Stevens Pass Reports 2010-2011 [Archive] - Bomber Carving Community

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Sultan Guy

October 25th, 2010, 11:03 AM

First big snow of the season!

ExcelsiorTheFathead

November 3rd, 2010, 01:21 PM

I've heard lifties and old-timers refer to some of the lifts at Stevens by a single number, as if they have some kind of internal numbering system. Anybody know how this works?

Keenan

November 5th, 2010, 12:13 PM

Same with Crystal. All of the lifts were numbered years before they gave them names. Learn the numbers, impress the ski patrol.

slopestar

November 8th, 2010, 06:34 AM

Same with Crystal. All of the lifts were numbered years before they gave them names. Learn the numbers, impress the ski patrol.

Yes but Some of the chairs at crystal have been removed. Only one chair you need to remember there anyway and its called chair 6

Sultan Guy

November 8th, 2010, 07:00 AM

slopestar

November 8th, 2010, 12:18 PM

Last winter I went one day to Loup Loup, a tiny non profit ski area over in the Methow Valley. They really only have one lift which is a super slow fixed quad. Supposedly they purchased it from Crystal. The lifties hang weights on the side of the chair when less then 3 people get on to keep it from tilting.

That would be chair 5 or what was chair 5...Used to start at the base of rainier express or REX as it is known, and offload at at the top of chair 9. it was a fairly short chair and slow as molasses in winter...

ExcelsiorTheFathead

November 26th, 2010, 06:01 PM

The Stevens website has an announcement of Dec 1 for opening day. Based on my experiences from last year's opening day I think that I will skip it, but I am sure to be up there most good weather weekdays once things get going.

See you guys up there.

mike g.

November 28th, 2010, 07:22 PM

i might be up there on 6th. Just got to watch the weather.. Let all the other people get up there first and pack it down. then the won't be anybad spots. Was going to snoqualmie, but the coverage isn't that good. not worth my time, board. or my health. I need at least 48 inches to slide on my ass. for a cushion :confused:

Keenan

November 28th, 2010, 07:45 PM

I need at least 48 inches to slide on my ass. for a cushion

Mike, what have you been eating?

Sultan Guy

November 29th, 2010, 07:00 PM

Mike, what have you been eating?
:lol: That is funny!

I will be at Stevens this Sunday the 5th. First time out this season so will most likely only stay about 3 hours although....have been doing lots of cool gym workouts from my post on that subject so might be stronger then I think.:nono:

ExcelsiorTheFathead

December 2nd, 2010, 04:43 PM

I'm here to testify to the correctness of Mike G's ass, which is the all-knowing, all-seeing oracle of snow. I got up there first thing at open and spent almost the whole morning riding my 4WD on Daisy just trying to get a feel for things again. Once I got re-acclimated to some speed and pulling turns I went over to Hogs to check that out.

Snow coverage is about average to low for early season, I guess. The green runs off of Daisy are covered and well groomed, but on Hogs everything is pretty bumpy in the sense that the curvature of the underlying terrain is still very visible beneath the thin snow cover. A couple of carved turns are possible in some areas, but it is hard to get any rhythm going when you have to deal with the undulating terrain. Since the backside isn’t open yet, everyone is out on the front, and some of the narrowly groomed areas are a bit of a bottleneck.

Blue Trail is ungroomed and has lots of visible plant life. Rock n’ Blue is groomed but undulating. The lower section where it dumps out to Easy Street is really thin. Hog Heaven/Hog Wild are groomed but undulating and thin. I didn’t go over to Skyline or Brooks today, but may try them tomorrow. Big Chief opened during the day today. It looks ok from below, but the groomed area is pretty narrow.

If anyone is planning on going up there this weekend (Andy?) it might be a good idea to bring a rock board or something at least as wide as an ATV/Incline. My guess is that it will be crowded with lots of people packed into the front side runs, and that plus the overall snow conditions don’t make for good carving. My 4WD got a minor scratch in the base, probably from riding one of the Hogs runs.

