bigwavedave Posted January 30 Author Report Share Posted January 30 Tuesday Some light rain overnight with temps above freezing. Bright overcast, so you could sorta see. More cars in the parking lot than a typical weekday morning, but not too busy on the hill. Easy to get a clear run. A decent groom with a light crust that softened nicely as the temps rose into the mid 30's during the day. The ice base was 4-6" under the slush and if you carved hard, you'd find it. The snow was fast and a bit uneven between soft and hard requiring flexy legs and some skidded turns and no full throttle carving. Rode for 3 hours, as it kept getting better with each run and then I found some untracked groom that was as smooth as butter. Went over to the BigAir park looking for more untouched groom and found it closed with groomers rearranging things. Looked like they were making a boarderX course. Gandy has some brown spots that look like churned up dirt & gravel. P.S. Heard reports that Lutsen and GR were very nice over the weekend. P.P.S. Rode only one board! Thirst XC with my homemade 3 toed Gecko-ish plates. It was bumpy enough to appreciate having some suspension. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted January 31 Author Report Share Posted January 31 Wed Overnight low temp ~32°. Waited til 11am for the sun to come out and temps to get into the mid 30's. Conditions were similar to yesterday, but with a bit thinner slush layer (3-4") over the ice. A little crusty at first, but quickly softened up. Made several runs with the XC and got bounced around quite a bit by ruts and the ice base, then switched to the Thirst 202TS and found carving bliss. A Cadillac ride with sports car cornering. Big, super smooth, high speed turns all the way across 4Pipe. A fine day of slush slarving. The snow started to get a little sticky when temps got into the mid 40's. Rode for almost 2 hours. Ken was there. Planning on tomorrow! Yes, it's April in January! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 1 Author Report Share Posted February 1 Thurs April in Feb More of the same. Started out near freezing and up into the 40's with blue skies. A variable crunchy to soft groom gradually transitioned to fairly consistent 3-6" deep slush with an ice base. Another stellar slush carving day that almost felt like plush packed powder by the end. Rode with Russ for a few, then with Ken til cloud cover and flat light moved in. Legs were done by then anyway. 2+ hours. The XC was slaying it today. photo credit @rwmaron 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 Set up overnight with cooler temps. About an inch of granular ice over icy crust. Maybe first chair tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 More importantly, did you see your shadow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 No shadows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 18 hours ago, khoward said: Set up overnight with cooler temps. About an inch of granular ice over icy crust. Maybe first chair tomorrow Not planning on today. Overcast and likely icy. Thinking about a day trip to Snowriver Sunday. Supposed to be sunny and 40°. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khoward Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 No shadows again, but good granular groom. Rode from first chair for about an hour till it got too busy. Maybe first chair tomorrow again? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 4 Author Report Share Posted February 4 Sunday 29° sunny and warmed up to 40° Drove to the top for 1st tracks and caught the 1st chair up when no one was looking Rode with Ken most of the morning. 1-2" of sugary groom over the ice base. Fairly nice carving conditions that got progressively softer with every run as the temps warmed. The ice base was a bit bumpy. Rode 3 different boards, all with plates. (Geckos, modified Geckos, and F-plate). The longer the effective edge, the smoother the ride. Rode for 3 hours, never got too busy. Mid-day groom on Gandy after the USSA ski races! Took a few turns through the bigair park for some untracked groom weaving a line through and around the features. There is a line of BX rollers down the far left side now. All in all, a fine day of typical spring conditions...in February! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 6 Author Report Share Posted February 6 I'm already tired of "spring" conditions in Feb. Overcast & flat light with temps into the 50's, water is pooling at the bottom of the hill. Hardly anyone there today, including me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 Wed I did another drive-by today returning from the P.O. Sent a board to Montana. I thought about riding today, but didn't. Overcast and light rain. Uggghhh! The hill is still covered with white stuff (mainly ice base with a slushy top). There may be a return of wintery weather by Friday. Some new snow would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 Thurs Overnight temps close to 40°. Intermittent rain showers through the night and morning. The sun came out about noon with temps nearing 50°, so up to the hill I went. Only the regular 4 hardcore ski-carvers, a few patrollers and 2 small ski school groups on the hill. Surprisingly