2011-12 Season: Winter Park Day 1

First day of the 2011-12 season and it was at Winter Park, Colorado. Conditions in Oregon are such that our local ski area has yet to open. Six months to the day since our Father's Day Skitackular at The Pass. We'll be lucky if The Pass opens by Christmas given the weather patterns.

We came out to Colorado for Kayla's graduation ceremony. After three different colleges, a two-year detour through Steamboat, and lots of hard work, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Way to go Kayla!


We were fortunate that long-time pal and ski buddy Dave was able to take the day off and willing to pick us up in downtown Denver. And a big thanks to Dan for hooking us up with a couple of free passes. That's the way to do it!

Conditions at WP were marginal at best, but we made the best of it. Big portions of the mountain were closed and we spent the day cruising the groomers.

Dave tears up the corduroy on Cramner.

I.


II.

Dave finds out that he's about to be a proud father!

Dave and his wife Kris found out today that after five years of waiting they'll be adopting a little girl from China. Congratulations Dave and Kris!

Dylan jumps Dave.

Dylan spent most of the day playing in the Railyard. Some things don't change much.

Not bad for the first day of the season. We'll be getting a couple more in while we're in Colorado.

Even though conditions were less than ideal, it's always fun to go back to Winter Park. WP is where I spent my formative years skiing (I actually started at Hidden Valley, a now decommissioned ski area in Rocky Mountain National Park). I was fortunate enough to have neighbors that were into ski racing and parents that were kind enough to sign me up. I raced on the WP team from 72-72 through 76-77. That was the year Mary Jane opened and I got a lot more interested in skiing with my crew than racing.

Next up: Keystone Resort.

The Big Father's Day Skitacular

June 19, 2011
9 am
Parking lot at The Pass

We had a lot of snow this year. In fact, winter has steadfastly refused to give up. It snowed at The Pass last week. So, nobody is surprised that summer operations are delayed. Too bad for the crazy downhill mountain bikers and frisbee golf people.

I was wondering earlier this week if The Pass would open this weekend. It was not announced on the website when I looked and I only found out when I was chatting with my friend Randy about doing some more ski studies. Normally, they would open for summer operations this weekend, but too much snow put a damper on that. So they opened the backside for skiing on Saturday and Sunday. We would have gone both days, but it was raining pretty hard Saturday and the typical rain rules applied.

We were going Sunday no matter what. Rain, snow, or shine. Or fog.

It was pretty cloudy in town when we left, but it was not raining. In fact, there were many moments where the sun broke through on the way up. In short, there was hope.

Despite the lack of snow in the parking lot, Dylan and Marty are stoked to shred June's in June.


Our gondola arrives.

It was four years ago the last time The Pass was open on Father's Day. Of course we went in 2007. Read about it here (scroll down to the bottom). It was epically sunny in 2007; the weather was a work in progress today.

Marty comments on the lack of base.

Riding in style.

Dylan straps on the board while the fog dissipates.

The base on the back side is a bit more substantial. There's about 12' of snow at the top of Waldo.

The snow was, not surprisingly, incredibly sticky. Typical spring conditions for Oregon. Lots of snow that is really, really, sticky. Worse yet, I neglected to through the ski kit with the wax and scrapers in. Big mistake.

Marty shreds the summer stickiness.

Skirting the rocks.


Takin' the Escalator.

Huckin'

While the snow conditions were less than ideal, none of the 50 people on the hill we saw were complaining. We certainly were not. What's to complain about? Skiing on Father's Day in June with your son. That's the best way I can think of to celebrate. Kayla would have come along too if she was not in Steamboat. Something went right along the way...I've got a sweet wife and two great kids.

Now, it's time to get on with summer. Rumors are that 80% of the days between October and May were completely overcast. June was not much better. I'm ready for 10 weeks of 80 degree weather with no clouds or rain.

See ya next season!

La Nina Delivered

This was the final day of operations for the 2010-11 season. We would have skied yesterday, but La Nina delivered 1.25" of rain. That kind of threw a wet blanket all over that idea. At any rate, today wasn't the stellar, bluebird spring day we hoped for, but it was still nice. A little overcast, but warm, and most importantly, no rain.

The crowd was a little thin. The love fades for most as the daffodils bloom. Seasoned hardcores know better...the lawn can wait because corn awaits.

At least the lot wasn't totally empty, but if more people came, they might stay open longer. The rain doesn't help.