It seemed like attendance today was way down from opening day, thank goodness. What’s the attraction of opening day anyhoo? Too many people crammed into too few barely-covered runs. I’ll be waiting for the back side to open. There should be at least 48” of snow by then, the front side will fill into a more even surface and people will have more space to spread out.

I ran into Teague, one of the Hogs lifties from last season. He is working “security” now, patrolling the premises and telling people to fire up the doobie in the trees.

Keenan

December 3rd, 2010, 08:52 AM

I'm here to testify to the correctness of Mike G's ass, which is the all-knowing, all-seeing oracle of snow.

I have nothing to add to this post except that Mike G's ass will certainly be the new forecaster on The Weather Channel.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

December 3rd, 2010, 07:12 PM

A nice day today with sunbreaks. Another day of grooming has made things better. Trails are wider and a little flatter and more even. Except for the presence of too many people, things aren’t too bad. Tye Mill was running today, but Big Chief wasn’t. The grooming on Showcase below the Big Chief chair is now wider, so maybe they are planning to run it on the weekend?

Marmot Meadows, the steep bit under the Skyline chair is unusable, but the Skyline run itself and the Barrier Ridge seem to be fine. People are running the Lower Terminal chute to get from the top of Skyline to the terrain park. I think that there may be some rocks there, but the park types could probably care less.

As long as you stay on the groomed, I don’t think that there is much in the way of exposed rocks. Some places have grass or treetops poking out. For the busy weekend I’d say that the best carving run is from the Brooks chair. Most of the Brooks traffic is for the park, so even on a crowded day the Broadway run is sparsely used. The terrain is a bunch of little rolling hills, but the grooming is good and one can pick a line to carve through them. Once it meets up with Skyline you have to be more careful because of the people bombing down the hill.

I rode my new-to-me Donek MFC 163 today for the first time. A nice ride, but pretty hooky if I turned too hard while going too slow. A guy yelled down to me from the Brooks chair: “Hey, is that Art?” I’m pretty sure that it was Bill, a guy that we sometimes saw last season riding some really old hard gear. Other things heard from the lift: “Monoskis Suck!” and “Go Uniski!”

snowboardbill

December 10th, 2010, 09:15 AM

Yes Art that was me ( Bill ) on the Brooks Chair , I was on my old soft boot gear ( rock board ) but am thinking of bringing up my New to me Freecarv II for this weekend. I am scheduled to work both Saturday and Sunday but there are not many classes going out so might have some time to ride.

Sultan Guy

December 10th, 2010, 12:00 PM

Major dump up there last night and today.
I will be there Saturday instead of Sunday my usual day.
Big rain in the forecast for Sunday :(
However this will pack all the powder down and make a great base for the season.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

December 10th, 2010, 03:18 PM

I was last up on Monday 12/6. Grooming was decent and I had a good morning on my new-to-me Coiler 176 VSR which has incredible grip. Everything was great until I hit a rock at the bottom end of Rock 'n Blue. I should take more of my own advice and keep the good boards at home until the coverage is better. It should be much better now, but the forecast rain could mess it up for awhile. I have found that the new Deeluxe Speed Red liners that I put in my UPZs were still too tight, so I took them down to Sturdavents for some work. I won't get the boots back until tomorrow.

mike g.

December 10th, 2010, 07:02 PM

sorry so late for the report, art. but the ass sad no for the 6th. Not enough snow. watching the weather might make it this monday, still on a rock board.

it's supposed to rain. but keeping a cheak on it. :freak3:

mike

wow, art sounds like someone was shopping this summer. Let me know when your ready and I'll let you ride my 184. I would let you ride the new board but I don't have it yet. Still why down on the list.

Sultan Guy

December 11th, 2010, 05:17 PM

Great grooming this morning after all that new snow!

Was super crowded on the main runs but the terrain park was empty all morning. The far left of the terrain park is rarely used and all rocks/grass are now well covered. I left at noon before the rain!

Once I sort out my work schedule I will be up 1-2 weekday mornings most likely starting in January.

ten7

December 15th, 2010, 11:22 PM

Ah, I'm not the only one who rides through the terrain park not for the features, I see! I too am quite fond of the far left run.

