Tag Archive for 'powder skiing'

Powder 18’s

Published on November 21, 2012 by a ok.

The Powder 8 competition in Jackson Hole is a storied, longstanding tradition. Each year, contestants – rather than focusing on speed – pair off to compete by leaving the smoothest pair of interwoven ski tracks in the powder. Factors such as style and whether teams wear one piece snowsuits may or may not factor into the judge’s scores.

Not really the same as the Powder 8 competition, but maybe this lays out the fundamental idea..

Anytime you’re out taking snorkel meter readings with your ski pal, you could essentially be practicing for a Powder 8 competition. Laughing and making turns down the slope makes for an excellent powder practice session. This even works when there are Continue reading ‘Powder 18’s’

Located in 03 Adventures, Tetons and Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Shaky Beginnings…

Published on November 12, 2012 by a ok.

Yon know the score: it nuked for 36+ hours. White gold fell in quantity.

Somewhere in the middle of 36+ hours of deliverance. Soft, yes. Untracked goodness, yes. Pretty deep. But not enough. Rocks on most turns. We fled for greener pastures.

Spirits were high. We skied. It wasn’t deep enough to cover all the rocks. Saw a north facing slide; it cleared the crummy, rotten snow from a few weeks ago to the rocks.

All in all, it was excaliber to be on skis, in the cold.

And then, this. Again.

Again. Really!?

Thanks to Z for the jumper cables.

And to J-Bo for NOT leaving his lights on.

Located in Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Checking the Goods at Snowbasin

Published on October 26, 2012 by a ok.

Permission slips in hand, J-Bo and I headed to Northern Utah for more field tripping today. I shared the previous day’s Powder Mountain beta and urged a different location for the day’s shredding. Snowbasin, located just a few miles from Powder Mountain, seemed likely to offer up nearly as much snow, and perhaps a little less groomer chop if we were lucky.

We were lucky. Yes.

Turns out we were very lucky and scored our skiing without much interference from groomers, although one did make an appearance eventually. In the meantime, Continue reading ‘Checking the Goods at Snowbasin’

Located in 03 Adventures, 10 Road Trips and Wasatch 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Powder Mountain

Published on October 25, 2012 by a ok.

Powder Mountain was all over the Utah news Wednesday. While LCC got a dusting of the white gold overnight, Powder had landed a priceless dump of the fine. With another foot slated to hit the north Wednesday night, I calmed my giddiness as best I could while pulling some gear together. A field trip was in order.

No truer words did I see today.

I’ve never visited Powder Mountain before, but I have to admit I think the resort owners landed one of the premium names in the Wasatch Range. However, as I inspected the sign on whatever summit I landed on after some knee to thigh deep trailbreaking, Continue reading ‘Powder Mountain’

Located in 03 Adventures and Wasatch 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

A Means to an End

Published on June 7, 2012 by a ok.

After spending much time floating down de Nile, it’s hard to turn around and paddle back up the river. But the reality is, last winter is now the river.

No denial about the Death of Winter.

Located in 11 Perspective and 12 Random 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Denied

Published on April 13, 2012 by a ok.

Aiming for something fun and interesting to ski, Swain and I ended up retreating in the face of unstable snow – widespread cracking on a large slope – and simply skied low angle powder in the vicinity of both Red Baldy and Patsy Marley. I think we spent more time pushing our way out through deep snow than actually making turns. Did I mention that the warm snow stuck to our skins mercilessly on the up, despite the addition of skin wax? Right around 9,000 feet, there was a  noticeable change in the snow consistency, switching from a heavy, cream cheese consistency to light Utah finery. Didn’t matter, both types stuck to our skins. It was a thrill a minute.

Jon gets more skin wax happening.

Fortunately, we received compensation both for being denied, as well as having to push our way downhill. On our final run to the car, we were both treated to full-on face slushies as Continue reading ‘Denied’

Located in 12 Random and Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , , .