2/17/09

Day 31

Conditions: 10+ inches overnight; 3 feet in the past 2 days
Location: Squaw Valley, CA

There is a scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where all the kids bust through a metal door to find a magical candy world, Gene Wilder starts singing a song about imagination, and everyone is inexplicably happy. Well, substitute snow for the candy and that was us today.

We work up at 6 a.m. and turned on the television to find out how much snow the epic storm dumped on Heavenly. The weatherman reported that we received…(wait for it)…nothing! (I don’t use exclamation points often, but this one is warranted.) Meanwhile, less than 20 miles North, Squaw Valley had almost a foot overnight, and three feet in the past two days. Forget Heavenly; we piled into the car and made the hour and a half drive to Squaw Valley, despite the fact that the most direct roads were all closed.

Our effort was rewarded. Truth be told, the day started off rough. We took the wrong chair and ended up in an area full of killer-groomers. By the time we got to the KT-22 chair, most of the locals were on their fourth lap. Missing fresh snow hurts. Luckily, there was plenty of snow to go around. We had run after run after run of waist-deep – no exaggeration – powder.


Finding afternoon freshies in the trees.

The only bummer was the weather. It was snowy and windy, making visibility only a few feet at times. We didn’t get many pictures or video shots…but who has time for that junk on a powder day anyway?


Got snow?

Highlights:

- The deepest snow either of us have ever ridden (by far).
- Face-shots, white rooms, and a constant, floating sensation. Yes, we are referring to snowboarding, not those other things you are thinking of.

Lowlights:

- The locals had been waiting all year for a day like this, and they all went into work late so they could get in a few runs in the hill. Competing with locals for fresh tracks is tough because they know exactly where to go. We got their leftovers, but these sloppy seconds were oh so tasty. The upside? We got to see hotshots drop off some of the famous Squawllywood cliffs during the chair rides.

Après Ski:

We were so hungry from our full day that we stopped for pizza on the long drive home. We arrived back at the condo at 6 p.m. and were pretty whipped. We did have time to see MSU lose to Purdue.

Days to go: 19