Sultan Guy

December 17th, 2010, 06:40 AM

Was up yesterday for opening night! Cold with great snow.
Very few people resulted in empty runs for me. Did 3.5 hours and my legs were beat.

Night carving con and pro...

Snow is chewed up from full day of use.

Pro
Empty slopes allow for all over mountain carving with no fear of being hit.
Lighting is excellent, better then many days with the flat light here.

My new metal Axxess really helps deal with the chewed up snow significantly better then my old Prior 4WD.

Long live Metal for night riding!

Sultan Guy

December 19th, 2010, 08:06 PM

Great snow for carving today and yesterday. Cold, no ice.
Today I used the new Donek Metal FC 179. I am in love with that board!
Big variety of arcs with the 12-14 meter sidecut. Perfect for Stevens.

I will be up Christmas Eve morning and then not again until January.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

December 21st, 2010, 09:27 PM

Monster crowded today. Pretty rough to make turns when the runs are littered with people either not moving at all or moving in huge herds. I think that between now and new year's I'll just ride my Incline and freeride around the mountain to get away from everyone.

C5 Golfer

December 30th, 2010, 02:28 PM

Hey Sultan Guy... check ride board for Crystal Mt.. I think you liked it last year ...

Lets ride it again

ExcelsiorTheFathead

January 1st, 2011, 08:53 PM

I haven't been up since my last post. From watching the webcam, the crowds have been awful. Looking forward to getting going again.

Sultan Guy

January 3rd, 2011, 10:49 AM

Very small crowd yesterday (Sunday the 2nd).
Snow was cold and fast. A bit hard packed in places. NateW and I took a few runs together.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

January 3rd, 2011, 04:40 PM

Monday 1/3 was a nice sunny day. MikeG was up today. Just plain 'ol hardpack everywhere and only a minor crowd. A few icy spots on Skyline, in particular where Barrier Ridge and Skyline neck together. I'll be up tomorrow to catch another sunny day before new snow comes in.

Sultan Guy

January 8th, 2011, 06:24 PM

Tuesday mornings until Noon-then straight to work
Thursday nights
Sunday mornings

If anyone wants to ride up these days let me know. Leave Sultan area at 7:30 AM or evenings at 3:30.

Sultan Guy

January 11th, 2011, 06:48 AM

Tonight: Snow. Temperature falling to near 13 by 8pm, then rising to around 18 during the remainder of the night. Southeast wind between 15 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches possible.

Wednesday: Snow. High near 30. West southwest wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible.

Wednesday Night: Snow. Low around 25. West southwest wind between 14 and 17 mph becoming light. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible.

Thursday: Snow. Snow level 5300 feet. High near 33. Light wind becoming west southwest between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible.

Thursday Night: Snow. Snow level 5900 feet. Low around 25. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Friday: Snow. High near 32. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

January 19th, 2011, 09:46 PM

Went up on Tuesday after the rains let up. Crusty w/cookies down low and decent conditions higher up. Creeks undermined the snow in a bunch of places, but not on any important runs.

Today was better because of another grooming and a little bit of fresh snow. Skid Road was the best, but the higher elevations were good in general. The grooming crew had patched up a bunch of the holes.

Coming down Skyline under the Brooks chair I did a deep heelside and while on the traverse got torpedoed by a runaway ski. The ski whacked right into the front binding and caused it to rotate 10 or so degrees. I got out the screwdriver and set it back. Except for a little topsheet ding and a mar in the binding, I think that I'm damage-free. What a weird thing to happen...

Sultan Guy

January 23rd, 2011, 04:46 PM

Rain and fog this morning.:mad:
First busted day of the season for me. Gave up after 4 runs. Just could not see anything....

This winter was supposed to be wetter and COLDER then normal. So far it IS wetter, but where is the colder??