good carving, lots of untouched groom that was smooth like buttercream frosting, 4-6" deep over a softened ice base. Some easily avoided wet patches and thin spots here and there. Rode for a couple of hours till the clouds moved back in and the ruts and piles started to get firm. Started out on the TSm² (deep slush slayer) then the 8rw which is a precision slush slarver, best when there is a firm base within 6 inches or so. It's a stiffer stick with a longer ee and equally proficient at smoothing out slushy mashed taters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 11 Author Report Share Posted February 11 Sunday Near normal, below freezing winter temps have returned. Spirit Mt was packed all weekend from two FIS ski race events (XC & alpine). I waited until this afternoon, going up after the crowds dispersed. I suspected that conditions might be hard frozen after all the warm weather and hoped that a couple of grooming cycles might soften things. I only made one run. The hill was scraped down to washboard ice (from frozen imprints of cat tracks). Just a bit of sugary ice shavings on top. Not much fun for carving, even with a plate. Snowriver/JCS is making new snow and may get a bit of lake effect in the next few days. Might be worth a trip over to the U.P. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 Monday Snow guns are set top to bottom on 4pipe. Nighttime temps should be cold enough. Nice to see Mt ops putting in the extra effort this season. There's definitely a new mindset to hill management. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 14 Author Report Share Posted February 14 Wed oneloveday The sun made an appearance with temps near freezing and climbed to 40° A dusting of snow overnight and Spirit brought out the guns to make new snow--resurfacing 4pipe Monday night and BindleStiff last night and tonight...? Surprisingly nice quality carvable groom on 75% of the hill. ~2" deep over the ice base with occasional patches of shear ice, icy groom and chunky snow. You had to be alert. I rode 4 different boards, all with plates of varying types. Partly to compare the ride between different board/plate combos. Tested a new 3 toad-gecko-style made with 4mm carbon plate on the Superconductor and it was the best ride yet (at least today). There's a berm under the old chair that has consistently softer snow for some sweet turns... As much as I dislike dodging those chair pylons in the run, the groom is always better there...under the chair. Rode for 2 hrs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 16 Author Report Share Posted February 16 Friday 7° and sunny, windy, 15° by noon. Drove to the top for first tracks and found some hero groom near the bottom of 4pipe... ...although, most of the hill is a carvable hard groom for <1" deep trenches. Frozen crusty groom still found in some areas. Overall, a pretty fun day of carving. Snowmaking continues. They've refreshed DoubleJaw, 4Pipe, BindleStiff, Gandy and Bear so far this week. The grooming continues to be quite good and virtually seamless. The BigAir park has several berms built down the left side that made fun carving features. It got a little busy with school groups today and the snow seemed to get firmer and chunky after the first couple of hours. Planning on 1st tracks tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 17 Author Report Share Posted February 17 President's day weekend, Saturday 17° sunny SW wind 15-30kts Drove up for 1st tracks. Arrived 15 min before opening and realized I forgot my helmet & goggles. Rather than miss making 1st tracks, I rode with sunglasses and a thin balaclava, feeling naked and vulnerable. Turned out to be well worth it though, as it was a beautiful "Minnesota firm" groom--smooth, consistent, <1" trenches. A bit on the hard side, so it was still nice to have a plate under foot to mute out bumps. As luck would have it, while waiting for the chair lift to start loading at the bottom, I found a kid-sized helmet in the lost & found and borrowed it. Rode for another hour or so until the crowds started building. When leaving, I saw a big line waiting for lift tickets, which may explain why so few people were on the hill for the first hour. Planning on 1st thing tomorrow, before the crowds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 18 Author Report Share Posted February 18 Sunday 25-32° sunny 1st tracks...one picture says it all... ...mostly. Hero groom, Minnesota firm style. A smooth and consistent groom that you could push into and get a rebound while making only 1-2" deep trenches. It wasn't long until it was busier than yesterday. In a couple of hours the hill was carved up and scraped down til you were carving on the ice underlayment, about 3" under the surface groom. Rode 2 boards in 2 hours; the 175 SuperConductor (with buffer plates) and once it got busy, the Geckoed Contra 166. Overall, a fun, albeit short day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 Monday Presidents day sunny & warm showed up ½ hour early to make the 1st track... and hiked up for the 2nd track and a photo. Purrrfect groom, mo betta than the day before, and the day before that. Not too busy either. Only out for the 1st hour today, but I could tell it was going to get down to the washboard ice later, once the 3" or so of surface groom was cut up and scraped down. I was already starting to feel it on my last run. Otherwise, it was as close as it gets to blissful carving. Rode the Superconductor with my modified 3 toad gecko-ish plates. Doesn't noticeably modify the flex or feel of the board, but mutes out bumps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 20 Author Report Share Posted February 20 Tuesday Mostly sunny, 40°+ by afternoon. Same, yet better. Near purrfect groom. 