Solitude 2/28

Again -- still catching up here with some old posts. Bear with me ....

Conditions: Powder
Gear: K2 Recon Riser snowboard

So the dump that gave us 18" on Monday continued into Tuesday. I didn't make it to the slopes on Tuesday, but was lucky enough to get out on Wednesday. What an awesome day! Because the snow was still falling on Tuesday, the patrols weren't able to get all the terrain cleared. This meant that Wednesday there were fresh tracks to be had all over the place.


(Top of Sunrise lift on a beautifully sunny day.)

I headed up to Solitude for the day with my snowboard in tow. What a great decision! The snow on Summit was absolutely incredible and there was no one there. Actually, not many tracks at all. Check out this pic: the only tracks you see are mine! All mine!!!!!


(First track off Summit!)

The snow in Honeycomb was also excellent. Again, very few tracks and great snow. I kinda wish the chairlift back there would take you up to where Summit lets off so you could just make runs in the canyon, but oh well. Maybe someday. :)


(View from Summit towards Brighton.)

What a lucky day. Tons of new snow. Blue skies. And no one else on the mountain. Perfect!

'til next time,
- Jeff

Superbowl Sunday at Solitude 2/4

Conditions: packed powder
Weather: 32, flurries
Gear: Rossignol Z9 skis

The secret of Superbowl Sunday is that the slopes are sorely lacking in skiers. So, Bill and I headed up to Solitude for a day of skiing.

The weather was kinda foggy and gray with light snow flurries. But the trails were not in bad shape. Things actually got better as they softened up just a tad in the afternoon. The bumps just under the quad were particularly nice.



Best runs were off Summit. That and a nice run down Honeycomb Canyon. And we still made it home in time for the kickoff! :) Go Colts!

'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

Solitude 12/9

[Sorry ... coupla days behind. I'll get caught up soon. I promise!]

Conditions: packed powder
Weather: sunny, chilly
Gear: Volkl 7 24 Pro skis

Went up to Solitude on Saturday. It was a beautiful day. As usual, Solitude wasn't crowded at all. And the snow was nice, though we could use a little more.

It had been a few years since I had skied Solitude. I used to have a pass there during grad school, but haven't skied there much since then. There is some really nice terrain, especially off the Summit lift.

The terrain in Honeycomb Canyon is also awesome. They didn't have the lift back there last time I was there and it's a welcome addition. That cat track out of there used to be torture on a snowboard! It still takes a few lifts (Sunrise and Summit or the *looonnnggggg* Powderhorn) to make laps in Honeycomb, but it's really worth it.

(Honeycomb Canyon from the top of Summit lift.)

One thing I realized was how spoiled I've become! The last few years I've done most of my skiing and riding at the Park City resorts: Park City and Deer Valley. Almost all the lifts at those resorts are high-speed lifts. Unfortunately, Solitude only has the one high-speed quad and there's so much great terrain that it doesn't service. It means spending a lot of time riding the slower lifts. But your reward is that you usually have the resort to yourself. Tradeoffs! :)

'til next time,

- Jeff