ExcelsiorTheFathead

January 25th, 2011, 04:49 PM

Up with Sultan Guy this morning. Foggy. Harder and a little crusty at the higher elevations, transitioning to slushy and mushy down low. Every run required varying riding styles depending on the elevation and visibility. Saw a softbooter going down Skyline carving hard and tight. Projected overnight low of 32 and high tomorrow of 43? SLUSH!

ExcelsiorTheFathead

January 26th, 2011, 03:56 PM

Frozen slush at open. Crusty and hard. Around 10 it started to soften a bit, by 11 it was soft, at Noon the sun came out and stewed over the whole place. Freaky warm T-shirt weather. Carving was ok for an hour or two while things softened, but then everything got pushed around and cut up. The grooming was uneven to begin with.

Tomorrow looks like more of the same, so I'm staying home. There might be some firm snow in the early morning, but the place will be a cut-up slushy mess by lunchtime.

Sultan Guy

January 28th, 2011, 09:29 AM

45F at 3 PM!
Super hard and crusty underneath with uneven loose corn snow on top.
Tough conditions on the legs.

Very weird conditions. At least there was great visibility and totally deserted slopes.

Am planning on Sunday AM for a few hours. Need snow bad!

Sultan Guy

February 6th, 2011, 02:58 PM

Saturday 2/5
Fair visibility but very hard and icy surface. Poor grooming with wet slushy snow that froze. Ran into another carver on hardboots with an old Rossi slalom board. Did a few runs together. He just moved to the area from CA and this was his first day of the season.
Left at noon.

Sunday 2/6
Website said 1 inch of new snow. There was 3 inches in the parking lot and about 5 inches at the top of Skyline at 9 AM. Snow was very wet and clumpy. Snowed medium hard all morning. First hour was awesome and then very bumpy. Lots of fog. No crowds. Used the Axxess.
Left at 11.

Sultan Guy

February 8th, 2011, 08:12 PM

Butter soft groomed fresh powder.

Sultan Guy

February 11th, 2011, 06:35 AM

EPIC night of carving!
Perfect snow conditions, no ice, no moguls, great visibility, and less then half the crowd from Tuesday morning. Started on the 172 Axxess but it was so good I switched over to the 179 FC. Board was really railing.
Went so hard I could barely walk to the car. :)

Met up with a guy on softies who was carving pretty good on a Lib Tech something. We did some runs together. He used to race on a carving board with plates.

Best night of the season so far!

ExcelsiorTheFathead

February 16th, 2011, 05:31 PM

Weird day. I thought that the weather would be a little crappy, but I arrived on the hill to sunshine and broken clouds. Maybe an inch of new over the groom. For some reason the grooming on the Rock 'n Blue was the worst I've ever seen this season, something like a vertically striped washboard. Everything from Skyline was the preferred run of the day with hero-ish conditions until noon when it got a little loose and cut up. Probably going tomorrow unless it seems like it will snow a lot.

Snohomish schools have Friday off, so that day will likely be full of kids.

Sultan Guy

February 20th, 2011, 08:31 PM

Got first chair at 8:45 sharp!
Killer morning with few crowds until about 10:30. Bluebird and perfect snow.
Rode with Bill (instructor at Stevens) for a bit.
The mountain is in the best shape this past week of the entire season :biggthump

Sultan Guy

February 23rd, 2011, 06:29 AM

Epic powder day at Stevens!
About 12" by 9 AM on top of the mountain. Snowed another 8 inches by noon. Stayed all morning on the back mainly near Southern Cross chair. Rode my Burton 167 Custom wide with the bindings set all the way back. Makes a decent powder board. I forgot how much fun a big powder day can be. It was fun to apply my carving technique in powder. :)

Driving both ways was an adventure. Cars spun out everywhere, trucks blocking lanes, etc.

