4/25/09

Day 49

Conditions: 5-8 inches, with more snow all day
Location: Snowbird, UT

If you asked us two months ago what day 49 would be like, we probably would have said Spring conditions. We assumed that by this point in the season we would just be punching the clock and trying to rack up a few extra days. Today was one of the top days of the year, and it was completely unexpected.


Great turns in Mineral Basin

We woke up to a snow report of five inches. We soon discovered that there was much more than that in most places on the mountain. We spent two solid hours in Mineral Basin getting fresh tracks on every single run. There were a few chunks below the powder, but not much. We also did some hiking in Mineral, at an area where apparently no snowboarders hike since it’s a very sketchy traverse. Some nice old skier gave us props for being up there while we held on for dear life.


Rounding the peak of the Mineral Basin Hike.


Dirk makes some turns after the hike.

After a few more hours on Little Cloud, we decided to go in for a snack. By that time, conditions had significantly worsened into all but Arctic conditions. There was zero visibility at the top, so it was the perfect time to go it.


Conditions take a turn for the worse, and Dirk puts on the facemask.

After our break the snow was even heavier. We decided to take the tram up and see how things were. The top of the mountain was the kind of thing you read about in John Krauker books – there was no visibility and the wind was violent. We thought about taking the tram down, but we knew that the last half of the mountain would have great snow. So we decided to ride down. The run that ensued was epic. We found crazy-deep stashes everywhere – in the trees, in the steeps, even on runs that were previously bumpy.

When we got to the bottom it was already 2:45, and we had planned to call it. But, we decided to take one more ride up the tram, even if the conditions at the top were arctic. It was the same: sketchy at the top and dreamy on the bottom. That run will matter in July.

Highlights:

- Finding fresh tracks all day long. It seems that most people in Utah have given up on riding for the year, so we had the mountain to ourselves.
- It was the kind of day where we ended every run with a smile or a comment about how surreal the conditions were. Those are the good days.

Lowlights:

- Dirk noticed the nametag of the Tram operator: Rich Duckworth. Apparently, Dirk read an article about him in a ski magazine. Dirk proceded to strike up a conversation with Rich about the article. Rich was not interested at all, but he did get several spars from some locals that overheard Dirk’s question. According to Dirk, “never in my life have I felt like such a gaper.”

Après Ski:


Days to go: 1