SSV pre-opening day TR

[Eldo]

Who's going tomorrow? I was at the hill today for a sneak preview. They spun some lifts and we made some turns.

Sorry to say but last weekend was not kind to the hill - 100k winds and rain in the village. The nice fluffy snow has settled into a very firm base which will be good for the remainder of the season. But there is NO soft snow to be found off the groomed. There is a breakable rain crust except where the grooming machines have reworked the snow. Think of it as spring skiing when it doesn't warm up enough.

Decent coverage in some areas, but rocks will show up in many spots if it gets busy on the hill. Standish is mostly windblown since there were no snow fences up. Best turns are on Wawa and Strawberry. We didn't ski Wolverine or JackRabbit.

I'll be up on opening day, tomorrow. It should be fun if you mainly want to get some turns, catch up with friends and get the season started. More terrain than the one run at Louise, but almost all beginner stuff. I will repeat that there is no pow to be found. That will have to wait for the next snowfalls. Bring rock skis and have fun.

Also heard some good news today about Redskea's situation. (I'm not sure if that's been posted here already. I've been off the forum the last few days while my computer gets fixed.)

[Ski Beaver]

I'll get the midday flight out of Sydney terminal 3 and meet you there by Saturday.

[eldereldo]

Oh good, now I don't feel so bad about being stuck in town all week. Does'nt look like it's going to get any better soon either, forecasts are still for warm and sunny. Better turn the imagination clock back to the start of October so I can deal with the 'delay' to the season. Or make plans for a road trip

[PlayHarder]

Conditions made it not worth skipping work for opening day, I'll save my powder days for fresh storms.
I may head up on Saturday for some mellow turns and a beer or two if anyones going to be out. If not, I've had my fill of green groomed runs for the year.
So, it looks like Red & Redskea will be back soon?

[Eldo]

Went up today for official opening day. It was nasty hardpack in the morning, kinda Nakiska-like until 11 a.m. Things were a lot better in the afternoon. The snow softened up and a lot of adventurous people were venturing off the groomed into the rain crust and breaking it up and making it actually ski/boardable. Ran into a bunch of the SSV regulars. Sunny skies and great weather for photo taking. Ended the day on a low note by whacking a knee of some shaded ice. Rather choked about my first fall in almost two years.

I will be up again on Saturday to get more pix. It's not ideal mid-winter conditions, but way better than sitting around waiting for the NHL stike to be settled.

Oh, and a patrol I chatted with on Wednesday said R's visa was winging its way to NZ, so hopefully she will be gracing our slopes again this winter.

[Idris]

Skied SSV today with mtnlion, girlguide, merlin,sin and others...

Got first chair on Wawa

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29601.jpg

Nice looking conditions from Wawa

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29600.jpg

Unfortunatley the snow was not as nice as it looked...everyone told me it was terrible......I still thnk it was much better than most alpine reorts will be a month from now...

mtnlion gets air

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29599.jpg

sin (I think) attepts the same

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29598.jpg

We left at noon....the snow would have been better later but the parking lot was full and there were lift lines...time for the $5cnd steak sandwich special at Wild Bill's

[Redskea]

Yep they say the visa is in the post.
Just time for a few more days touring in Tahoe then I should be driving north
Its been like a tropical holiday down here, with skiing, but I'm so stoked right now.

[Eldo]

Yep they say the visa is in the post.
Just time for a few more days touring in Tahoe then I should be driving north.

Great news! We will see you at the hill this season.

(BTW, very nice photos Idris. I'm sure many, many people in this forum have wondered if Mtnlion really exists. Everyone knows him as the unofficial (used) equipment supplier for all the Maggots, but it's nice to let people know that he's a totally rippin' skier as well.)