Beaver Creek 1/31

[Updated with pictures.]

Conditions: snowing, powder, packed powder
Temp: around thirty
Gear: skis

Tuesday, Kyle and I headed to Beaver Creek. It was supposed to have snowed overnight with the snow tapering off around noon. Instead it started around 9am and snowed most of the day. We definitely weren't complaining!


(The top of Arrowhead.)

Kindof a repeat of yesterday -- we skied the trees between Arrowhead and Bachelor Gulch, then those off Strawberry, then over to Larkspur. We found one spot in Larkspur that had gotten a little too much sun, but moving just a little over into the trees cured that problem.

After lunch we had another great run starting up top of Beaver Creek. We dashed through Jack Rabbit Alley, flew into Heads Up, shot through Corkscrew and finished in 4 Getta Bought It. That was more than enough to get us warmed up again after lunch. Despite the killer treewell that swallowed me up :) this was the best run of the day.

Then it was back to the Redtail trees. Evidently the wind blows and dumps all the snow there, that's why the powder is so good. And the trees are nice and open. And most people seem to stay to the groomed part of the trail. Anyhow, this seems to consistently be a great run.

Beaver Creek was awesome, but I'm looking forward to a little more variety -- tomorrow Vail!

'til later,
- Jeff

Beaver Creek 1/30

[Updated with pictures.]

Conditions: packed powder
Temp: mid-thirties
Gear: skis

Greetings from Colorado! We've all heard about the great snow that Colorado is getting this year, so I figured I'd head out for a little vacation. Not that the snow in Utah is bad -- we're having a pretty great year ourselves -- but the lure of record snowfall in CO was irresistible.

I spent my first day skiing at Beaver Creek (the Beav). Arrowhead (part of Beaver Creek) is less than 2 miles from my friend Kyle's condo. Can't beat that drive! And thanks to Kyle for putting my up for the week and showing me around the mountains.


(Arrow Bahn Express.)

Arrowhead is more of a residential area -- swank mountain homes and condos -- and less of the challenging terrain that I enjoy, so I quickly made my way over to Bachelor Gulch. I'd heard about some great tree skiing in the Gulch, but wasn't quite sure where to find it so I kept moving across the mountain. I'd return later in the day....

I had a great run off Larkspur to really get things going. Mind you, it hadn't snowed since Saturday but there was still some great powder to be found. There might have been a few tracks in it already, but it was far from skied out.

After a few more runs in the Larkspur/Birds of Prey area, I hit Spruce Saddle for an early lunch. It wasn't cheap -- nothing at a Vail resort is -- but it was a lot of food for the money. I left with a very full stomach.


(Spruce Saddle after lunch.)

I spent the early part of the afternoon on the main mountain at Beaver Creek. I had great runs through Heads Up, Corkscrew, and playing around in Jack Rabbit Alley. Thanks to a tip from a friendly couple from New Hampshire, I discovered the trees to the skier's right of Redtail -- great stuff.


(Skiers on Centenial at Beaver Creek.)

Then after a run down Rip Saw, I met Peter from Brooklyn. He mentioned some great snow under the Rose Bowl Lift and offered to snow me. We made a run there before heading to the Royal Elk glades -- killer stuff there! Then some nice trees just off of Strawberry before heading to Bachelor Gulch. Peter showed me the trees I'd heard about there. Unfortunately, we only had time for a few runs before I had to head back to Arrowhead lest I have to walk to my car. Thanks to Peter for those runs!


(Bumps under Rose Bowl.)

'til later,
- Jeff

Freestyle International World Cup 1/14

Deer Valley played host to the "Freestyle International" again this year. This is a premier competition of freestyle athletes including competitions in both moguls and aerials. Friday night and Saturday night saw competition under the lights.

Friday night I went up for the moguls competition. These are some awesome skiers! I have no idea how their knees can take the punishment. I don't remember the names, but Americas took first for both the women's and the men's events. Before the finals, Everclear played for an hour. The event concluded with a fireworks display.


(The moguls course under the lights.)

Saturday was the aerials competition. I got up in time to catch the men's qualifications. Unfortunately, the wind cause the round to be postponed several times. They finally decided the qualifications would count as the finals and we were witness to some incredible feats of acrobatics off the jumps. It was a bummer not to see the women compete -- they ruled that their qualification from earlier in the day would count as their finals - but it was fun to be there.


