ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Saturday 2/28, Day 94: Much like yesterday. Seattle Ridge temps in the mid-teens with excellent grooming. Mostly sunny with a few high clouds. Good turns but it got a little crowded by 10:30. I got 6 runs down Gretchen's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Sunday 3/1, Day 95: Somehow there's 3" of new on top but almost nothing down low. I just do my laps on Lower River Run riding the Coda until 10 AM. Sunny and cold, around 15F. The new snow should be pretty good tomorrow morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Monday 3/2, Day 96: Another sunny morning, around 16F. This place isn't called "Sun Valley" for nothing, and the generally good weather is definitely one of the attractions. The new snow is on its 2nd day of groom and is still a little soft. Grooming on Gretchen's is very slightly stripey and the snow surface starts to break up after a few runs. Not bad, but not quite as hardpacky as I like. Broadway Face is much firmer and I get some good turns there. Out at 10:30. Seattle Ridge from the top of Mayday. Looking down Broadway Face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Tuesday 3/3, Day 97: Very sunny, very cold at 9F, with very good grooming. Gretchen's is packed down fairly well. All is smooth and grippy. On one run I was tailgunned by a ski patroller. I did my best to shake him, but he stuck in there pretty well. On another run I saw a guy come over the top crest of the run while looking up on a toeside turn. On my next toeside I looked up again and did the math on his speed, then bailed out immediately. Sure enough he blew by me before I had even come to a full skid-stop. On the way out Upper Canyon had crazy good grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Wednesday 3/4, Day 98: Sunny and 11F cold. From the Gondola I went up the Christmas lift for a change, intent on doing something different. Ridge was too firm from cooking in the afternoon sun, but Blue Grouse was good. I had intended to stay on the Lookout Express lift, but ended up going to Seattle Ridge where Gretchen's was hardpacked and excellent. I did a few runs with local carvers Steve and John. Out at 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Thursday 3/5, Day 99: Hazy overcast at first, but burning off. Inverty, 15F base, 20 top. Gretchen's was reasonably good but some parts of it started to get loose with mini-cookification. I'm pretty sure that I saw Bruce Dern yesterday in town. If it wasn't him, it was some other disheveled crazy-looking old guy that looks just like Bruce Dern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) Friday 3/6, Day 100: Busy in the morning getting poked and prodded, so I went to Warm Springs around noon. The Janss Pro Am, a local charity event is taking place on Lower River Run so the parking lot is nearly full. It is sunny and 40F at the top of the Greyhawk lift. I went down Mid-Greyhawk in hopes of good grip but found it to be a little skitchy. I took Challenger to the top and came down the entire Warm Springs trail. The upper area had better carving, but conditions weren't great. On the way down I stopped to watch some of the racing, including this shot of the skiing squirrel. So that's 100 continuous days on snow. Yet another dubious achievement. Edited March 6, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 CONGRATS ART!!!!!!!!!!!! That is quite the accomplishment in our world. I have never done 100 straight, maybe 21 if I recall correctly, I have done , or had, three 150 day seasons in my life. I can tell you that allot of folks throw around "100 day seasons" and few actually accomplish that. It takes allot of time , effort and money!! Good on you!!!! PS. My big seasons were in the 90s and two required trips to NZ. Carry on my friend, we are all watching with great appreciation. Bryan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Saturday 3/7, Day 101: Sunny and 32F on top, I get 1st chair on Seattle Ridge. Not too crowded early on for a Saturday. The Sun Valley Film Festival is wrapping up this weekend, and maybe the town's accomodations are full of non-skiers? The town itself is kinda crowded, but nothing at all like Park City during their big mess. Grooming and grip are excellent this morning, with the kind of snow that takes a deep rut. By the time I left at 10:30 it was starting to break apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Sunday 3/8, Day 102: Sunny and maybe 30F for my abbreviated morning of carving up Lower River Run. The loss of an hour to DST keeps much of this trail in the shadows during the early hours. It has been getting warmer and warmer, so the lower mountain is definitely seeing thaw-freeze. But the skier's right of LRR has been tilled into submission by the groomers and is smooth and grippy. I find the perfect speed on the Coda and wiggle short turns as fast as possible, trying to muscle the board into a high frequency oscillation. Out at 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Monday 3/9, Day 103: I had another morning appointment so I just repeated yesterday's early laps down LRR. It is super firm but the right side of the run has been pulverized into goodness. High frequency wiggles. Wiggle, wiggle wiggle. Out at 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Tuesday 3/10, Day 104: Sunny and inverty, 35 on top. I haven't been up here in a couple of days, but Gretchen's was smooth and buttery grip for the first few runs then started to break apart. The snow seems really dry. After 6 runs or so, some turns start to slide as it gets cut up. Local carver Steve said that he was on Greyhawk yesterday at 3 PM and it was incredible. Hmm. It's getting to be that time of the season when one really needs to take calculated risks and find some perfectly thawing boilerplate. This just in: Sun Valley joins the Mountain Collective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Friday 3/6, Day 100: Busy in the morning getting poked and prodded, so I went to Warm Springs around noon. The Janss Pro Am, a local charity event is taking place on Lower River Run so the parking lot is nearly full. It is sunny and 40F at the top of the Greyhawk lift. I went down Mid-Greyhawk in hopes of good grip but found it to be a little skitchy. I took Challenger to the top and came down the entire Warm Springs trail. The upper area had better carving, but conditions weren't great. On the way down I stopped to watch some of the racing, including this shot of the skiing squirrel. So that's 100 continuous days on snow. Yet another dubious achievement. 