rwmaron Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Got in a couple of runs under the lights last night after our toboggan training session - hooked up with Ken, who fortunately had ditched the lime green outfit. Forecast high of 22F on Saturday is going to up the ante on making it across the skimming pond. I have evening patrol duty Saturday and Sunday, so will miss the fun. I'll be out Thursday morning for a couple of hours; Patroller Don is on duty that day and heard a rumor that Erick (en93nsx) might stop by as well. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruincounselor Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I'll be there on Saturday noonish. I'm hoping the ankle is good enough to ride on. Most of the swelling is gone so I know I can get the boot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I plan to come up tomorrow morning. I'm more apt to come up on Sunday rather than Saturday, to avoid the party crowd, both days look like nice weather. Saturday might be interesting if the skimming pond ices over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Bright sun and great groom early; light went flat later in the morning, then brightened again in the afternoon. Dave was rockin' the Nirvana and Patroller Don has got the hard boot routine nailed. Don and I stayed until 4pm enjoying the sun and soft snow. BC - glad to hear that you're on the rebound. I'll keep an eye out for you Saturday afternoon. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 ... n. gang of marauding carvers (Don, Russ, BWD). Great day, good snow for carving, started with sun at 9am, then clouds, flat light and 2 bus loads of kids til 1:30 or so, then sun and fun til 3. Temps hovered right around freezing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Tomorrow, Sunday, is looking good. Plan to arrive early and stay late (2 or 3pm). Spirit is reporting 6" new snow overnight?...and it looks like it's still snowing today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Spirit is reporting 6" new snow overnight?...and it looks like it's still snowing today. Yes, I shoveled 5-6" of light fluffy powder from my driveway this morning; now (just before noon) the sun is out with temp in the teens. Might catch you at the tail end of your day tomorrow! Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) Great day, rode from 9am-4pm, in shifts with Jim O, then Gary and finally Russ. Yesterday's 6-8" of powder groomed in and firmed up well. Unusually sparse crowds for a Sunday. Lift lines didn't appear until well after noon. Here's Jim ripping up the AM groom... Get ready for the snow!!! Edited March 18, 2013 by bigwavedave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolson Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) ripping up the AM groom...[ATTACH]34261[/ATTACH] Get ready for the snow!!! Cool pic Dave...note that X seems to have marked the spot (where two carves intersected) ..do not think you could have done that again if you tried. Great weekend. Saturday they left most the hill with 7 inches powder......if you made first tracks up until the first hour passed, it was a Minnesota not often experienced good time. After that, things started to get bull-dozed into piles not great for our discipline but they had four pipe groomed and that was very good. Did not do the water skipping...a bit too chilly for my tastes...but that and the barrel jumping were fun to watch as usual. We took third in furniture race on the trusty couch but it was close ....got beat by a Lazy-boy and bar-chair, although the IOC is looking into illegal equipment and a BUMP on the course we took from the Lazy-boy...(on film so our appeal should hold up).....A very good time. Sunday with Dave for a short period. Good firm groom and Dave was once a again on a GOPRO mission....I will have lots to choose from for the remix of the season. Looking forward to next weekend. Russ, hope your travels and time on the mountain out west are good for you. Edited March 18, 2013 by jolson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolson Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Pic's from the great furntiture race .....Chip anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Anyone who has spent much time at Spirit Mountain is familiar with the unfortunate circumstance of a strong East wind that slows your downhill progress....today was just the opposite - 25mph wind out of the northwest kept things brisk (though not unbearable) on the Express lift and facilitated quick descents. Soft groom with an occasional soft spot, bright sun, and hooking up with Ken made for a very satisfying session. I'll be out Thursday morning filling in for another patroller, then off to Colorado on Saturday! Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 ...and the chair goes about 15mph into the west? Weather Thursday looks nicer, I'll be up in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Breezy afternoon session on Tuesday with Russ, but fortunately blowing down the hill and not excessively cold. Out this evening from 6-8 after work. Four softbooters carving it up nicely on the four pipe side. Rode up with one of 'em riding a 15 year old Burton Alp 6.3 with softboots and step-in bindings. I have to work tomorrow evening, but Jane'll be out either before or after the Spirit Mountain Board Meeting. Should be out this weekend with some really garish retro outfits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Enough said. