bigwavedave Posted January 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 Here's a new one. Giants Ridge closed today and tomorrow due to extreme cold and wind. BigSnow (Indianhead/BlackJack) closed tomorrow, same reason. Spirit might be the only one open. After all my complaining about Spirit being the only hill to close for weather, I will definitely be there if they're open. Though, I suspect the hill closures are as much about the employee shortage as the weather. Spirit made an announcement that despite short staffing their priority was to keep the lifts spinning while allowing other aspects of the hill to operate short staffed (ticket sales counter, food service, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 Wed Started out real cold this morning, like one of the coldest yet, but temps rose to minus 5° by the time I got to the top of the hill and skyrocketed up to +5°F by the time I left at quarter to noon. About 4 skiers on the hill again for the first 1½ hrs, then more people started appearing, a few at a time. My toes got cold again today. Either I'm becoming a wimp or my liners are not drying out overnight. Building south winds brought in the warmer air along with clouds and flat light. Snow was softer today–1" deep trenches! The wind was starting to pick up the dry pow from the woods and filling in the cord and trenches. Could be softer yet tomorrow. Blackjack tomorrow? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted January 27, 2022 Report Share Posted January 27, 2022 Thursday, January 27 Bright sun, nice groom, and temps above zero (for a change) this morning; a few more folks than usual (due I suspect to pent-up demand from the recent arctic temps). Ken joined me later in the morning too. When I went back out in the afternoon the surface was much harder but my Thirst handled it with aplomb! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 Friday Out for a couple of hours this morning. 5° below to start, cold enough to want a face mask. It warmed up to +5° near noon. Typical Minnesota firm ½-1" deep "trenches". The light went flat after an hour, really flat, couldn't see a thing unless you went right up the trees at the edge of the trail. Even skiers were complaining. That's about the time Ken showed up, took one run and left. Even with clear lenses, the Dr would've been blind. It got a bit brighter again, but by then my toes were getting cold. There were more people on the hill today, including school groups, a hint of weekend in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Sunday Took yesterday off for the super flat light, weekend crowd and races courses on the hill. Rode for 2½ hours today. Sunny, above zero and softer snow made for 1"+ deep trenches. Went to the Gandy side after a few runs to avoid the express lift lines. No line at Gandy and few people. Got several runs down Gandy & BearClaw and 1 through the park ahead of 30 kids standing at the top just before they started out en mass. Found a decent line down the left side all whilst looking over my shoulder for airborne incomings. Then Gandy got busy, so I moved back to the express side. The lines weren't bad and being single allowed me to jump ahead to fill empty seats. Kept doing "one more run". It was a good day! Rode only one board, all day! – the Super. Pretty sure I saw @khoward there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2022 Looks like we are heading back into the deep freeze later this week. It could be worse, we could be melting snow instead. I realized today while riding in sunny and balmy +17° temps, that those subzero temps really sap your energy. I had so much more energy today. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2022 Started out with light snow, gusty west wind (down slope), about 28° and falling. The snow was very nice for carving (1"+ deep trenches). Groom was uneven and hard on Gandy & BlueRuin, but Skyhooker was nice as was everything on the express side. DoubleJaw had the best snow and was a good place to ride early in the flat light. And of course there were very few people there. Riding with Russ. We had intermittent sun & snow for the first hour or so, and all at once, the sky cleared and it was bright sun, felt magical. Another day of "just one more run". 