bigwavedave Posted March 3, 2021 Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 On 3/2/2021 at 6:31 PM, Chouinard said: Not it off Dave! Well now, that just encourages me more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 4, 2021 Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 Thinking of heading over to Indianhead tomorrow (Fri). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chouinard Posted March 5, 2021 Report Share Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) @bigwavedaveCome on Man! Poaching first tracks a full 30 minutes before opening! Edited March 5, 2021 by Chouinard Issues 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobble Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 8 hours ago, Chouinard said: @bigwavedaveCome on Man! Poaching first tracks a full 30 minutes before opening! i'm getting a "to catch a predator' vibe from that webcam. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 8 hours ago, Chouinard said: @bigwavedaveCome on Man! Poaching first tracks a full 30 minutes before opening! Dang! Forgot about that webcam. You caught me, I got there early and figured I could either sit at the top or the bottom. It's so warm and sunny and peaceful at the bottom. The groom was actually pretty firm and a wee bit bumpy on that 1st run (almost went into the woods off Sundance), but after about ½ hour it softened up and continued to get better through the day. To add insult to injury, I've been using your parking spot too. But here's the rub; You know those days in Aspen when it warms up into the mid 30's, bluebird sky, lunch outside and you have to shed layers, yet somehow the snow maintains its magical, carving awesomeness, and you don't want to stop, but after 5 hrs you can barely walk?? That was today! 'cept inda UP. Oh yeah, Brian (aka Doobs) was there on a 170+ish F2 Silberpfeil, then Beth came out to play, and finally Al took a break from work and made some turns on his XC. Here's that 1st track... Riding the Super all day! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chouinard Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 I was trying to get the first tracks. I assumed it would be the usual 15 minute prior mark but I should have known based on the conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 2 hours ago, Chouinard said: I was trying to get the first tracks. I assumed it would be the usual 15 minute prior mark but I should have known based on the conditions. The parking lot was filling up fast and I panicked. With the current freeze/thaw cycling, those 1st tracks on frozen groom are not so special. But, once it warms up... Taking a break from IH today, but thinking about tomorrow and maybe Monday when temps reach 45-50°. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 I hear Indianhead calling, so I'm getting up early and heading east tomorrow! Big Snow will be closed M-Th next week. Spirit Mt hours are TBD after this weekend. A hard rain's a gonna fall on M-T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Looks like Spirit will be done after this weekend, but with a possible weekend opening for March 27-28 if conditions permit. Waxed the Rossiboard with paraffin and finished with a wire brush texture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Well, not as good as I'd hoped. Al calls it Michigan Marble. Frozen groom, frozen melt water pools scattered like scabs on the hill. Uneven groomer passes. I rode for a couple of hours and it wasn't softening up much. Sunday will be the last day for Indianhead. Blackjack may be open next weekend for a season ender. I optimistically renewed my pass for next season. Gotta be one of the earliest season endings for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 2022 Thursday: I almost went to BlackJack today. Kinda wished I had since they're not open M-T-W and don't groom when there's new snow. They had over a foot with this storm and have lingering lake effect snow today! Forecast calls for more snow overnight. Planning to head over to Indianhead tomorrow. Also, it will be 5-10° warmer than here at Spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 7, 2022 Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 -25°F at the house this morning, 10° below at the top of Indianhead and rose to +10° by afternoon. and sunny. Driving here is like driving into winter. Over a foot of dry polar powder fell over the past 36hrs. Most of it groomed in today with pockets of partially tracked powder on the side. The groom was a mix of crunchy hard and really soft, a bit challenging, but still fun. Apparently the base was quite thin and hard before this recent snow. Rode a few different boards before settling on the 181 PC swallowtail. It has a gentler ride through variable terrain and puts a smile on my face like riding a fatbike. Feels like a trip out west, but it's east...way east B Rode for 5 hrs with a ½ hr lunch break, so almost met my self imposed quota to justify time behind the wheel with equal or more time on the snow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 26, 2022 Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 Wednesday Thinking of going over to BlackJack tomorrow. There's been several inches of snow over the past few days, so hoping to find some soft turns. Al says it should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 28, 2022 Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 Thursday Made the 2½ hr trek from Duluth to BlackJack this morning, into the snowglobe that is the U.P. Light Lake effect snow with intermittent sun. Some runs were groomed, likely because of the high winds yesterday, with several inches of powder on the sides and a couple of runs ungroomed. Fun to be on soft snow! Al & Beth were there too! ...and temps above zero!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 7, 2022 Report Share Posted February 7, 2022 Monday Best day ever! ...or at least as far as I can remember. Indianhead had about 10" of light fluffy powder over the past two days. 6" last night, some groomed in and some not. FIS was the highlight today, especially the steep at the bottom. Winnebago a little crunchy, but really good everywhere else. Rode the 175 Super for the first few hrs and then the 185 8rw to smooth out all those trenches. Riding with @Algunderfoot. Thanks again for the heads-up about conditions Al. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 9, 2022 Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 Tues Back for more today! And another fantastic day it was. Still some left over freshies on the sides if you're into that. Everything else groomed with that 1st day softness. Rode the 8rw all day! Big turns! Big smile! Leelinaw was real nice as loose snow had blown over it and resurfaced the groom. Everything was delicious buttercream frosting. Al & Beth were there too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 10, 2022 Report Share Posted February 10, 2022 Thursday ~6" of lake effect overnight with narrow groom down the middle of most runs. Rode 185 8rw's to trench up the groomers in the morning with Al, then rode the PCjv between the fresh and the groom. I kept finding areas of 8" deep powder making for pillowy turns. 8 inches seems just enough to float the PC where you rarely touch bottom. An 8rw trench from the morning session, still intact in the afternoon.... That's some snow! It's supposed to dump here tonight and tomorrow, so I'm staying put. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 Friday Holy Mother Superior! The lake delivered today, as if someone violently shook the snow globe. The wind kept building all day bringing heavier and heavier snow in off the lake. Tracks were filed in while you rode the chair back up. Al and I started on 8rw's and as the snow started accumulating, Al switched to his Coda swallowtail skwal, and I switched to my baby swallowtail carver (PCjv). A magic little board that effortlessly blasted through and floated over everything the hill had to offer today. By mid afternoon it was near white-out conditions. I expect they'll groom down the middle of most runs leaving some generous side pow. Temps plummet to subzero tonight. I'm hoping the cold temps will keep the early Saturday morning crowds thin. Back to Duluth tomorrow night. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 Only a few inches of snow overnight, so most everything was groomed out today. There was still plenty of powder stashes for the Saturday crowd to play in. I was into the groom, which was pretty soft with some inconsistencies to keep you on your toes. Trenches were several inches deep. Rode the 8rw all day. The soft groom enabled me to crank much tighter turns on the 8rw today and successfully carve the narrow entrance to FIS. The steep at the bottom was really fun. 1st tracks in the mountainous swell at the bottom of Chippewa... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 14, 2022 Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 Monday Back again after a day of rest. 12° below when I left Duluth and 5° below at the top of Indianhead for 1st tracks. Had 4 runs before anyone else showed up. I told the lifties that I rented the whole place for myself. They laughed and asked if they could go skiing too. Sometimes they let me load myself on the chair early when it's running and they're busy flipping the seats. It's a laid back and friendly place. The groom was firm and a bit uneven at first, but the sun seemed to soften the snow after a while. Temps only got up to +10°. FIS was again my favorite today. The steep at the bottom was sooo good. Rode the 8rw, Coiler Rev, and the Super, which really slayed it! The tight entrance to FIS is right under the chair. A good opportunity to show off and get some good pics of your work on the ride up... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted April 3, 2022 Report Share Posted April 3, 2022 Sunday Indianhead There was 6-8" of new snow last Thursday. Friday was reportedly fantastic. It's been melting since then. This morning started with frozen, uneven groom which quickly softened in the sun as temps got into the 40's. There was a rough ice base under 3-4" of surfy slush. Rode with Beth & Al til a little after noon when clouds moved in. Fun was had by all. There's still a good base of snow here and all runs are open. There's some rain & snow in the forecast before next weekend...the last of the season (Th-F-S-S). day 77 (this is what happens when you retire, you start counting your days) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted April 5, 2022 Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 Thinking about this weekend, closing days. Could be good if the forecast lake effect whips up on the tail of this storm. Going to Lutsen Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted April 5, 2022 Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 According to the Big Snow web page Indianhead will be open 4/14-17! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted April 5, 2022 Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 58 minutes ago, rwmaron said: According to the Big Snow web page Indianhead will be open 4/14-17! But of course, Easter, the hill arises for one more weekend. Oh me of little faith! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted April 10, 2022 Report Share Posted April 10, 2022 Sunday Word was that it was really nice yesterday–sunny, warm, surfy. I needed a day to recover after Lutsen Friday, so didn't make it to Indianhead til today. Started out with frozen groom, so I got to try several different ice board configurations while waiting for it to warm up. Early afternoon brought some sun and 50° temps that finally softened the ice base under 3-4" of slush to make for nice carving and deep trenches. Also, warm enough to get sticky wet and need to reapply wax. I think i can see my tracks... Al & Beth showed up but just didn't like the frozen morning groom, especially after having such a perfect day yesterday. day 79 last lift served day for me and likely last day for the season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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