Snowbird 6/20

[updated 6/22 with photos]

OK -- maybe *one* more day! :)

So I was pretty sure that my season was over after snowboarding on May 3. But Snowbird kept extending their season and I couldn't resist the urge to get in just one more day. So, with the a/c cranked in the car, I headed up to the 'bird for a few runs.

You know it's going to be a good day when you need the a/c for the drive to the ski hill!


(View from the top of Mineral Basin Express.)

Snowbird still has the tram, Mineral Basin Express, and Little Cloud lifts open. And it wasn't crowded at all -- there were more sight-seers in the tram than skiers.


(Me.)

The snow is about what you'd expect for late spring skiing -- very soft and sticky. Pretty dirty. Definitely a day for the rock skis. Not "good skiing" but rather "good to be skiing". But you can't complain when skiing in June.


(Don't forget your rock skis!)

And it was pretty nice to ski in just a t-shirt.


(On the top.)

I gave up about 1:30. As I headed to the parking lot, it was 73 degrees! And it was 94 as I drove through Salt Lake City on my way home. Crazy! Days like this you should be water skiing, not snow skiing.

With today, that brings my total to 54 days of skiing this season (a record for me). It's also the longest lift-served season I've ever had -- my first day was October 15 at A-Basin and my last June 20. That's over eight months! I've actually hiked in July and September making August the only month I've not been on snow. Maybe I shouldn't put my skis away yet... :)


(Salt Lake viewed from the top of the tram.)

Sunday 6/22 is officially closing day at Snowbird. If you go, don't forget the sunscreen and drink plenty of water. Enjoy!

'til later,
- Jeff

Season Wrap-Up 5/19

So, I think I'm finally ready to admit that my 2007-2008 ski season is over! Not that I couldn't ski more if I still wanted to -- Snowbird is still open weekends through June 1 -- but I think I've had enough.


(Powder at Deer Valley.)

What a great season it was! It got off to a slow start with little snow in November. But December and January were huge! So much snow! At one point, we got over 90" or snow in 10 days. Powder day after powder day. Incredible!


(Dual moguls under the lights at the Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley.)

And the spring skiing was pretty good too. There were a few warm sunny days, but also still a lot of powder days. I was in Colorado at Beaver Creek and they got 2' of snow 2 days before they closed. In fact, I had 9 powder days out there in the two weeks before closing weekend.


(With Bryan at Deer Valley.)

And mother nature is still toying with us. May 1 Snowbird reported 23". Then it was sunny and warm. Then snowed again. So, if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes. It over 80 degrees today yet I hear it might snow on Wednesday. :)


(Me at Deer Valley.)

Anyhow.

As for numbers, I finished up the season with a record 53 days (beating last season by one day)! Most were at the Park City resorts (Deer Valley (19 days), Park City Mountain Resort (15), and a few days at the Canyons). And I did more skiing (34 days) than snowboarding (19 days), as usual.


(Me at Keystone.)

How can I ski that many days at that many different places you ask? Thanks go to the good folks at Ski Utah. I'm lucky enough to have a Ski Utah Silver Pass that allows me to ski up to 30 days at each resort in the state of Utah. Combine that with a flexible job (I'm a REALTOR in Park City) and I'm able to ski a lot.


(Jeff, Kyle, and me at Breckenridge.)

Now, with the skis put away for summer, it's time to focus on selling some houses. If you have any real estate needs in the Park City area, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy the outdoors and we'll talk to you again soon when I get out the mountain bike and trail shoes.

'til later,
- Jeff

Park City Mountain Resort 3/24

Another day of spring skiing. Overnight temps were in the mid-twenties. But it warmed up quickly and hit a high near 50. The snow was a little firm at first, but softened up nicely.

I don't get down to the Town Lift very often, so decided to check it out today. Both Quittin' Time and Creole runs were in great shape and there was no line at all for the lift -- that couldn't be said for most other lifts on the mountain.


(Old Town (foreground) from Quittin' Time run.)


(The old and the new.)

I'm surprised at how crowded things still are. I thought the crowds might die down after Easter. But there must be enough schools still on spring break. I guess Park City is just that popular. :)


(Beautiful slopeside living.)