100 days in a row! I take my hat off to you, sir. Hell of a season to pull that off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Wednesday 3/11, Day 105: Much like yesterday, another overnight above freezing. Excellent smooth groom on Gretchen's for the first runs, then it starts to get cut up. Broadway Face has some terrible looking brown patches and patrol has fenced off a rocky part of Lower Broadway. I understand that Seattle Ridge will close before the end of March, followed by the River Run base area. Assuming we make it that far, closing is scheduled for April 12 and by then only the Warm Springs side will be available. Ever since DST started, the number of skiers at open has dropped off. More people hit the hill from 10AM, including the tourists that have started to fly in on their spring break. Yes, this season has been a good run, despite the low snow year. Some of the things that make it possible include: - I live really close to a base area. - Big city distractions are over 70 miles away, so it is hard to get motivated to do that drive. - By comparison to resorts that are near population centers, SV is NOT crowded. It isn't a big deal to ride on weekends. - I've been fortunate so far with health and injuries. - Carving is NOT getting me chicks by the truckload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Thursday 3/12, Day 106: Phone meetings in the morning so I head for Warm Springs sometime just before 2PM. It's mostly sunny and probably near 50F around the base up to mid-mountain. Greyhawk and Lower Warm Springs were kinda mushy on top and wouldn't hold an edge well even though it didn't feel that hard underneath. I made one trip up to the top and found better grip on Upper College, Flying Squirrel and Lower Picabo's although the runs were pretty cut up. Down in the parking lot was this clunker RV from Tennessee which I often see parked in my neighborhood at night. Somebody is living the dream. Unlike the New York van that I used to see at A-Basin, this guy does not seem to have a wood burning stove with a chimney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Friday 3/13, Day 107: Back to Seattle Ridge at open. Sunny, around 32F with base temps expected to reach 58 this afternoon. The early groom is much like other recent days with good grip at first but coming apart after a few runs. Very slightly cooko-crunchy. Grooming on the bottom pitch to the Seattle Ridge lift was kinda awful. On the bright side, many of the bad brown spots from a few days ago have been filled in. On the down side, I threw four big rocks off the runs this morning. I'm back to riding Mr. Flaccid because I don't want to risk hitting another rock with the Oxess. Out at 10:45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 - Carving is NOT getting me chicks by the truckload. LOL, funny how that works, isn't it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Saturday 3/14, Day 108: 35F open at Seattle Ridge with perfectly smooth groom and overcast skies. Instead of the more closely spaced passes that I'm used to seeing with slightly raised ridges, every once in a while the grooming swaths are really wide, with minor depressions at their edges. I think that this is the "mark of the Beast," when they bring the Prinoth Beast groomer over here. The grip on Gretchen's is good but not great. Strangely, it feels either too firm or simultaneously too soft. On those turns that bit in hard, I left some really good ruts. Some guy calls my Donek skwal a "Bomber Board". Not many people until around 10AM. out at 10:45. I'm told that the Lookout "Lift to Nowhere" will close tomorrow. Rain is in the forcast. I took my snow tires off yesterday, but it didn't seem to help any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Sunday 3/15, Day 109: It rained just a little overnight. At open it is already 35F at the base and Lower River Run is already soft. Flipping short turns on the Coda, the nose catches early on one turn and whips around before I was ready for it. On a steeper pitch with higher speeds that could have been a cartwheel, but fortunately I was going slow. The early-bird season pass price for next season went up to $1749. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Monday 3/16, Day 110: Pretty warm at the base this morning, maybe 40F. I went to the top and came down Ridge and Blue Grouse but they were pretty firm and not particularly well-groomed. Getting lower, I found "just right" snow on Upper Canyon, then it got soft further on down. After that I did a few laps on soft LRR but there is a wet spot that might turn into a little pond. From the River Run chair one can see that Lower Olympic is just wrecked by big bare brown areas. Scuttlebutt says that we might close as early as 4/6. Out at 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Tuesday 3/17, Day 111: Went to the top at open. Upper College is perfectly groomed but too firm to be any fun for me, even though it is supposedly 35F up here. Lower College grooming is less good, but it is still scrapy. I ended up doing a few laps on soft Lower River Run then left at 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Wednesday 3/18, Day 112: Clear skies overnight allowed temps to drop into the mid-20s, then broke into a sunny morning still below freezing at open. I assumed that the entire mountain was hard as a rock and just did laps down Lower River Run in the well-tilled path that the cats take to the upper areas. Not bad. Out at 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger jr Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Art! Are you ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thursday 3/19, Day 113: Of course I'm not ok. When have I ever been ok? I'm not ok, you're not ok. Below freezing at open with the entire mountain in thaw-freeze again. I did 4 runs down Lower River Run just to say I was there, then went on a long, long drive to check out a chunk of real estate. Pretty much 7 1/2 hours of driving with a few breaks. Now I have brain fog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Friday 3/20, Day 114: Up to the top from 11:30 on a fine sunny day. It was below freezing overnight. At Seattle Ridge, Gretchen's and Muffy's are holding up well with no thin spots. There is nice dry snow over cruncy or hard scrape. I took Mayday out because Lower Broadway and the Cold Springs chair are now closed. Upper College was similar, then Mid-River was variable between thick soft and hard scrape. Lower River Run was softish but some reasonable short carves could be made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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