Park City Mountain Resort 3/17

After a shaky start -- gotta watch out for that sun-baked powder! -- things turned out pretty ok. Scott and I quickly made a beeline for McConkey's to get away from the crowds. I was surprised how many people were on the hill -- on a Monday no less. But the line at McConkey's wasn't too bad -- it never is.

The Black Forest trees weren't all that great so we decided to hike Jupiter Peak. I'd never been to the top before. I'd hiked up the shoulder a few times and had some great runs, but never gone all the way to the summit. Today it was well worth it. Great view from the top. And some nice snow on the face.

We repeated a few times, dropping in a bit sooner each time. But the snow almost seemed to get better. Maybe it had gotten less wind. Anyhow, the snow was great. The skies were blue. And overall it was a great day.

I'm learning that the picture quality of the iPhone isn't always so great -- it sometimes gets tripped up by too much bright light and sometimes the color balance seems off. But it's nice just carrying one device - phone, iPod, and camera in one. So you'll just have to deal with it. :) All pictures have been "enhanced" in iPhoto -- i.e. I hit the enhance button instead of tweaking the image manually. I'm just too lazy. But you can still see that it was a really, really nice day.


(Scott.)


(Yours truly resting on the hike up Jupiter.)


(Flagpole at the top of Jupiter.)


(Tree.)


(Scott ripping it up on the east face.)

If you go (and are an expert skier) don't be afraid of the hike from McConkey's. The snow can be well worth it.

'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