I made a couple of runs off Thaynes (Double Jack and Comstock) and McConkey's (Tycoon and Sunrise) before finishing up on Silver Skis. A short day, but fun nonetheless.

If you go, remember it's a bit firm in the mornings. Maybe better to wait a bit and let the sun soften things up. But keep in mind that those runs that get the sun all morning will be slushy by the afternoon. Move around the mountain and find something you like.

' til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 3/23

Happy Easter!

I spent the day chasing the Easter Bunny around Deer Valley. It was yet another beautiful, sunny day -- great spring skiing.

Expecting crowds in the lodges at lunchtime, we stopped for an early lunch at 11. We had no trouble finding a table that early and the carrot cake was (again) excellent. Easter / Easter Bunny / Bunny Carrots / Carrots Carrot Cake. Therefore Easter == Carrot Cake. :)


(Lunch.)

We started the afternoon on Wasatch but quickly headed over to Northside and eventually Empire. Lots of people on Supreme so we headed down to Lady Morgan. The slopes that had gotten the sun all morning (say Magnet) were pretty slushy. But the snow in Centennial Trees was still pretty firm -- soft enough to get an edge in but not much softer than that.


(Bryan atop Empire.)

After a quick water break at Empire -- gotta stay hydrated when it's warm out -- we worked our way back across the mountain: Ruby, Silver Strike, Quincy, Crown Point -- to get over to Deer Crest. The groomers there were excellent as always, even if the snow on Jordanelle was quite soft.


(Jordanelle gondola.)

We finished the day with apres ski at the Snow Park lodge. Beer and music on the deck in the sun while watching others make their last runs of the day. Not a bad way to spend Easter.

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 3/19

The forecast was for cloudy skies with rain in the afternoon. Luckily, they were wrong! It turned out to be a perfect spring skiing day. Wonderful blue skies and moderate temperatures. A perfect day to be on the slopes.


(Skiers on "the beach" at Silver Lake.)

Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea. I guess it's Spring Break for a lot of schools. Combine that with the upcoming Easter weekend, and there are tons of people in town. Fortunately though, the mountain at Deer Valley spreads people out fairly well so the lines weren't very long. And skiing the singles lines helps.


(Starting my afternoon on Sterling.)

I spent the morning on Wasatch and Sultan enjoying the groomers. The snow is a little hard because of the warm days and cold nights we've had. But, with a decent edge, you can still make some nice turns. I left my Rossis at Rennstall for a tune overnight and will leave my Volkls there soon for the same.


(View from top of Silver Strike -- Timp in the distance.)

In the afternoon, I made some runs on Silver Strike, Ruby, and Quincy just for variety. I even made a quick trip over to Deer Crest to enjoy some of those runs that I don't get to very often.

If you go, get there early -- the parking lot has been filling up by mid-morning even on week days. Plus, you'll be able to enjoy the corduroy before everyone else tracks it up.

' til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 3/15

A weekend storm brought a few inches of snow on Friday and again Saturday making for a nice day of skiing. Some friends were skiing at Deer Valley, so I met them on the hill.


(A beautiful mistake -- not sure what went wrong with this photo.)

There was some nice new snow in the trees, but I had more fun on the groomers. I spent the morning on Sterling, Wasatch, and Sultan -- as usual :) I think Legal Tender in the morning was my favorite run of the day.


(Your host.)

Unfortunately, I wasn't having a great day -- not sure if it was a migraine headache or a cold coming on, but I definitely wasn't on top of my game. So about lunch time I called it a day and headed home for a nap.


(A gorgeous morning.)


(Guests coming up Wasatch Express.)

It's nice having a pass and being able to make as many or as few runs as you feel like without feeling like you wasted a day.

If you go, remember to shoot for an early (before 11am) or a late lunch (after 1:30) if you want to find a place to sit.

'til later,
- Jeff

Park City Mountain Resort 3/9

Did you remember to set your clock forward a hour? Today is the start of daylight savings time! But based on how few cars were in the parking lot at 9am, I'm guessing most people forgot. In fact, the mountain was almost deserted for the first hour.

Too bad for those sleepyheads! They missed out on some perfect corduroy.


(Perfect corduroy awaits.)

I made a few runs off Silverlode to warm up. That and to leave a few perfect arcs on the groomers. I absolutely love my Rossignol Z9s.


