ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Friday, 3/28: 6" in 24h, 3" in 12h. Temps are pretty cold, in the low 20s. There's maybe 1" of new over super-slow groom with variable conditions. Assessment is just plain soft, other runs are soft over lumpy or soft over crunchy. The lower mountain under Payday had the best snow for carving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Saturday, 3/29: One night of grooming makes all the difference. Today the Silverlode runs are firm, smooth, and have consistent grip. By comparison to the last few days, the snow is lightning fast. I got a few early runs down Prospector, then a few down Assessment before the the crowds built up. Racers are everywhere. There are NCAA racers, NAC sit-ski racers, and a variety of USSA youth racers. On my way out just before 11, Silver Queen was mushing up in the sun. Park City town temps might reach 60 today, but more snow is in the forecast soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 (edited) Sunday had awful weather with high winds and snow so I did other stuff down in the big city. Monday, 3/31: PCMR says 10" in 24h, 6" in 12h and sends out the powder alert. The summit temps at open are nice and cold, probably in the high teens, and it is sunny with reasonably fast snow. Upper mountain runs have 4" to 8" of new. I carve the steep runs on the Coda until they get cut up, then make some cruises down smooth Claim Jumper. Even though the powder alert went out, the place never got crowded. I think some people are already done with skiing. Not too carvy, but still a brilliant nice morning. Lower mountain runs were almost icy. Deep piles on Jonsey's; Hardcore sit-ski carving form on Claim Jumper looks just like alpine. Edited April 1, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Tuesday, 4/1: PCMR reports 6" in 24h and calls another powder alert. But that is a 5AM report and it has been snowing all morning. At open it is cloudy, snowing lightly, temps in the mid-20s and a little windy. There's 6-10" of billowy new. I can't even see my boots. After the groomed runs got cut up I tried a cruise down Claim Jumper but it is molasses slow. The lower mountain snow is even more grabby, with squeaky vibrations that can be clearly heard and felt. I left just before 11 and the parking lot is half empty. One of the best pow days all season, and only a few of the fat ski faithful show up. I had to straightline all of upper Claim Jumper just to have enough speed to make this one turn. Edited April 2, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Wednesday, 4/2: 6" in 24h, 2" in 12h, another powder alert day, but there is no new over groom. Overcast with temps in the low 20s, the snow is reasonably fast. Prospector is groomed beautifully smooth with chalky, consistent grip. For the first day of grooming after so much new snow, it packed down quite nicely and isn't soft. With low crowds, 3 of us were able to make many laps on it before we went to try Assessment which was good but kinda slow and soft. Over on Bonanza, Muckers and Jonsey's were icy, weird, and not good. Riding the Coda on Jonsey's, shot by "The Photographer From Breck". Best hair on the hill. Edited April 3, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) Thursday, 4/3: 2" of new all groomed in. What a great week of cold temps with pow followed by serious carving. Pretty good for April in the Wasatch. Edited April 4, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 Friday, 4/4: Yet another nice day. No new, no crowds, cool temps at open, sunny, groomy. 5 carvers out riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 (edited) Sunday, 4/6: Around an inch of new over groom made for nice carving. Our luck with the weather will run out soon as temps are supposed to get much warmer. I spent almost the whole morning trying to ride with my hands behind my back. Edited April 7, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Monday, 4/7: Prospector was hero this morning. High 20s at open on top, but the base was 36F. I did something like 6-8 laps then had to go home out of exhaustion. Night skiing ended several days ago. The Nastar course is gone. The pipe is closed and I think it will be bulldozed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Tuesday, 4/8: Sunny and warm, 45F at the Bonanza load sometime before 10AM. Morning sun-facing runs go quickly mushy on top. Prospector and Assessment were pretty darn hard but softened a little. I didn't wait around for the "just right" moment cuz I have to go take my snow tires off in order to make it snow again. Totally springy. Eagle lift is closed for the season now as the racing runs are left to melt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0hn Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) Monday, 4/7: Prospector was hero this morning. High 20s at open on top, but the base was 36F. I did something like 6-8 laps then had to go home out of exhaustion. Night skiing ended several days ago. The Nastar course is gone. The pipe is closed and I think it will be bulldozed.[ATTACH]38860[/ATTACH] Haha, how did that poor skier get stuck with you three crazies? BTW, I really enjoyed your PCMR diary this year. It gives me something to look forward to when I'm stuck at work. You probably don't remember, but we rode together one day in January. I met Fred out there a few years ago and always give him a shout when I'm coming. 