Park City Mountain Resort 1/29

Conditions: packed powder
Weather: low 20s
Gear: K2 Recon Riser snowboard

So, after skiing only 3 times in the last three weeks, mostly due to a nasty sinus infection, I decided to get out today even though I knew the snow wouldn't be great. It hasn't really snowed in over two weeks, so what we've got is well packed and even a little thin. Still, the snow here beats that back east any day! (And I can say that 'cause I grew up skiing back east.)

Park City was nice. The Sundance crowds are gone (though they don't ski much anyhow) and the mountain was pretty quiet. Snow on trails where they made snow is pretty good. So I mostly stuck to groomers. Nothing exciting, but better than being inside all day.

Hopefully we'll get a storm soon. Come on, Mother Nature! Hit us with your best shot! I'm talking feet of snow. I've got plenty of gas in my snow blower, so bring it on! :)

'til next time,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 1/21

Conditions: 1" powder
Weather: twenties, clear
Gear: Rossignol Z9 skis

So, after almost 2 weeks of being sick, I was finally feeling well enough to hit the slopes. Mother Nature delivered a little snow overnight, but it only amounted to an inch at Deer Valley. Still, it was a beautiful day and a bit warmer than it has been.


(Top of Empire looking towards PCMR.)

As usual, I spent much of my time in Empire. It's nice because it has the best snow, the best terrain, and the lift is in the sun all day!


(Blue skies!)

Although it is Sundance, the crowds seem mostly confined to town. Seems like none of the visitors come up to ski. Fine with me! I'll take the slopes all to myself.


(Daly Chutes.)

'til later,
- Jeff

Freestyle World Cup 1/13

Once again, the best freestyle athletes in the world descended upon Deer Valley for a Wold Cup competition. The weekend featured both aerials and moguls competitions under the lights. This is always an awesome event to watch.


(The moguls course at Deer Valley.)

This year, due to extreme cold, I only made it up for the dual moguls competition on Saturday night. Despite the temps, the athletes were hot and put on an amazing show. I don't know how their knees can do it! More than one athlete apparently lost control only to regain it and finish the run. These skiers are truly amazing.


(Me, Kelvin, Eric, Nikki, and Tom.)

If you ever get the chance to watch one of these competitions, definitely don't miss it.

'til next time,
- Jeff

BRRRRR! Park City Mountain Resort 1/12

Conditions: powder
Weather: COLD - low single digits, clear skies
Gear: K2 Recon Riser snowboard

Damn it's cold! So this latest storm (9" or so) was followed by an impressive cold front. Temps at the resort today were in the low single digits. And that's before the wind shill factor. It made for a cold nose, but the powder was definitely worth getting out in.


(Top of Bonanza/Motherlode.)

I had a decent run down Double Jack. There was some nice powder on the edge of the trail. But things were still a little scraped out between the moguls. Same on Hoist. I'm glad we got this last storm, but another 3 or 4 feet would help. :)


(Top of Thaynes.)

The trees off Hawkeye weren't quite as nice as I had hoped -- still too many little branches poking up through the snow. But there were a few nice turns to be had. I continued to McConkeys where I made a few runs before calling it a day.


(Aspens off Hawkeye.)

If you go, remember to bundle up! The Freestyle World Cup is also going on at Deer Valley this weekend. If you get a chance, go check it out.

'til next time,
- Jeff

Snow at Solitude 1/5

Conditions: powder
Weather: upper teens, mostly sunny
Gear: K2 Recon Riser snowboard

After the dump yesterday we decided to head up to Solitude first thing this morning to see if there was any powder left! And, man, was there! What an awesome day.



Even though the snow stopped around 5pm last night, there was still plenty to be found at Solitude. This place really earns its name. We did a couple of runs off the high-speed quad before heading up to Summit. We had one run up there where there were absolutely no other tracks to be seen. Incredible!



Then we had an awesome run down Honeycomb before calling it a day. It would have been fun to stay longer, but gotta work sometime. :)

'til next time,
- Jeff

DUMPING! Deer Valley 1/4

Conditions: powder!
Weather: twenties, snowing
Gear: Rossignol Z9 skis

All our snow dances must have paid off! I woke up to snow this morning and headed up to Deer Valley to take advantage. It was awesome to watch the temperature fall and the snowflakes get bigger as the day went on.

After turkey chili at Empire Lodge, I skied all Empire all afternoon and it was incredible! There must have been 6" of fresh after lunch and it just kept coming. Runs down the bowl were nice as were the trees and everything else you could find. I didn't want to quit but my legs did. Four days in a row will do that!

'til next time,
- Jeff

Three in a Row 1/3

Conditions: lousy
Weather: thirties, overcast
Gear: K2 Recon Riser snowboard

Third day of 2007, third day in a row on snow. We'll see how long I can keep this up! My record is seven days in a row (last season).

I went up to the Canyons for a few runs this afternoon. The snow was thin and soft. Temps in the upper 30s weren't helping anything. We really, really need some snow out of this storm! Let's all do a snow dance tonight!

'til next time,
- Jeff

Alta 1/2

Conditions: packed powder
Weather: near 30, partly cloudy
Gear: Rossignol Z9 skis

Tuesday I made it up to Alta for the second time this season. The snow is definitely better than it was opening weekend! While you still have to keep your eyes open for rocks, the coverage is generally pretty good. Though I'm really hoping this storm coming at the end of the week brings us a little more powder.

I spent most of the morning on the Collins side of the mountain. Long runs top-to-bottom covering a nice sample of the available terrain. I even made a few runs off Wildcat. Then bumps in Punch Bowl were nice and gentle and didn't beat me up too bad!


(View from top of Supreme.)

After lunch at the Watson Shelter, I decided to check out the other side of the mountain. I had a bunch of nice runs off Supreme before the lines picked up. I'm was too impatient to wait (imagine that!) and enjoyed a few groomers off Sugarloaf before heading back.

As I've said before, I really love this mountain. Lots of great memories of skiing during grad school and awesome terrain. I can't wait to hit it on a powder day. Keep your fingers crossed for snow!

'til next time,
- Jeff

New Year's Day at Deer Valley 1/1

Conditions: hard pack
Weather: 30, sunny
Gear: Rossignol z9 skis

What a way to kick off the New Year! I took it kinda easy on New Year's Eve so I could get up early and be at Deer Valley when the lifts opened. While there were more people there than I had expected, it was far from crowded. It was a great day to be out on the slopes.


(Top of Sterling Express.)

After a quick run down Last Chance to warm up and a few runs off Sterling, I met up with some friends and headed over to Northside. I'll write more about my new Z9's soon, but let me tell ya -- they're AMAZING on the hardpack. Funnest ski ever! Anyhow, a few nice groomers there there and off Silver Strike then we headed to Empire. Gotta love the sun on Empire.


(Afternoon sun on the way to Deer Crest.)

Lunch was at Empire (burger and carrot cake -- yum!) before we headed back across the mountain. Stuff off Sultan was still kinda icy so we made our way to Deer Crest before calling it a day. We could sure use some more snow, but still a nice way to start 2007!

'til next time,
- Jeff