Sultan Guy

March 1st, 2011, 08:12 PM

Super soft runs today. The groomed runs were the softest that I have seen in a very long time, certainly this season. Carving was challenging because I kept cutting too deep and booting out.
Broadway was a bit firmer.
Axxess 172 was a good choice.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 2nd, 2011, 10:12 AM

That was kinda my suspicion. I figured that it would take at least a couple of days for so much new snow to settle, and some smaller amounts of new are still coming down. I'm looking to go up on Friday and Sunday. Next week is looking good for better weather too.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 3rd, 2011, 03:04 PM

I went up today cuz a non-carving friend wanted to go regardless of the conditions. Anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of new over soft groom, with some places even deeper. The first runs were great, but things quickly turned to chunder and piles of stuff pushed all over the place. It snowed the whole time, sometimes heavy. At least 2 inches of new from 9 to noon. Even if it stops snowing now, I wonder if the Friday grooming will be good?

Sultan Guy

March 8th, 2011, 05:48 PM

Well, well, well. Today was a great lesson in how quickly things can change in the mountains.
Morning snow report said 0" inches overnight but snowing lightly at 5 AM.
Drive up from Sultan at 7:30 in pouring rain which changed to wet snow by Index and all snow on road by Baring.
Saw a van upside down in the ditch just past Skykomish.:eek:

Arrived at the lower parking lot at 8:30 to find 6 inches of new snow and snowing hard. Nice fluffy stuff! No powderhounds showed up. The smallest crowd I have seen this season. :)

Groomed runs were all buried but great fun.
By 10:30 it was starting to warm up and the snow got sticky and then really lumpy. Visibility was nonexistent at 9 but pretty good by 10:30.
Snow had tapered off by midday.
Left the mountain at noon and was on wet roads most of the way back.

Donek Axxess Metal 172 rocked today. I love how versatile that board is.

mike g.

March 9th, 2011, 07:37 PM

hey Andy, ask Art how the Japanese Board went. i think he'll take your
$ 170, now. I didn't see him ride it, but he told me about it.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 17th, 2011, 04:34 PM

Sunny and Springy. Rode with West for much of the day and had him try my 4WD to see how it compares to his ATV. Snow was a little soft at open, and got mushy by noon. Grooming should get better as the snowpack settles with little new in the forecast, but temps are pretty high.

Yeah, that Ogasaka was built for big fat Japanese guys. I have to be moving pretty fast to generate the Gs necessary to bend it. It needs a bigger resort than Stevens.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 18th, 2011, 04:00 PM

Winds were howling from E to W when I got to the parking lot around 08:15 with lots of blowing snow. I thought that I was in for an awful day, but most of the runs were sheltered from the wind. Just a dusting to one inch of new on the groom, with a gentle constant sprinkling of dry falling snow. Skid Road was traction city with the best grooming. Showcase was working as well. Did laps on Rock 'n Blue after lunch, but lots of people showed up to clutter up the place. Rode my dainty, effeminate 163 MFC.

Ohob

March 18th, 2011, 04:49 PM

Butter soft groomed fresh powder.
ahh! this brings back some memories! I used to terroize Stevens with my old Nitro Asym EFT and fritchi plates!

Sultan Guy

March 19th, 2011, 05:58 PM

Tuesday 3/15
Another big powder day. All the groomers had 4-9 inches on top. I took one of my suppliers for a tour of the mountain. We did every lift but spent most of the time on the backside. Snow did not get sticky until about noon. Business was done on the lifts! He bought me lunch in the lodge. Made an appearance at work at 2:30 :)

Saturday 3/19
Claim of 7" overnight but every groomed run had no new snow on it so the dump must have been around midnight. Tried to carve but everything was way too soft. 6" inch trench type conditions. Runs got chewed up very fast so just rode trees and off piste all morning. Sticky snow by 10:30 everywhere due to sun. Crowds minimal for a Saturday.
There is a Masters ski race today thru Monday which is closing one side of Skyline(left when you are facing up).

Both days on Donek Axxess. Great board for these days.

Sunday should be fantastic with a bit of sun on this new snow and then a frosty night of grooming.

Sultan Guy

March 20th, 2011, 05:24 PM

Yesterday was spring, today was winter.
Windy, cloudy, snow flurries, and never got above freezing.

