rwmaron Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Only an inch or two of new snow in the Twin Ports - most of it just blew by on it's way to who knows where. The wind has died down this morning but had been sustained at 25-30 mph since early Sunday.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Since you guys weren't out today, here's what it was like... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loMsC6ZmyQM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Fine....rub it in why don't ya.....I was hoping to get out over the noon hour but it just didn't work out. You must have cut a pretty wide swath today, though, because when I stopped by to pick up my gear late this afternoon a couple of the day crew mentioned that you had been laying down some sweet lines over the course of the day. You've got Don fired up to get a longer board too! I'm off to Lutsen on Thursday, will be at Spirit for sure Sunday morning, possibly sometime during the day Saturday. Nice video, BTW. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm going up to Grand Marais Friday to visit a friend on the Gunflint. I may hit Lutsen on the way back, Sun or Mon, I'll look for your tracks. If you're still up there, we'll likely be at the Gunflint Tavern Fri night. Hey, I happen to have a longer board, 171 Doneck FC1, but I bet you have something in your quiver for him too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Family trip up north for the day - bright sun; temp in the low 20s; light breeze; couple of inches of new snow last evening that had been groomed (in most places) - my wife (on tele skis) and I spent the morning taking turns keeping an eye on our foreign exchange student on his second day ever of snowboarding, then got him into a lesson in the afternoon whereupon we headed over to Moose Mountain for a ton of fun, mostly on Upper and Lower Cascade. Surpisingly few folks out, given the conditions and the fact that our schools are out this week for break. I've had mixed experiences on a carving kit at Lutsen in the past, but today more than made up for it - one of those days when everything comes together and you can just let it rip........ Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Gray, overcast day....poor light throughout the morning. Hard carves on certain sections of Fourpipe would reveal the hard ice layer underneath - other parts were sweet. Try remembering where the hard spots are on a flat light day.....I stayed mostly on 9, 10 (before they closed it for Nastar ) 12, and 13 where conditions were generally very good. The cold and flat light thinned the usual Sunday crowds, I stayed until close to noon and never had to wait more than a few moments for the Express lift. A little explanation - in addition to their names, the runs at Spirit are numbered; facing the hill, the numbers go from right to left: 2,3 - Terrain Park 4 - Cinder Snapper 5 - Bear Claw 6 - Gandy 7 - Blue Ruin 8 - Sky Hooker 9 - Bindle Stiff 10 - Sissor Bill 11 - Fourpipe 12 - Double Jaw 13 - Juggler Joe 14 - Timber Cruiser When I first started partolling at Spirit I found the number/naming mix confusing, but over time, the numbering scheme seems clearer and less ambiguous. It's just that unless you work or patrol there, no one else knows it. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Unfortunately we're at the time of year when we need to keep an eye on closing dates......:(...... Here's what I know so far: Last day at: Spirit March 27th Giant's Ridge April 2nd Lutsen April 17th I'm planning day trips to Indianhead on Monday, March 14 and Giant's Ridge on Thursday, March 31. Lutsen sometime in early April but not scheduled yet. Anyone interested in hooking up for these day trips is welcome. Still planning to get out to Spirit whenever possible, too. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Out for a quick session late this afternoon - encountered a few underlying icy spots on the middle section of Fourpipe when setting an edge, but otherwise conditions were excellent. An inch or two of new snow today helped things along a bit. Planning on Sunday morning...... Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Out for our usual early morning session today; nice groom, but still some underlying icy spots showing up here and there. Jim and I hooked up with Ken - his current ride is a freeride deck with an aggressive forward stance, but he's got a a full hardboot kit on order and is now in that intermidable waiting period until the UPS guy shows up...... <a href="http://s996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/rwmaron/?action=view¤t=March62011011-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/rwmaron/March62011011-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> My gut tells me we'll be seeing a lot more of Ken. My sincerest apologies... As Jim and I were getting ready to get on the Express lift just around 11am, I turned and saw another hardbooter near the base of FourPipe. We rode up the lift and chatted a bit (he's a Buck Hill regular), but then Jim and I both needed to head out for other activities. My apologies because 1) I don't remember his name, and 2) we left just as he was getting started: <a href="http://s996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/rwmaron/?action=view¤t=March62011012-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/rwmaron/March62011012-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Next time you're planning a trip to Spirit let us know - we'd like to have the opportunity to be better hosts! Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolson Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Good to know we have another convert that is local (Ken) and that he had the good taste in choosing PRIOR to start his alpine boarding career......strength in numbers baby....... Good weather this weekend but (gasp) the dreaded ice patches are becoming more and more part of the landscape. Hope they deep groom one more time before the season ends, maybe this new snow will do the trick. Was good to see the vistors from Buck.....felt bad about bailing as they just showed up but had to hit the road.......looking forward to seeing them again up north. Russ, I found that the bolt that I thought had just come loose on my race plate binding and tumbled me, actually had snapped off........could not believe it. Will be working on getting that out of the plate. Looking tentatively at Thursday morning for a few runs....early forecast is for sunny and 25-30 degrees..