Sunday, January 20, 2019
8:15am
The forecast called for snow overnight so I got up at 6:15 am and checked the snow report and road conditions. The ski area reported 8". That was a big change from yesterday when it was 45 degrees and raining. And a big change from Friday when they got 4" which wasn't quite enough to get me to play hookey.
Anyway, the strategy of the day was to get there early so I could obtain a pass and be in line by rope drop. I arrived at 8:15 figuring 45 minutes was plenty of time. I was about the 10th car in the lot. I walked over to the lodge to get my pass before I geared up only to be informed that the till wasn't up yet. Typical Willamette. So, I walked out and took a picture. Looks reasonably wintery.
Given that I couldn't obtain a pass just then I went back to the car and geared up and shared some stories with the guys next to me, who shared some stories back. Seems like everyone has had some type of Willamette experience. Somehow it adds to the charm of the place. The till was up when I went back in the lodge so I got a pass and hung out for a few minutes until 8:45 and then got in line. Lots of patrol doing laps, but only one crew of three in front of me. Stokage was pretty high.
First run down Timburr; first powder run of the year. It was a little heavy; typical Cascade mashed potatoes, but lots of fun as long as it's steep enough and you keep your momentum and weight in the right place.
New chairs on the backside, which was a big surprise. I figured they didn't have any money to invest in the place since they weren't open last year and have had a string of five or so pretty bad snow years. The investments are encouraging.
Got seven or eight runs in before I hit the trees proper. All of them were smooth, untouched powder lines that only Willamette provides. Such a contrast to Colorado where the entire mountain is ravaged by 11. Not to mention that most of those resorts have 5x or more as many skiable acres. A true old school skiing experience.
The powder depth was definitely adequate in the trees. It was a little scrappy--heavy on top of Thursday night's snow. My only regret was that I'm not in better shape. I do fine in the low angle trees, but need to build up confidence on the 45 degree runs. That's not to say that I didn't shred them, but that I'm getting a little tentative in my old age.
My legs were getting cooked so I went to the car around 12:30 to warm up and have a snack. I was back out by 1. Hit the Eagle trees (nice) and then started doing front side/back side laps - Cherokee and then over to the Peak 2/West Peak saddle in into the deep woods. That had the best snow of the day. It was deeper (16" in places) and felt lighter than anywhere else.
Off the saddle.
By 2:45 I had 18 runs in and was pretty toast. I figured that I would quit before I got hurt. All in all a great return to form--the snow should be enough to last through the season. I'll wait for the next storm cycle to get up again. I sometimes forget how sweet we have it here. The big mountains in Colorado are fun, but for a powder day, I'll take Willy over any of those resorts.