Grooming today was VERY inconsistent...some of the worst I have seen all season. Lots of ruts, grooves, and chunky areas all frozen HARD. Some areas were great and then you would hit ice patches with balls of ice on top. After several runs I quickly figured out where the bad and the good places were. Certain areas were awesome but no one run was all good. They must have groomed when everything was wet. On the plus side it was FAST and no moguls even by midday. No line all day on Skyline.

It needs to warm up and be groomed a few more times.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 22nd, 2011, 03:03 PM

Up with Sultan Guy for a morning's ride. A mixed bag but overall pretty good. Some lower areas were crusty. Skid Road was nice with 2-3" of new over not-too-crusty base. Rock 'n Blue was a crust-o-rama, but the Hog Heaven side was butter. Skyline/Broadway was good except for the flat light. Marmot Meadows is groomed really wide, but is just a featureless field of white unless the sun comes out.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 23rd, 2011, 04:52 PM

Bluebird. Hero. First chair up Chief and Double Diamond for first tracks down Orion. It was indeed groomed, but not well. Went up Jupiter and strangely enough still had first tracks down Skid Road, which was in great condition. Despite this, I went down to Skyline to see the conditions there cuz the sun was out and there would be no question about visibility. So Skyline was hard grippy chalk with no crustiness. I started doing laps down Skyline/Marmot Meadows/Hog Wild for the entire day. Conditions held up well until 2 when the sun started to soften things a bit. Tomorrow should have good groom, but maybe clouds.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 24th, 2011, 04:57 PM

Light snowfall all day, but just maybe an inch of new over the groom. Skid Road was groomer's choice and a good ride from open. Showcase was good. After lunch I hit Skyline when the sun was higher and found that the light was good enough to make things navigable. I'm lovin' the hill on Marmot Meadows. I think I can get at least 5 turns before I go by the lift tower.

mike g.

March 24th, 2011, 08:42 PM

Art, was that on the big board you only got five turns in. I might be up there friday night, after 3. Watching the weather.

later

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 24th, 2011, 09:07 PM

If I was on the 185, I could only make 2 turns in that space, then I would crash into the tower. I've been really enjoying my Donek MFC 163 SES '10 Women's 19cm Demo board. All it needs is a flowery topsheet to complete the effect.

Sultan Guy

March 28th, 2011, 06:15 AM

Great day for a weekend.
Lots of sun on the drive up and for my first few runs but by 10 AM it started snowing off and on with poor visibility on top of Skyline. Snow stayed surprisingly good for carving all day. A bit damp so it stayed packed. Did lots of runs with my skier friend on his carving skis. We had fun "shadowing" each other.

Left at 2 PM. No line at Skyline or Tye Mill all day. Occasional short line at Hogsback. Grooming on Tye was perfect.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 28th, 2011, 06:16 PM

Did a few runs with MikeG on his new Kessler (!) 162 (!). We had some fun trying to see if he could ride as slow as me. Conditions at open were slightly crusty down low with lots of clouds. Skid Road was the best run then, but when the clouds broke up, Skyline was the place to be with good visibility. After lunch things started to soften up. I had to quit around 3 cuz I was crashing too much from the soft conditions and fatigue.

ExcelsiorTheFathead

March 29th, 2011, 02:13 PM

On the morning of Tuesday 3/29, SultanGuy and I drove through some kind of anti-carve wormhole into a dimension of slop and muck. Evil Captain Kirk was a liftie holding a sign saying "No carving for you!"

At 6AM Stevens was reporting only 1" of new, so we hoped for reasonable conditions, but the reality was 6" to 12" of heavy slop everywhere. It seems like the high temps are causing the snowpack to collapse as the new snow falls, thus understating the depth measurements.

Wet snow was dumping most of the time, soaking everything not wrapped in Gore-tex. Now comes 2 straight days of rain.

Sultan Guy

April 3rd, 2011, 06:54 PM

Well below freezing at open and stayed cold and cloudy until about 1 PM.
Great carving day! Snow a bit slow but perfect for trenching up with awesome edge hold.
Even less people then last Sunday.
Went with E. Fathead and my skier carving friend.
Super conditions for this late in the season.