3½ hrs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 Wed 2-2-22 Another great day!! ...if you like cold (6°below), moderate wind, bright sun, rock hard groom (½" deep trenches), 5-6 people? on the hill and never traffic to contend with. Yea, it was groundhog day all over again. I was the only one leaving tracks in this snow. Pulled out the 175 Rev w/ F-plate to mellow out the ride for the old knees. The hard groom was a bit bumpy and ice chunky in places. Rode for 2 hrs. The sun seemed to soften the snow a bit, but temps had only warmed up to 2 below (just like the honey) by the time I left. lotta 2's 2day 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2022 Thurs Best day yet!!?? I don't know what got into me today. Rode for 4½ hrs. Temps were -18°F at home this morning, -10 at the top of the hill and 0° by the time I called it quits. Bright sun, no wind and nobody there! Except Russ, who couldn't stop giggling on the chair ride back up looking at the empty hill with only our tracks visible. Yes there were a few skiers and couple of patrollers, but it felt like it was our private hill with no worries about traffic. After the first few runs... There were actually a bunch of ski racers training over on BlueRuin all morning for the Atmore FIS race this weekend. They stayed over on the Gandy side and we rode the express side. JugglerJoe, DoubleJaw, 4Pipe and ScissorBill all had great Minnesota Firm groom. ½-1" deep trenches. And we left tracks everywhere. A bit softer than yesterday, but still some unpleasant crunchy, chunky groomer passes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted February 3, 2022 Report Share Posted February 3, 2022 (edited) Minnesota Cold Cut! Edited February 3, 2022 by Lurch 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 4, 2022 Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 The man…the myth…the legend! Russ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 Fri Another great day! Started out at 0°!! and rose up to 8 above!!! No face mask needed today. A skiff of snow overnight seemed to soften the snow, I don't know, but it seemed a little softer today. And bright sun. Started out carving up 4Pipe, DoubleJaw and ScissorBill on the XC. There's still enough of those unpleasant chunky, crunchy patches scattered around to make you want to avoid them. After a couple of hours, it was getting busy (lots of classes), I switched to the 166 Gecko ice Contra and went over to see what's up on the Gandy side. Skyhooker was really carved up by all the FIS racers on SL skis, but I hardly noticed it on the Geckoed Contra. Gandy was closed with 2 SL courses on it. Racers had made ½ foot deep trenches, right down to the brownish ice base. CinderSnapper and BlueRuin looked too carved up to even think about it. The park was closed, so back down SkyHooker I went, over and over, riding the Summit chair (no lift line there). Went in to warm up with a spiked hot chocolate. The crowds, which seemed to be growing earlier, had vanished, so I went back out for several more runs on the F-plated Donek Rev. The start of another great day of carving... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 5, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 Sat 3" of fresh polar powder over groom this morning and still snowing. Single digits above 0°F. You have to get out really early to get first tracks, even if it's just a baby pow day, and especially a Saturday. Made my first run before the 1st chair load made it to the top and there were already lots of tracks on the hill. There are some regular skinner-uppers here this year. Rode the PCjv swallowtail. It took about an hour before it got too busy for me, but I had my fun. Glad I put in some long days already this week. I might have to go make some XC tracks in the woods today. It's still snowing. The groom should be excellent tomorrow, and it should be easier to get first tracks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 Sunday A carvers pow day! In other words, 1st day groom. No problem getting 1st tracks today. We had 4-5 inches total yesterday, a dusting overnight and it was still snowing this morning. Finally, some honest-to-god trenches and soft turns...and trenches 2-4" deep, just like the big boys do it out west. Snow so soft you can throw all that hard snow carving technique overboard. Ken was there. Rode the 175 Super all morning. Would've been great on the 185 8rw, except that it became weekend busy fast. Switched to the F-plated Rev for the last hour after everything was really trenched and rutted up. The first trench of the day ½ hour before the lift started. Trenches got deeper as the snow softened later. I walked half way back up for another run and then got to board the chair 15 min early...it was a good day. Since Spirit is closed Mondays, I'm thinking about Giant's Ridge tomorrow. They reported 5" yesterday. ...or maybe Indianhead. Al said it was good today. