The day started out with the Tram down due to high winds and the ZOOM Chair delayed, so I made a bee line to the Forklift Chair to wait out the variations. MMMM Good!!! The Tram opened at 10:30 AM with decreasing wind and rising temps. The groomers were edgy and smooth with the off trail still holding that variable breakage. Light traffic made back to back Trams a nice feature. This is my favorite time of year, with great skiing and very light traffic. As I mentioned yesterday, the smoothness of the snow pack is a special feature that needs to be appreciated. The Peruvian side of the hill opened at 12:30 PM, with nearly no one waiting at the rope drop, blessing those who were in attendance with the gift of taking the line of choice with Zero pressure. How rare is that? The terrain on that side of the hill has the gut sections filled with very dense pack that offered some very breakable footing. I was in full smooze turn mode to average the variations and avoid a trip over the handle bars. Any abrupt loading was going to send you through the crust, which could be problematic with the early season snow pack. Some of the open slope reefs have blown clean in several areas leaving points to be considered as we get more snow. For the most part the coverage looks good to go. I was scoping out Wilbre Bowl from the chair to assess the coverage, finding that the lines are generally very tight with rock bands on both sides and the willows still profuse with the low snow. If the Cirque Traverse opens tomorrow use extreme caution dropping in to any of the lines to either side. Breakable conditions will still be prevalent on most exposures, though you may find some better granular textures in the trees that were spared the wind. The coverage on the lower Peruvian side has improved significantly since I last skied it last week, but open areas on those lower steep sections still mask some KNAR to be sure, so look out!! More wind is in the forecast with, perhaps, some expanded openings to the lines we have been dreaming about. This is Good!!! Ciao!!
SERIOUS FOUNDATION
11-18-10 by dave
Looks like some snow this weekend so we are coming out from NH. However there looks like it will be pretty windy. What is the “rule” for shutting down the tram? Does the Alta/Snowbird lift ticket apply this time of year?
I’ve been enjoying your posts. This is my first season at the bird. Usually for the past five seasons, I did solitude mainly. It seems to me at this point that you fill the yin/yang with Crazy George (FOG leader) from solitude. Do you know of the FOG club/Crazy George?
Also, do you believe that there is an opposite (duality) to everything in this world?
Yes I knew George for many years as he was a regular at The Bird. He was very interesting to speak with. As far a duality is concerned, I tend to think in terms of polarity, where Plus and Minus are part of the whole holographic picture, much in the way Positive and Negative, in Alternating Currant, projects a whole TV picture. See The Holographic Universe. I forget who wrote it, sorry.
I enjoy reading your blog. I’ve done a week trip to snowbird for 4 years in a row and I’m still discovering it all. Your blog really helps people like me understand the whole place. My question is, What is the Forklift Chair ? Thanks.
The Fork Lift chair is the Fork Lift restaurant where I go for breakfast each morning For 35 years a core group of seekers gather to compare notes and, generally, discuss absolutely nothing. See you there between 10:30 and 11:30AM daily. Try the Power Spuds!!!