in Utah.
In the Alps even famous areas have minimal powder competition by North American standards, especially if they have an intermediate reputation. Cervinia, St. Moritz, Davos and the Via Lattea in my experience but I know this is generally true. And “small areas” in the Alps often have Vail-level skiable acreage.
Most Overrated: Revelstoke, Deer Valley
Injuries:
1) Left ACL on second day on skis in 1976. Lots of pain but not diagnosed until 1995 MRI because the knee is not unstable.
2) Torn meniscus 1995, resumed skiing 9 weeks later
3) Collision; broken ribs punctured lung 2008, resumed skiing 7 weeks later.
No surgeries, big picture I’ve been fortunate nothing too serious in 1800+ ski days.
Skis: I’m one of those amateurs greatly aided by advances in ski technology, starting with those Volant Chubbs in 1997. The Volant Power Ti was my daily driver 2000-2007. Since 2012 I’ve been on Blizzard Bonafides, which ski powder better than the Chubbs yet still rip groomers. I now have DPS Carbon Wailer 112s for the deepest days. I ripped edges out of the 2011 and 2017 Bonafides, now have 2015 and 2020 models. The revision in 2021 is not available in my preferred 180cm length.
I’ve been in Lange boots for roughly a decade each since 1981. I’m now in XT3’s which have a walk mode.
Spring Skiing: Mammoth and Mt. Bachelor. I have all the respect in the world for Squallywood terrain, but in terms of conditions March at Squaw is like April at Mammoth and the gap grows longer as spring/summer advance due to the top of Squaw being the same elevation as Mammoth’s Main Lodge. Recall my top lift served powder day was in April at Mammoth. To me, Mammoth spring skiing means May/June. Best examples:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...87/#post-69100
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...10-2019.14014/
The backside of Mt. Bachelor is so low density that you can get 1,500-2,000 vertical runs in butter smooth corn, example here:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...18-2021.14397/
A-Basin gets an honorable mention because winter conditions and often powder continues in late April and early May. But all of A-Basin’s steeps usually close mid-May for wet snow instability. Meanwhile Mammoth’s steeps are skiable to the bitter end, July in good years and a few of them made it to August in 2017.
Ski Records
Season length: 21 months, Nov. 29, 2010 - July 2, 2012
Days in one year: 80 from Nov. 29, 2010 - Nov. 17, 2011
Season vertical: 1,610K in 2016-17
Season powder: 291K in 2011-12
That trip and two days at TLH heli the next year firmly planted the hook and thus interior B.C. cat or heli became an annual trip. In my 70's the gentrified version of Island Lake is working just fine for me.Quote:
That’s some early days of Island Lake as well before it jumped the gentrified shark. Nicely done
quite the data dump ya got there...
Skiing more as you get older right on broheim.
Brilliant TonyC
Well done! We were in Lethoso a while back in July and contemplated driving over to Afriski, but didn’t commit the time to do it. I wish we would’ve. We hiked a bit at moderate elevations and had ice and small pockets of snow.
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My FIL, was an airline pilot for 30+years and was/is really big into their international ski team/club. He has skied most everywhere rockies-pacific ocean (canada included) having 4 or more chairlifts, and has skied at probably 100 european resorts alone. Has at least 5 or 6 japan trips under his belt too. His wife (also a captain with the airline) is samoan, and quite possibly has skied the most places of any Samoan ever, no joke.
Fun exercise, here is my list:
1. Sandia peak, NM
2. Taos, NM
3. Santa Fe, NM
4. A-basin, CO
5. Highlands, CO
6. Ajax, CO
7. Snowmass, CO
8. Beaver Creek, CO
9. Vail, CO
10. Copper, CO
11. Crested Butte, CO
12. Eldora, CO
13. Howelsen Hill, CO
14. Keystone, CO
15. Loveland, CO
16. Purgatory, CO
17. Steamboat, CO
18. Telluride, CO
19. Breckenridge, CO
20. Winter Park, CO
21. Wolf Creek, CO
22. Woodward PC, UT
23. Alta, UT
24. Beaver Mountain, UT
25. Brian Head, UT
26. Brighton, UT
27. DV, UT
28. Eagle Point, UT
29. Nordic Valley, UT
30. PCMR, UT
31. Canyons, UT
32. Powder Mountain, UT
33. Snowbasin, UT
34. Snowbird, UT
35. Solitude, UT
36. Sundance, UT
37. 49 Degrees North, WA
38. Mt Spokane, WA
39. Mission Ridge, WA
40. Bogus Basin, ID
41. Grand Targhee, WY
42. Lookout Pass, MT
43. Pebble Creek, ID
44. Silver Mountain, ID
45. Schweitzer, ID
46. Sun Valley, ID
47. Big Sky, MT
48. Skimore Olso, Norway
49. Beartooth Basin, MT
50. Jackson Hole, WY
51. Snow King, WY
52. Mammoth, CA
53. Mt Bachelor, OR
54. Timberline, OR
55. Termas de Chillan, Chile
56. La Parva, Chile
57. La Hoya, Argentina
58. Las Lenas, Argentina
59. Catedral, Argentina
60. Utah Olympic Park, UT
61. Mt Baker, WA* (skied through on the way to/from shuksan)
For my list I only included ski areas/resorts with ski lifts and cut runs. Since my mid-20s, I've mainly backcountry skied so I could add more places if I expanded my rules.
Love all the work TonyC! I actually started keeping a spreadsheet for every season/ski day starting in 2020 and I've really enjoyed having a "diary" of my skiing and the data to look back on. Nice to see who you skied with, where and how much vert. Plus I can then tell my wife that I only average 172 minutes per ski outing as opposed to here her version, "you ski all day, every weekend" :D and I have the data to back it up.
Here is my spreadsheet from last season: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
I have a blank I'd be happy to share with anyone that would like to use my template to track their days.
Wait mt spokane is actually a ski area. Huh. I just thought it was a 2pole dream