The avalanche walls alongside Hwy 2 from this past week are huge. :eek:

snowboardbill

April 4th, 2011, 03:46 PM

Arrived at 9am to find 12' of new over the groomed it was light enough that you could feel the groomed underneth. It kept snowing all day and 7th was knee to thigh deep. not exactly a carving day but LOT'S of fun.
:D

ExcelsiorTheFathead

April 7th, 2011, 05:00 PM

Finally, a groomer day. Not bad. Just zero to a trace of new over the groom, with really cold temps for the season. Overall a little soft from all of the recent new, but it held up fairly well. The grooming crew didn't put much effort in last night and went narrow where ever they could. Showcase and Marmot Meadows were only about 3 tracks wide, making them nearly unusable. The top of Skyline was only 4 tracks wide, and this combined with the flat light made things challenging.

I briefly saw another carver in orange/yellow boots, but I don't know who it was.

Seems like the stars are aligning for a great day tomorrow. No new snow in the forecast, relatively cold temperatures, 2nd day of grooming, and hopefully good sunlight. As long as it doesn't mush out, Friday could be a great day. I hope that they groom wide tonight.

Sultan Guy

April 8th, 2011, 07:46 PM

<IFRAME height=548 src="http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/77982251" frameBorder=0 width=465></IFRAME>Used my Garmin Forerunner watch that I normally use for running. :)

Jon Dahl

April 9th, 2011, 03:41 PM

Anyone going up tomorrow? Torn between Baker or Stevens, a riding partner would throw the vote! I need someone to pick up the pieces, 'cause if I go to Stevens, the big Donek GS board gets the Donek plate and I'm not sure what will happen!!

Sultan Guy

April 9th, 2011, 09:01 PM

I am in for sure.
I can meet you at the Sultan Park and Ride at 7:30 and you can ride with me if you want. I may leave by 1 or 2.
Otherwise see you up there!
I will be in grey pants, brown coat usually on Skyline or Hogsback.

Sultan Guy

April 9th, 2011, 09:03 PM

Crusty morning after all that sun the day before. Light was very flat the first two hours and also cold out which kept things crunchy.
Grooming subpar but expected.
Still a decent day of carving.

Sultan Guy

April 10th, 2011, 06:12 PM

Fast changing conditions today on the mountain!
From 8:50 until 10 it was HERO. Half an inch of new on perfect hard groom. It was snowing very hard and became quite wet.
By 11:30 it was getting very chopped up, like piles of cement.
Changed to rain at the base but still snowing lightly up top by midday.
Left at 1 PM whipped.

Ran into Jon Dahl who was struggling on his 182 15 meter board with plate. He switched to the big Tanker and liked it better.
I stayed on the 172 Axxess all day.
One week left!

Jon Dahl

April 10th, 2011, 08:00 PM

Only struggled after about 10:20 AM and 7 runs! Thanks for the fun!

Sultan Guy

April 17th, 2011, 08:36 PM

A tale of two 180 degree opposite days was a fitting end to the season...

Saturday 4/16
Very warm in the morning. Arrived to find about 1-2 inches of very wet snow on top of the groom. Picked up with giant wet flakes going splat on my jacket. All the runs were so soft and wet that I was making 4" deep trenches. Basically uncarvable. Oh yeah visibility was nil.

Sunday 4/17
Temperature at 5 AM reported at 21F. What happens to slush at that temperature? Ice! Morning runs were bumpy frozen hard-pack ice. Basically uncarvable but for a different reason. Tried to lay over some turns and got bounced out several times. Took 3-4 hard falls before deciding to back off and just work with what the hill would give me. Weird weather day. Alternating sun breaks with heavy bouts of intense snow. Lots of flat light with bright blue moments. Big crowd for closing day. Biggest in over a month. Pond skimming was the usual great entertainment. Still cannot believe they are closing with so much snow cover. Kind of a shame!

So...ends my second season of carving with 44 days total. It was a challenging season at Stevens this year. Lots of sub par carving days will only make you tougher!

Ready to move onto kayaking and stand up paddling :)