Motivation...is a little hard to come by this season. Without Dylan here to ride with I haven't been super motivated to go up. I'm definitely getting old because the family and social parts of skiing are getting more important. Skiing by myself doesn't get me that motivated. I did see my friend and colleague Joe today, but he's on Ski Patrol and they were training new people and he couldn't take off. Maybe next time.
Plus, I've been waiting for a powder day. We've had a few this year but they all seem to happen during the week. It's not that I can't take a day off, but rescheduling a bunch of meetings is a pain.
Kris Nation, our local weather reporter at KMTR got it right...but it hasn't snowed in town yet.
Weekend: This weekend will be much cooler with highs only in the low 40s and mostly cloudy skies on Saturday We will also see a 70% chance of light showers off and on during the day with light accumulation. Sunday looks to be the better of the two days with mostly cloudy skies and only a 30% chance of spotty showers in the morning. The weekend will be much cooler because the double cold fronts from Thursday & Friday will push colder unsettled air into the region. There is a very small chance we could even see a dusting of Snow on the Valley floor by Monday morning as overnight lows Sunday night look to be below freezing.Last night he said freezing levels would drop to 2,000 and there was a chance of 3"-5" in the Cascades. Got up at 6:15 and they reported 4" so I figured I would try it. The DOT said 5" by the time I left.
It was 65 degrees in town on Thursday so chances were that the crust factor would be high. We needed at least 5" to cover that up. It was raining really hard on the drive up until past Oakridge where the rain turned to snow. I arrived in the parking lot at 8:45 hoping that there wouldn't be a huge line of kids at guest services where I needed to get my pass. I picked up a 5-day pass to provide motivation to go some more. $189 equates to $37.80 a day...far better than the $149 retail that Steamboat was charging. The line wasn't too bad and I was on the lift before 9:10.
Action photos are a bit challenging where you're alone, so I did a selfie instead. I'll need to dust off the GoPro.
First run down Success wasn't too bad. There was a good 6" on top of the crust so it mostly covered it. It's also great to be back in Oregon where the rain destroys any semblance of those mounds called moguls. Powder on top of a smooth surface is wayyyyy more fun.
Looking down the Northern Exposure trees. 45 degrees of shred. I'm totally going to rip this shit!
And I did. Best run of the season hands down. Untracked and at least a foot. The aspect of that part of the mountain just captures snow.
It snowed pretty hard all day. I stopped for some water and a breather around 11 and at least another inch had come down. On the upside for Willamette Pass, the parking lot was full and people were in the overflow across the highway. They need it since they never even opened in the 2014-15 season.
102" at the stick--the most they've had in the past three years. This season might have potential after all.
Three years ago (?!) I bought a pair of Armada JJ's for the sole purpose of skiing pow. Here's what EVO says about them:
So much jamtastic fun, Armada decided one J just wasn't going to cut it! Jack be nimble, but JJ be quick. Armada knew that you needed a powder ski that could make those tight turns fluently and move edge-to-edge, and thus the Armada JJ Skis were born. This is a big in yo' face powder ski that can give you all the powder action you need and leave you with energy to spare.Jamtastic in yo face indeed. The dimensions are 136/115/133. By comparison, my K2 Apaches are 102/78/100. Diane called them snowboard when I brought them home. I could tell the JJ's were happy to be in their element, that is pow. Because they were happy, I was happy too.
I'm pretty sure they love the trees. I found some new lines off to the far right on Cherokee Ridge as well as off the Where's Waldo saddle. They weren't long shots--maybe 10-15 turns, but the snow was probably closer to 16" in those holes--like the one in the photo below.
I finally packed up at 2--longer than I figured I would stay. All in all, a pretty decent first day. I love skiing at The Pass--fresh shots all day, no lines, and the best trees anywhere (or at least anywhere I've skied). I'm a convert--I don't need the 4,000 vertical feet at the Colorado resorts. They come with too many people at too high a prices.
Hopefully the snow gods will keep sending the storms on the weekend so I can get a few more great days in.