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 A geometric arc of simple beauty. Thanks for the link to Lutsen. I'm thinking more about Indianhead if they're going to extend the season on weekends in April. Have fun out west...be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Thursday was a great day for carving, blue-bird sky with Colorado style (soft) groomed packed powder as opposed to the familiar Minnesota-firm, which is more what it was like later, after it was tracked out. Good conditions for Russ to select the boards he takes on his CO trip. I'm planning to come up tomorrow. Any one else coming out? $15 lift tickets all next week at Spirit through closing day 3/31. Lutsen open daily through April 7th, Giant's Ridge likely the same, although they don't specify a closing date that I can see. Can't find a closing date for Indianhead either, but Algunderfoot says they will be open for 1 or 2 weekends (only) after 3/31. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Out for a couple of hours after work this evening. Hard, fast, but somewhat rutted groom. I'm planning first chair tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Started out light overcast becoming sunny by noon and warming to above freezing. Near perfect carving conditions getting soft and chopped up after noon as it got busier. Stayed until about 2pm. Received some nice compliments on our carving from both boarders and skiers--passed out a few cards. Rode with Ken, Jane and Jim. Jim and I did some gopro vid. Here's a shot on SkyHooker... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Rode up first chair with Jim on Sunday. Very flat light and firm groom to start the day, then within an hour freezing rain, sleet and heavy snow. Saturday Jane wore the Iguana Suit, and I found a Hot Tub Time Machine neon outfit complete with lift tickets from 1996. You have to love 10 year-olds. Rode up the Spirit Express detachable quad with a couple of them on snowboards around 1 PM. Overheard them complaining about the lack of double-black diamonds runs at Spirit. We got to the top, and they immediately landed in a big scrum trying to unload. ... Planning final session of season for Spirit for Tuesday afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolson Posted March 27, 2013 Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 Well, the boss said, time for a board meeting....to which three of us preceeded to Spirit for the morning today......BONUS..... especially since it looks like my season will end after 2 hour morning slot on Saturday. We have much company in town so Saturday afternoon and Easter Sunday are booked....Can't complain too much but man I HATE not hitting the closing day at Spirit (Sunday). Will post again after Saturday and will wait to hear if any trips are planned the first week of April. I have some limited time that week that could work but the week after I am out of town for 8 days and by then all Minnesota local hills will be closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 27, 2013 Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 I got out yesterday afternoon from 12:30 to last ride. Groom was soft, but held up real well with the cloud cover. We're heading out west for USASA so our season is done at Spirit. We'll postop updates from Copper. Thanks everybody for a fantastic season. Stay healthy and looking forward to next. I wouldn't rule out going to Indianhead if it still open on the weekend when we get back, but not getting much enthusiasm for this from Jane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 We had the good fortune of the opportunity to use a house in Tabernash (about 20 minutes north of the town of Winter Park) during our Colorado trip. Day 1 - 3/25 Rode at Winter Park/Mary Jane - a couple of inches of fresh snow and mild temps; the downside is that this week is spring break for Colorado schools so the place was hopping. We explored most of both WP and MJ; I was able to find enough carveable terrain though it's frequently broken up by trail transitions and cat walks. Day 2 - 3/26 Sharon took the day off and I had my fill of the mega-resort scene so I drove to Ski Cooper, just past Leadville on Tennessee Pass. I parked within 150feet of the base lodge, paid $46 for my ticket, and never had to wait in a lift line. The challenge is the altitude - the base is at 10,500 feet and top is 11,700. Long, uncrowded runs required at least one break to recover. Kind of a funky, quaint place, but provided an enjoyable day. Day 3 - 3/27 We got off to a late start for our drive to Vail where we found bright sun and 20" of new snow in the last 7 days including 3" the previous night. It's a spectacular place for sure but I never found my groove - the new snow made binding management a challenge; by the time we started late in the morning things were pretty cut up and the term 'shooting gallery' comes to mind. The upside is that my wife had a great day skiing the entire mountain on her tele kit. Day 4 - 3/28 Sharon dropped me off at Winter Park - less crowded that Monday with a thin layer of fresh snow on a firm base. A couple of the runs that had worked so well for us on Monday hadn't been groomed, so were pretty cut up but I managed to find enough carveable terrain for a very pleasant day. Heading back to Duluth tomorrow morning. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 That's a nice shot Russ! Sounds like a good trip. Ski Cooper sounds interesting. I was last out at Spirit Tuesday morning for 2 1/2 hours and have been down and out with the killer flu since. I'm finally feeling like I can plan for the future. What about Lutsen Thursday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted March 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 What about Lutsen Thursday? Sounds good to me! Let's wait and see if Jim could make that work before we finalize our plans. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Tuesday is the only other option for me during the week. Weather-wise, it may be the better day. There's rain in forecast for Wednesday night, so the grooming might not be as good on Thursday. I'm good either way, both days are predicted to be sunny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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