(The aerials jumps under the lights.)

After the jumping, Big Head Todd played a set and the night concluded with another fireworks display.


(Enjoying Big Head Todd on Saturday night.)


(Fireworks Saturday night.)

If you get the chance to go next year, this event is worth attending. All events are free and open to the public. Optionally, VIP passes are available to get you inside the VIP tent which includes dinner, snacks, beverages, and bleacher seating. Either way, you can't go wrong!

'til next time,
- Jeff

Park City Mountain Resort 1/14

Conditions: packed powder
Temp: upper-twenties
Gear: skis

The holiday crowds are in town, but nice weather combined with some good snow that fell during the week made it worth heading out anyhow.

As usual, I flew up Payday and Bonanza to get to McConkey's and away from the crowds as quickly as possible. The snow over there was great with some powder still to be found in the trees. I had an awesome first run down the Black Forest Glades.


(Black Forest Glades.)

I then noticed that, sometime during the week, they had groomed the center of McConkey's bowl. Now, I'd usually prefer it left alone, but it did open up that terrain to some skiers that might otherwise not have enjoyed it and I guess that's good.


(Trails off Pioneer as viewed from top of McConkey's.)

The snow on Comstock wasn't as nice as it looked. Obviously it had gotten sun all week and then set up hard. But a good set of edges enabled me to hang on for a fun, high speed run.

If you go, remember that Payday, Bonanza, and Silverlode will be crowded. But with the snow we are supposed to get tomorrow, it should be worth the wait.

'til later,
- Jeff

Park City Mountain Resort 1/8

Conditions: 5" powder+
Temp: mid-twenties
Gear: skis

A decent little storm hit the area last night, so I went to bed early planning on getting up to hit the slopes. There were a couple of inches at the base and plenty more at the top. Unfortunately, it had also gotten a little windy, so parts were quite windblown. But you're not allowed to complain on a powder day!

Jupiter was on a snow hold when I got there, so I headed straight for McConkey's. The bowl was nice as was the skier's left of Buckeye. I also had my first run of the year through the Black Forest glades -- that's some of my favorite terrain on the mountain. And another great run in 10th mountain. It was a short day for me, but definitely worth getting up early for.

Sorry no pics -- the battery in the camera got too cold and it wouldn't work. I'll try to do better next time.

'til later,
- Jeff

Brighton (Night Skiing) 1/6

Conditions: packed powder
Temp: 40 degrees
Gear: snowboard

What's the best part of night skiing? IT'S CHEAP! So a couple of friends dragged me up to Brighton for my first night skiing in about 10 years.



What's the other best part of night skiing? COOL SUNSETS!


(Sunset down Big Cottonwood Canyon.)

And it wasn't nearly as cold as I had feared. In fact, the temperature hovered around 40 degrees making it warmer than many days I've had this season.

We had a bunch of nice runs. I don't know many of the trail names, but we skied pretty much all of the 22 runs they have open at night. There were brief waits at the lift line, but nothing too bad. Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance.


(Jake shows me the way.)

Thanks, guys, for taking me up. It was fun!

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 1/2

Conditions: 2" powder overnight, snowed another 5-10" during the day
Temp: low-thirties
Gear: skis

What an awesome day! It wasn't supposed to start snowing until this afternoon, but I woke up to 2" of powder in the driveway and headed up to Deer Valley to ski with friends. Supposedly there are no friends on a powder day, but when one gets you a ticket, you don't mind.


(A friend shows me the way through the trees off Ontario.)

We started with a few runs off Sultan. Realigning and extending that lift was such a great idea! The trees were incredible. Knee deep powder. Big grins.

We headed over to Empire for lunch. Gotta love the carrot cake.

After recharging, we headed to Ontario. The hike in was a little work, but the run down made it all worth it. Anyone who says Deer Valley is just a bunch of blue groomers obviously hasn't skied there.


(Snowing hard at the base of Quincy.)

Later in the afternoon, we had a few nice runs under Northside and the trees near Silver Strike. Unfortunately, my legs gave out a little before four. Powder skiing can be a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it.

'til later,
- Jeff