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 looks good and I'm planning to come up if the forecast holds. Sounds like you're getting some snow to fill in those icey spots. Had a wonderfull time at Lutsen last Monday; a beautiful sunny day, great views of the lake. Had fun riding Bull run (a bit steep and narrow at the very bottom for carving the big board, but the upper part was great) and then over on Meadows, Cascade and Caribou. They must not see many carvers up that way as I recieved many comments (mostly praise but one referance to the "big ruts") and inquiries, mostly from lift operators and handed out some carving (Bomber) business cards. RE: Pictures Russ: Haven't seen that board, how many boards do you have now... want to add a FC1 171 to your quiver? Jim: Good to see you back out there. No helmet cam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 From Spirit's Web page today: "Join us for the final two weeks on the slopes! March 14 - 27 take advantage of these drastically reduced spring rates: (Note: No other discounts or coupons apply to these already reduced ticket rates.) 8-hr. Lift Tickets = $15 8-hr. Ski Rental = $10 8-hr. Snowboard Rental = $15" Pretty good deal if you're considering a trip north! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Russ: Haven't seen that board It's an Oxygen Supercross 164 that handles the hardpack surprisingly well. Russ: how many boards do you have now... Not enough. Jim mentioned thursday morning too - I'll see what I can work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolson Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have an interview at 9 AM on Thursday but plan to hit the hill still .....may be closer to 10:30 or so before I get there.......will strap on the web cam right from the start.......so few days left, so much film to take...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Sounds like a plan. Rumor has it that conditions were (to borrow a phrase from Bobble) abso-effing-lutely hero over the noon hour today...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Bright sun; firm early then softened a bit as the morning wore on. Bigwavedave was tearing it up on the Kessler - Jim and I both had to switch to our longer boards to even stay close to him. I'm sure some video clips of the day will get posted as both Jim and Dave had the GoPros mounted. Makes things interesting trying to ride close enough together to get good video! <a href="http://s996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/rwmaron/?action=view¤t=March102011014.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/rwmaron/March102011014.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Patroller Don, Bigwavedave, Jolson, Rwmaron with Lake Superior in the far background. Don and I are off to Indianhead on Monday. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolson Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 What a great day out with Russ, Dave and joined by our newest convert Don.... Man...just watching Russ and Dave is great fun........Like Russ said, great early and slowly got choppy but all in all a great day. Will be editing and putting to together a remix of the season plus the new footage. Dave, let me know if and when your heading north again, would like to get your raw clips to edit into the mix..... Will be up both days this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 New to the Ride Board. Wish I could have escaped work today, but no such luck. The 225T Hard Boots came yesterday, and I'm planning to be out at Spirit (along with my wrench kit) Tuesday afternoon setting up a new Prior all mountain board and TD3 bindings. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qosk2K44VOw Russ run #13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk2Z7N3D0mk Jim run #9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaGBYGHPU4c Russ run #10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKNra5eETs Jim run #11 Doesn't look as close as it felt. ~Krash Kessler~on the mend, but still pretty sore. Enjoy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carving oxygen Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hey Russ Thank you for the pass!Started the day on 444 with the Oxygen FR 166( low lite),end on Grandy dancer on Oxygen proton 178(blue skys):)Sorry I missed out on thursday! I may be back next week end (sunday 3/20) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Saturday, March 12 - Theme of the day was "distractions" as in find some because the riding is so bad. Icy cord underneath and the snow that was coming down got scoured off by the 20-25 mph NW wind. I've ridden in bitter cold (a lot), fog, rain, and wind this season but never had a session when I couldn't find at least some part of the hill with carveable terrain. Yesterday I was reduced to watching the barrel jumping and pond skimming.......The bright spot of the day was watching Jim's team win the furniture race. Sunday, March 13 - Theme of the day was "redemption" as in there is a glimmer of hope in the world. Granular groom over ice, but warm enough to at least keep the groom on top of the ice (for the most part). Spent the day staying low, carving tight turns on my Supercross and not letting things get out of control. Despite my trepidation on the drive out this morning, a very satisfying session. Steve - I haven't heard anyone refer to the express lift as '444' in a couple of years - sounds like you've get of a bit of a history with this place. Do you remember what '444' stands for? Let us know if you plan on coming north again. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carving oxygen Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 444 = 4 people, 4 runs, 4 minutes to top. I do have history with that place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Heading out to Spirit shortly for the inaugural run of the new Prior4wD 164 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Patroller Don and I headed over to the UP yesterday and spent the day carving at Indianhead Mountain in Bessemer. Don had called the Ski Patrol director (Rusty) late last week and made arrangements so that we could sign on for the day. Bright sunny day; firm groom at the start gradually softening over the course of the day......just can't say enough good things about the place - good snow, good grooming, almost empty slopes, interesting mix of terrain. According to Rusty, their business is down this year because folks are stopping off in Wausau at the recently spiffed up Rib Mountain (Granite Peak). Their season ends Sunday, April 3rd so there's not much time left for this year, but if you're ever looking for some new terrain, give it try. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Not a bad evening at Spirit despite rain earlier in the day. Quite fast by last ride, but not icy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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