The Test

After yesterday's expedition, we knew conditions would be, as they say "epic" today. Not only that, but the snow report indicated 10" of new in the last 12 hours; the DOT, 20. All we needed was some electricity to get the lift moving.

The drive up was frustratingly slow. It got cold in town and big stretches of road had a layer of black ice. No big deal with studs, but a scary proposition without them. Moreover, some assjack trucker was going 40 mph all the way to Oakridge and didn't have the courtesy to realize there was a long line of anxious skiers behind him. The nerve.

As you might ascertain, we made it. We boarded the lift at 9:05, five minutes later than scheduled, but before the first chair made it to the top. Looking up Success from EPA. If you look closely you can see our boot pack line up the left side. Not much left of it due to the 10" of fresh overnight.

It was a bluebird day. We don't get many of those this time of year in Oregon, so you have to enjoy them when you can. Looking west from the 50-degree face of SDN.

As conditions dictated, no stopping for photographs occurred until run #8. We ravaged the runs, then worked our way into the trees on the front side, and ultimately over to SDN. I found myself in a spot I didn't want to be in on the first trip down--at the top of a cliff with few options. For a moment, it looked like I might have to bootpack out; the worst of all possible outcomes. Instead I billy-goated over a small tree to my left and found a chute to slide down to where I could ultimately shred out.

That did not happen a second time. We dialed in on a few really good slots and hit them over and over. All you needed to do was move one line of trees over to get an untracked line.

Dylan shreds the steep and deep (very deep... 3+ feet) on SDN.

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I'm really enjoying the new camera (thanks Diane!). It has a burst mode that is fast enough to get some really nice segments. The three photos above and below are all from the same lines (not necessarily in exact sequence of the burst).

I got the next line over below the cliff band.

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Thanks to Dylan for stopping long enough to hold the shutter down. Some of the best powder skiing I've ever done. I keep saying that, so we must be in the right place.

On to the topic of today's post: The Test. I call it The Test because what better way to put my new fatty boards through their paces than in three feet of powder? If you can think of one let me know. I'm here to report that they passed. I'm getting the feel for the skis and really like how they handle in deep snow. My theory is that it's a combination of the width, the rocker, and the twin tips that makes them so easy to handle. They turn on a dime and it's really easy to scrub speed on them when you need to (like to jib around a tree to get to the next slot on SDN). In short, they are precisely the ski I hoped the would be. Thanks again to mom and dad for setting me up.

We were rotating runs through the trees with hits on the road so Dylan could practice the front flips.

He's getting it dialed in.

The aftermath.

Diane came up later and we did a run from the top. She got to witness Dylan's progress on the flipping action. I'm not sure she entirely approves.

I'll close out today with the cold smoke of Dylan shredding through the trees.

Happy penultimate day of 2010!