(A beautiful morning.)

A short time later, my friend Bryan joined me and we decided to explore a bit more of the mountain. We spent the morning on McConkey's before an early lunch at Mid-Mountain Lodge -- gotta beat the crowds.


(Easter's not for another 2 weeks, but the Easter Bunny was already busy hiding eggs at Park City.)

Then we headed over to Jupiter for the afternoon. I usually spend my days on McConkeys and sadly neglect the awesome terrain on Jupiter. True, I hate slow lifts, but sometimes it's worth it. Indicator wasn't quite as good as last time, but there were still some good turns to be had. Portuguese Gap was probably my favorite run of the day.


(Jupiter through Pioneer.)

Afterwards we headed to Wasatch Brew Pub for dinner. The 30 minute was wait perfect for enjoying a few beers. And the beer cheese soup was a perfect appetizer for the cheesesteak sandwich.

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 3/5

Yet another beautiful day at Deer Valley. This was my 32nd day out this year! That's one of every three days for the last three months! With all the snow we got in December and January, the base is deep. And the sun is out and the temps up a bit making for some great skiing.


(Guess who!)

I spent most of the day on groomers, skiing off Wasatch, Sultan, and Sterling. The snow was great, so why go anywhere else?


(Top of Crown Point.)


(Keep tips up.)

If you go, don't try the carrot cake at lunchtime -- cause once you do, you'll never be able to eat there again without getting a piece! At $5 and probably 5000 calories, it's probably not something you should have every day. But it's so good! :)

'til later,
- Jeff

Sorry! 3/1

Hey! Sorry I've been bad about keeping this updated. I've been out skiing lots that last two months, but have been really bad about blogging. I'm back and I promise to be better!

If you haven't heard, it's been an incredible winter in Utah! So much snow! December and January were absolutely insane. Several storms that brought three feet in three days or so. In one ten-day stretch we had 90" of snow! That's 9" a day! Crazy!

The banks of snow at the end of my driveway were 10 feet tall. My snowblower hated me. (It actually quit for a time, but I got it some rehab and it's doing better.) And my road looked more like a bobsled track that a street -- one car wide with huge banks so you could barely see the houses.

It's warmed up a bit and the sun is out, but we've got so much snow that we'll be able to ski into August. Just kidding on the August part, but seriously, skiing will be great right on through closing weekend. If you haven't made it out to Utah yet, there's still time. Deer Valley is open through April 13 and the Cottonwood resorts will be open later than that.

Here are some of my pics from the last two months. Thanks to all my skiing friends for some great days.


(Scott on Pinyon Ridge at Park City Mountain Resort.)


(Scott dropping into P-Zone.)


(Jeff and Bryan at Deer Valley.)


(A deer at Deer Valley. :) )

Cheers! Enjoy the snow and tune in often.

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 1/6

OK. I don't like to throw out the word "epic" too often -- it should be reserved for days with waist deep powder, but today was "near epic". :) Definitely the best day I've had so far this season. A big storm blew in and left us with tons of new snow. Knee deep powder and more coming all day. Awesome.


(Pete in Percy Bowl.)

I met up with friends on the hill and had a great day. We only made it as far as Sultan, but the snow there was so great, there was no reason to go anywhere else. In the morning, we did runs down Tycoon, Evergreen, Pompeii and Percy Bowl. Awesome tracks through the trees. Hard not to have a good time.


(Kevin's turn.)

After an early lunch -- my legs were worn out by 11 -- back for more of the same. The winds had picked up and it was snowing hard, but Sultan seemed a bit more sheltered. More of the same runs from the morning plus a couple of excellent lines through Percy Bowl. Everyone was having a great time.

If you go, take powder cords. It would suck to spend an afternoon digging around for a lost ski.

'til later,
- Jeff

P.S. If you haven't noticed (maybe you were in a foreign country or something over the holidays...) Utah has gotten tons of snow in the past few weeks and more is one the way. The skiing is great, so get out here!

Snowbasin 1/3

First ski day of the new year! Decided to try something different (I usually stay close to home and just ski one of the Park City area resorts) and went up to Snowbasin. It's a little further, but it's a pretty easy 60 minute drive.


(Base area.)