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 So, nobody at Spirit today? While temps got close to the freezing mark at Indianhead today, the temp was 36° here in Duluth at 4pm. First time above freezing in like 6 weeks? I don't like seeing "mixed precipitation" in the forecast for northern MN over the next couple of days. I might check out Spirit tomorrow. Supposed to snow after it rains. The forecast for the Penokees and the Gogebic range inda U.P. is calling for all snow from this clipper with lake effect enhancement through Friday. Probably go back to Indianhead Thursday and Friday. It's really, really good right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 Taking the day off, sauna, chiropractor, give the boards some attention too. Got some freezing rain last night, just a light coating on the deck, and the sky is spitting out some light frizzly stuff right now. The kind that might coat your goggles. Looks like the lake effect kicked in early inda U.P. Indianhead got a few inches overnight and it's supposed to just keep snowing through Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobble Posted February 9, 2022 Report Share Posted February 9, 2022 3 hours ago, bigwavedave said: Got some freezing rain last night, just a light coating on the deck, and the sky is spitting out some light frizzly stuff right now. The kind that might coat your goggles. we had that down here too. i couldn't see. i rode without goggles and my eyes were tearing up. felt like i was crying by the time i reached the bottom. after awhile i stopped tearing on every run. the strange thing was afterwards when i was at home i felt really good, almost giddy. so i googled crying. apparently it releases endorphins. Quote Researchers have established that crying releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, also known as endorphins. might start in riding without goggles on low light days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 Thursday, February 10 Upside #1 - consistently firm, grippy groom at the open today. Downside #1 - generally flat light with a few brief periods of brighter conditions. Downside #2 - a few more winter sports fan on the hill than the usual weekday morning (including 2 buses from the Superior schools). Upside #2 - despite the attendance I found clear runs, with only one brief exception. Upside #3 - snow started around 3pm…..2-3 inches of new by the time I headed out at 4:30pm. Downside #3 - The drive home was a bit of a ‘white-knuckle’ kind of ride through the heavy snow in late day traffic. Upside #4 - The winter storm advisory extends through 4am tomorrow….I’d suggest considering a trip to Spirit early in the day on Friday! Russ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2022 Monday Gonna see how Spirit is tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 15, 2022 Report Share Posted February 15, 2022 Planning to join you in the morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmaron Posted February 15, 2022 Report Share Posted February 15, 2022 Today’s posse: khoward, yours truly, and bigwavedave. Good times (as always when friends come out to play)! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2022 Snow was as good as it's been all winter. Flat light made it hard to see. Staying close to the tree line was the trick. Even Gandy and SkyHooker were in really nice shape. Went over there in the afternoon and found nearly untouched groom, but by then the light was so flat I had to throw on the brakes a few times when the hill just fell away into nothingness in front of me. Fun riding with you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2022 Wednesday Took my time getting to the hill this morning. My legs were feeling tired (4½ hrs yesterday), plus it was flat light again, but then the sun came out and my legs said let's make some turns. With a heat wave in the mid 20's today, everyone was making tracks in the sun softened snow. Trenches were 1-2" deep. Found some untracked groom for sweet smooth turns. Nice, compared to the tracked out stuff. 1st tracks would've been nice today. Good snow everywhere on the hill. They're building a boarder X course on CinderSnaper. Competition this weekend? Checked out the park. It was carvable between the features, but they did not build any berms for carvers. I left the mark of the Superconductor on Gandy... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted February 17, 2022 Report Share Posted February 17, 2022 4 hours ago, bigwavedave said: They're building a boarder X course on CinderSnaper I expect a top ten showing from either @rwmaronor @bigwavedave... The honor of the forum rests on your capable shoulders. SEND IT! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2022 day58 Thermometer read -10° this morning, so you know it's going to be another awesome carving day with a clear blue sky and no body on the slopes, except for a few carvers. Typical surface groom on hardpack. ½" deep trenches at best. It was hard and thankfully consistent, but my knees feel like I've been standing on concrete all day. Russ was on it. So was Ken. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over & over and.... ....Whew, got the same satisfying result every time. Not insane. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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