'Til next year. Edited April 8, 2014 by J0hn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Hi John, The skier guy is actually part of the local carving posse. He can sometimes run interference behind the pack. There's just around 10 more days for us. Everything is melting. Wednesday, 4/9: The overnight low at the summit never got below 40F, so I went out at open. Prospector was firm, smooth and real fast to begin with, but every run was softer than the last. By the time I had done 6-8 laps the sunny left side had gone mushy while the right side was just getting good. By 11 AM it was too hot to ride. Summit temps at 2 PM are over 50. The base is 65. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 Thursday, 4/10: Same as yesterday, just a touch cooler. Laps down Prospector, starting from really firm and progressing to mushy within a couple of hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) Friday, 4/11: More of the same. Summit temps around 40F at open. Kinda firm at first, but rapidly mushing up. Good turns are possible at the right places at the right times. A couple of girls stripped down to bikini tops for pictures, but they wouldn't actually ride the mountain in that state of undress. Isn't it weird how close calls and collisions tend to happen near the end of the season? I had my closest call so far when a lame skier came within inches of me on lower Prospector. The early morning view of Prospector from the Silverlode chair with Mel's merging in on the looker's left. Here's another group picture from 3/25 in old-timey B&W. Edited April 11, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Saturday, 4/12: Monotony reigns. Even more of the same. Prospector might be the only good run on the mountain. I just did laps on it as it softened up, then left at 10:30. I tried Assessment once but it was crushed cookies covered with corn. All the lower mountain runs are getting more and more brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Sunday, 4/13: I had other things to do in the morning, so I didn't get on the hill until 2 PM. 1" of new reported at 5 AM, and it has been blustery and occasionally snowy all day with summit temps below 30F. A nice change, but the chalky new snow is very grabby and slow. I made one run down uncarveably soft and bumpy Prospector then gave up. By the time I got there, at least 2" more of new snow had fallen and it was randomly churned in, making for a constant stream of grabby decelerations. Out at 3PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Monday, 4/14: Bluebird and very cold, summit temps in the teens. Despite our high hopes that the new snow would create a refresh of hero conditions, this morning was horrid. Grooming was awful, with tears, rips, puckers, wrinkles and creases. The snow was a hard frozen corn with chalky dry new mixed in or blown around on top. We waited around until 11 for it to get good, but it either stayed hard or transitioned directly to mush in the sun. The King Con lift and associated runs are closed now, as is Pioneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Tuesday, 4/15: There must have been a thaw/freeze, so Brandon and I wait until 10 before going up. Grooming is better today. We found Assessment to be the run of the day with smooth consistent grip. Maybe around 11:30 it started to come apart in the sun, so we tried some other runs, finishing with a great ride on Mel's. Out at 12:30 or so. Yesterday on an awful Jonsey's, trying to make any kind of a reasonable turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) Wednesday, 4/16: Brandon and I go up at 10 to meet up with Judie. Summit temps were in the low 20s overnight and there is a hard freeze. It takes nearly an hour for the hill to get reasonably grippy. The Home Run/Claimjumper cruise was the first thing to get good, then we did runs down Mel's and Assessment. Prospector wasn't groomed well near the top, and it had a bunch of idiot spring straightliners, all of them running Ski Tracks on their phone. The Park City schools are off this week, but few kids are on the hill. All of these families left town for somewhere warm, and Park City is oh so quiet. Deer Valley and Canyons closed last Sunday. On Claim Jumper Edited April 17, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) Thursday, 4/17: Another nice sunny day in the Wasatch. Up at 10 AM to catch the fleeting window of carving goodness. Prospector, Mel's and Claim Jumper were good, Assessment not so much. Not at all crowded, but the straightliners are unnerving. Nothing is done to discourage it, and Ski Patrol seems to have cut way back on manpower. Is it spring break in Mexico? There's lots of visiting Mexican families on the hill. Today's view of the base shows that the pipe is still there, and a bunch of terrain features have been built below it for the weekend's "Holy Bowley" closing event. The racing runs on the hillside above show the resilience of good man-made snow. C.B.'s and Picabo's in the center still have good coverage, while the naturally covered run on far looker's right is almost bare. Edited April 17, 2014 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 Friday, 4/18: Overcast and windy as a front moves in. Overnight lows were in the 40s, so there is no freeze today. I go up at 9AM to find nice grippy snow that is already starting to go soft. Several runs down Prospector, Mel's, then Assessment before I tire out. Yesterday on Claim Jumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Saturday, 4/19: Another nice morning with unfrozen snow at open. It isn't quite firm, but it is good and tight and lasts for about 90 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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