shadyjay
02-14-2007, 07:30 PM
First, got to the mtn at 8:30 after a no-slip ride... guess the 4wd in the cruiser works!
Got in line at the Gate House and got 4th chair. First run was Pushover down to Slowpoke. Yes, I know these are greens but on a powder day, you can't go wrong. Even at 9am, there was about 10" of fluff. Rode up with a patroller who said that Hot Shot was the last to get groomed this morning, and that even had the same amount of pow, so you know it was fresh. Rocked out next on Hot Shot for one run, then Sleeper next. Incredible.
Next came North Lynx. First run was Birch which was awesome. There was a little bit of windblown but it was nice. Then decided to try Sunrise for the first time ever. What a great run. The trees are nice near the bottom. But I hate to say it that there was almost too much snow to board. I slowed right down and the thoughts of cruising right to the chair were put on hold. I hopped over to the lift, hit up Birch again, then took the C'Rock Connector/Runout down. The Connector was a lot of fun with some nice little spots for air - which were a ton of fun. At the bottom though, I headed inside for warmup and something to drink. My goggles were iced up on the inside so I had to clean them off.
After the break came a couple runs from Super Bravo. First was Birdland... another first-time run. Second run up was another first-time down Domino/Lower Domino. Any moguls that were there before this storm are buried giving me much more confidence in attempting these runs. Final run for the set was VH Traverse to Moonshine. On spots on Moonshine, it was almost waist deep pow. I had the trail to myself, with pretty much fresh tracks. Great run - another first-timer.
By this time, I was desiring a break so I hit up Castlerock Pub for some brews and ha has. Met some folks from NJ and PA who made today their first day. Also while in there, the bride/groom (Doug Lewis?) walked in and handed out chocolates. Thought I saw Egan upstairs. Or do I have that backwards? Perhaps.
After lunch, it was still snowing to beat the band. So it was back up Bravo, then down Downspout (no Deathspout today), then up Heaven's Gate. At the top, the wind was blowing extremely hard and blowing the snow everywhere. It took forever for me to hike over to Jester. I would have gone down Organgrinder but visibility was poor and didn't want to risk it on a first-time run. I was getting real tired anyway. I made it to Jester, but crashed a couple times in the powder. It was so deep that I had a hard time getting back up and moving again. Finally got down to the Downspout crossing, and decided to give Domino one more shot. By this time, my goggles were really icing up. And when I hit the end of Lower Domino, I took them off my helmet, the strap broke in the process, and I chucked them into the woods... although they're more like on the edge of the trail where Lower Downspout meets Lower Jester, so if you find them, enjoy! Mustered my way, squinting, down to Gondolier (which was real slow unless you stayed in existing tracks at the end), unstrapped, and made my way to the Cruiser.
When I reached my spot, the rig was covered with about 10-12" of fresh snow. The way home back to H20Bury took some time, but I am happy to say it was successful. After I unloaded the gear, I realized that there was at least 24" on the ground. The work truck is buried. Will we work tomorrow? Or is another powder day in the works? I'm guessing work. I need to rest up from today. I worked hard at the riding - first time I've ever ridden in that much snow. It was quite difficult and exhausting, not to mention annoying with the freezing goggles. Guess I know what my next purchase is going to be.
It was an incredible day nonetheless with feet of powder everywhere and no crowds... oh yeah, cheap tix. 6 first-time runs for me, and if I had someone to ride with, I may have pushed my limits further and tried some other diamonds. Lower Birdland, Twist, Morning Star, and others looked sweet. Oh well, there's always next time.
Pics will be posted soon at shadyjay.com
Shred Hard.
Jay
Got in line at the Gate House and got 4th chair. First run was Pushover down to Slowpoke. Yes, I know these are greens but on a powder day, you can't go wrong. Even at 9am, there was about 10" of fluff. Rode up with a patroller who said that Hot Shot was the last to get groomed this morning, and that even had the same amount of pow, so you know it was fresh. Rocked out next on Hot Shot for one run, then Sleeper next. Incredible.
Next came North Lynx. First run was Birch which was awesome. There was a little bit of windblown but it was nice. Then decided to try Sunrise for the first time ever. What a great run. The trees are nice near the bottom. But I hate to say it that there was almost too much snow to board. I slowed right down and the thoughts of cruising right to the chair were put on hold. I hopped over to the lift, hit up Birch again, then took the C'Rock Connector/Runout down. The Connector was a lot of fun with some nice little spots for air - which were a ton of fun. At the bottom though, I headed inside for warmup and something to drink. My goggles were iced up on the inside so I had to clean them off.
After the break came a couple runs from Super Bravo. First was Birdland... another first-time run. Second run up was another first-time down Domino/Lower Domino. Any moguls that were there before this storm are buried giving me much more confidence in attempting these runs. Final run for the set was VH Traverse to Moonshine. On spots on Moonshine, it was almost waist deep pow. I had the trail to myself, with pretty much fresh tracks. Great run - another first-timer.
By this time, I was desiring a break so I hit up Castlerock Pub for some brews and ha has. Met some folks from NJ and PA who made today their first day. Also while in there, the bride/groom (Doug Lewis?) walked in and handed out chocolates. Thought I saw Egan upstairs. Or do I have that backwards? Perhaps.
After lunch, it was still snowing to beat the band. So it was back up Bravo, then down Downspout (no Deathspout today), then up Heaven's Gate. At the top, the wind was blowing extremely hard and blowing the snow everywhere. It took forever for me to hike over to Jester. I would have gone down Organgrinder but visibility was poor and didn't want to risk it on a first-time run. I was getting real tired anyway. I made it to Jester, but crashed a couple times in the powder. It was so deep that I had a hard time getting back up and moving again. Finally got down to the Downspout crossing, and decided to give Domino one more shot. By this time, my goggles were really icing up. And when I hit the end of Lower Domino, I took them off my helmet, the strap broke in the process, and I chucked them into the woods... although they're more like on the edge of the trail where Lower Downspout meets Lower Jester, so if you find them, enjoy! Mustered my way, squinting, down to Gondolier (which was real slow unless you stayed in existing tracks at the end), unstrapped, and made my way to the Cruiser.
When I reached my spot, the rig was covered with about 10-12" of fresh snow. The way home back to H20Bury took some time, but I am happy to say it was successful. After I unloaded the gear, I realized that there was at least 24" on the ground. The work truck is buried. Will we work tomorrow? Or is another powder day in the works? I'm guessing work. I need to rest up from today. I worked hard at the riding - first time I've ever ridden in that much snow. It was quite difficult and exhausting, not to mention annoying with the freezing goggles. Guess I know what my next purchase is going to be.
It was an incredible day nonetheless with feet of powder everywhere and no crowds... oh yeah, cheap tix. 6 first-time runs for me, and if I had someone to ride with, I may have pushed my limits further and tried some other diamonds. Lower Birdland, Twist, Morning Star, and others looked sweet. Oh well, there's always next time.
Pics will be posted soon at shadyjay.com
Shred Hard.
Jay