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View Full Version : Tues 1/6 Trip Report - Birdland!!!



shadyjay
01-06-2009, 06:49 PM
The last time I got to explore LP on my own, off the clock, was in early December. With 3 days off, I got up early and was at the mtn by 8:30, and got first chair on the Gate House at 9am. I spent about 90 mins or so over there, rippin' the courdoroy down Pushover, Hot Shot, Waterfall, Slowpoke, etc. Every run was just as good as the one that preseded it. The only downside was Sleeper Chutes, which was a skating rink on the drop.... enough to send me sliding down it on my bottom. The rest of the run skied great. I repeated Slowpoke again, then headed over to Super Bravo.

Murphy's was first, as it had been groomed the night before, but not the right upper half which was a little rough. The rest of it was great, as was lower Jester, though the light was a little dark first thing. Downspout was surprisingly edgeable, and a couple quick runs down Jester were, as usual, great. Upper 'Grinder had been groomed, but I decided against it, just in case it was a skating rink (Ripcord, observed from the lift, was dust on crust). I then headed into the Gate House for a quick warmup, bite to eat, and a beverage. When I reemerged, it was back up Bravo for some Valley House side runs. The lower half of the VH Traverse was slick, but Snowball was great with fresh manmade snow. Spring Fling was groomed last night, and I rode it very quickly right down. Up Bravo again and found my pick of the day... Birdland. This may have been the first time I did the very upper half of this run, and with the fresh snow from the guns, it was excellent! The run was so good, I did it again, and would've done it a 3rd time, but my legs were starting to get the shakes so I called it a day, returned to the locker to drop off my gear, and stopped at the Castlerock Pub for a couple brews, before calling it a day.

In all, 3 hours, some 15 or so runs, great conditions on the groomers, a little slick in spots, but it felt good to spend some quality time on the mtn enjoying the riding. And best of all, a descent storm is coming in for tomorrow, and I'll be back out ripping it up on Thursday, perhaps at Mt Ellen.