It was nice to see the sun, but the wind was not so welcome. High winds kept Strawberry from opening at all. The tram was also closed. Which meant there was a line all day for the Needles gondola. So, I mostly stuck to the chairs and explored as much of the mountain as I could. They were hard at work on the park under Porcupine. And I rode Wildcat for the first time ever. Nice snow in there. And I even tried Becker and some trail off to the south that I'd never even noticed before (Willow Springs).


(BBC.)

So, though the wind was a bit annoying, the day was still fun. Can't wait to get back up to Snowbasin on a powder day. Sounds like a big storm is headed in for the weekend, so keep your fingers crossed.

'til later,
- Jeff

Park City Mountain Resort 12/28

There's no such thing as a bad day when you spend your day skiing. But, some days are better than others. And this wasn't one of them!

It was so *COLD*! Air temp was 2 degrees this morning but with windchill and humidity, it felt like -13! I made the mistake of thinking this would keep people indoors, but there were still a surprising number of people on the slopes at Park City. *I* should have stayed indoors because I found I couldn't make more than a few runs without taking a break. After two runs on McConkey's, we stopped for an early lunch. Three more runs in the afternoon and that was enough for me. Oh well. May tomorrow be warmer.


(Top of Payday.)

If you go, bundle up! Definitely take the finger and toe warmers. And stop often for hot chocolate! Enjoy.

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 12/24

Christmas Eve at Deer Valley is becoming a bit of a tradition. No new snow overnight, but still a nice day to get out. It was the first time I got to ski the new terrain on Lady Morgan. I think it just opened on Saturday.


(Top of the new Lady Morgan Express.)

Lady Morgan is a brand new high-speed quad that opens up 200 acres of awesome terrain. Previously you could get to some of this via a hike off Empire, but most of it was out of bounds altogether. There's something for everyone off the lift, from a nice green (Pearl, Webster) to a nice blue (Dakota), plenty of bumps (Magnet, Argus, Hillside) and some awesome new glades (Centennial)!


(The next storm rolling in.)

Though the line never got long, it was obvious that everyone wanted to check out the new stuff. So, I alternated runs there and runs off Empire. There was still some great snow in the bowl. I met up with some friends for a bunch of runs on Empire and Lady Morgan before taking a lunch break (yummy turkey burger).


(Fun terrain under Lady Morgan.)

Unfortunately, the winds pushing the next storm into town were a bit fierce and enough to end my day shortly after lunch. But not a bad way to spend the day before Christmas. Enjoy the holidays.

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 12/21

Wind brings storms. And storms bring snow. And skiers like snow. So I should be happy with the wind. But two days in a row it's been miserable, so I'd be fine if it went away for a while!

Still, I didn't let that stop me. Another few inches of snow overnight and I headed up to Deer Valley to take advantage. A run each on Wasatch and Sterling was enough to convince me that Bald Mtn. was too windy. So, after a quick lunch, I headed over to Flagstaff. There was some great snow off Northside.


(A nice view from atop Empire.)

And, though everyone thinks they built Silver Strike just to service the new developments over there (Shooting Star, Arrowhead, Larkspur, Silver Strike), there's actually some great tree skiing there. The powder was still nice and soft and the winds weren't nearly as bad as elsewhere.


(Silver Lake as seen from Empire.)

After a few runs there, I headed over to Empire for the first time this year. There was still some nice snow to be had there, but I preferred Silver Strike, so finished my day there.


(Aspen.)

With all this new snow we've gotten this month, the skiing is really started to get good. If you haven't made travel plans for the holidays, come on out to Utah!

'til later,
- Jeff

Deer Valley 12/15

Another Saturday, another day at Deer Valley. :) I headed up this chilly morning (5 degrees) and met Kevin and Bill on the mountain. We quickly worked our way over to Northside, but the snow was a little thin and not real impressive.


(Looking toward Empire.)

We had a little fun in the trees on our way back to Snow Park for some yummy turkey chili.



Then finished the afternoon with a couple of awesome runs on Legal Tender. They hadn't made any snow or groomed these, but the 3 feet from last weekend and 3" we got Thursday night made for some great tracks. And no one else was doing it.


(Gate to Legal Tender.)

A very cool way to end a great day.

'til later,
- Jeff