1st tracks had me hollerin' as I went down a wide open empty slope and under the folks riding the 1st chairs going up. 4Pipe was best. Gandy was finally carvable, as was most everything else, but with a crunchy underlayment. Rode the Super all morning and went back up in the afternoon after the new board arrived. For a test ride. 9sw Oh, and there was a jolson sighting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 21 Author Report Share Posted February 21 Wed getting warmer. Barely below freezing overnight and up to 45° or higher today. Waited til noon for the sun to come out and for the kids to go in for lunch (Duluth schools are off this week). Not much slush on top of the washboard ice base. I sought out the few small patches of untracked groom for smooth-as-silk turns. Otherwise there was a lot of contact with the ice base between slush piles. My recommendation is to get out early for 1st tracks on the fresh groom (it's been real nice lately) before it breaks down to the ice after a couple of hours. Did some testing and comparing, riding 3 boards. Rode the XC and Super with my 3 toad geckos, 1-2 runs each, then pulled out the 9sw to see how my stance felt. I haven't ridden an 18cm wide board with steep angles (65°/60°) for many years. Felt like I needed a little lateral cant on the rear foot. Well, the 9sw was the smoothest ride of all, hardly even felt the ice. Super fast though, making big turns requiring a lot of room. Rode the 9sw for another hour or so until more kids started coming out on the hill. P.S. $5 lift tickets for Duluth residents tomorrow and Sunday. Might be a little busier than usual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 22 Author Report Share Posted February 22 Thursday Another warm one....50° It feels and looks more like the end of March. Made 1st tracks on the big board (9sw) and then a few more, until I felt the need to downsize. This thing is so fast that I overtake everyone despite trying to leave more space than usual. The groomed slush over the ice base is getting thinner. The ice base got soft after an hour or so and made for nice carving all over the hill. And then it got sticky, wet and slow. Rode the 8rw and then the Geckoed Super. Had fun carving soft untracked groom in the park after noon... Russ was there...working somewhere. Didn't get to ride together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 23 Author Report Share Posted February 23 Friday 4-5" of lake effect snow burst in the wee hours, unforecasted, total surprise! Most of the snow fell after the hill had been groomed. The new snow was dry, powdery. Some groom was exposed by the wind and was frozen hard. Groom under the blanket of new snow remained soft & wet and made the glide sticky slow. The express chair was down for the 1st hour. On ScissorBill... Started on the Super and switched to the 202 TankerSpanker which had better glide and smoothed out tracks & ruts. Rode all morning from 1st tracks, home for lunch at noon and back for more later with the camera. As you can see, it was real busy. Could be good tomorrow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 24 Author Report Share Posted February 24 Saturday sunny, 22° heading towards 40° 1st tracks. Seemed like the new snow got compacted down to ½". The surface groom was xtra firm. ½" deep trenches got you down to a crunchy, gravely base. The groomer must have used minimal tiller depth. Carvable, but not pleasurable. Best snow was found in the BigAir park. Rode for 2 hours when weekend crowds materialized. As per their Facebook page, Spirit is cutting back hours in March. https://www.facebook.com/SpiritMtDuluth/ Strapping in for a weather roller-coaster ride. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted February 25 Author Report Share Posted February 25 Sunday overnight temps above freezing, sunny and temps into the mid 40's 1st tracks on the 9sw ...snow was great! The 360 camera was playing tricks... Still tweaking my stance. I believe I prefer how F2 Race Titaniums feel on this board over td3sw. It's the biggest scr I've ever ridden and I'm still acclimating to the speed and more so, misjudging how tight I'm (not) able to crank a turn. Those chair lift pylons come up fast! The hard snow doesn't help matters. Rode for 2 ½ hours. Switched to the 175 Super after a few runs as it got busy. Snow was nice everywhere, yet the ice base is still there, especially once it gets tracked out. Untracked groom over in the BigAir park was particularly sweet. Met a "Knapton" style SB carver from Chicago, doing those forearm dragging, toeside slarve turns. 42 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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