Diane and Dylan prep for an awesome day of shredding.

The snow report was 36 degrees and Beware of Bears. We didn't see any bears, and it didn't stay 36 degrees for long. The bears, however, would have made for an interesting adventure. It wouldn't be hard to outski a bear...

Diane tears down By George.

Dylan relaxes and enjoys the spring weather.

By nearly every measure it was a killer season. Here's the season by the numbers:

Total snowfall: 388"
Snowpack on April 18:

At Lodge: 46"
At Midway: 66"
At Peak 2: 126"

Days on the mountain: 30
Powder days: 14 (that's a 47% pow/pack ratio!)
Vertical feet: ~600,000
Number of runs: ~425
Number of Wednesday night snowstorms in a row: 7
Number of Thursday hookey days: 1 (not enough!)

Fourteen powder days out of 30. La Nina delivered the goods. Over and over. Except for that month-long drought in February.

Despite those numbers, we could have skied more. Too much work getting in the way of skiing.

But not today.

I.

II.

III.

Dylan rides the log.

It was suggested, by an outside observer, that this blog might be a shrine to Dylan. Interesting take, but, 'fraid not. While I have yet to articulate my aims for doing this, that definitely is not one of them. I may put in the effort to do that one day. Maybe. Maybe not. Until then, readers can guess.

What this is a shrine to is snowsports. Specifically, my personal obsession with skiing. The numerous pictures of Dylan? Simply a function of me being the one with the camera and Dylan's general reluctance to take it--especially when it is snowing. That said, he got some good pix of me this season.

Diane and Dylan scope out By George.

I think Diane is crazy for wanting to snowboard. She kept at it a few days and then smashed her knee pretty good. That took a few weeks to heal (I'm not sure it is done yet). Boards of Terror, Maim, and Dismemberment!

Skiing is where it's at kids. See ya on the funway!

The end-of-season finality is setting in. It's sad that it is over, and I'm not sure what we'll do with the weekends. Of course, that is not true--yardwork, movies, hikes, bike rides, band rehearsal. But it is not the same as skiing. On the flip side, it's a bit of a relief--I don't have to worry about getting up at 7am to check the snow report on the weekend.

Most important, perhaps, is that I need a break. Skiing isn't as pain free as it once was (not that it was ever entirely pain free). In fact, 43 years of skiing hard is beginning take its toll; skiing is a kind of painful activity for me. Not as much as running, but certainly more than walking. It all started in January 2005 when I had the bright idea to learn how to snowboard. It was all going well until I fell on my ass. It didn't seem that bad...but then I started getting numbness in my feet.

So I went to the doctor. They did some x-rays and then signed me up for a MRI. The results came back and they told me I have an "annular fissure" of my disc at L5-S1. Yep, it's painful. The part that got my attention was when he started talking about surgery. That didn't sound like fun. It's going to have to hurt a lot more before I'm going to have surgery.

So, my back hurts. But, so do my knees. And now my hips. I rack it up to getting old, but I'm pretty sure skiing hasn't helped. Diane told me to quit acting like I was still 25. Bah.

At any rate, I'm not going to quit. Not yet, anyway. We all make choices; I choose to ski. I may have to choose to slow down.

Despite the management, The Pass still incents smiles.

See you next season!

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

The Big Rock Candy Mountain...

On a summer day in the month of May a burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane through the sugar cane, he was looking for his liking.
As he roamed along he sang a song of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay for many a day, and he won't need any money

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Well, it was April and still winter, but it still felt like the big rock candy mountain today. My version of Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock's "Big Rock Candy Mountain" is a little different than his, but...whatever.

This season has been one killer powder day after another. The land of milk and honey. Today was yet another. 18" of new snow Wednesday night and I had my fingers crossed it wouldn't get too warm and mess it up.

It got warm enough to create a crust layer on top where the snow was exposed to the sun. That didn't slow Dylan down... here's 1000 vertical feet in 21 seconds.

Where the sun didn't hit was...

There's a lake of gin we can both jump in, and the handouts grow on bushes
In the new-mown hay we can sleep all day, and the bars all have free lunches
Where the mail train stops and there ain't no cops, and the folks are tender-hearted
Where you never change your socks and you never throw rocks,
And your hair is never parted

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Well, pretty awesome. Where the handouts grow on bushes (or small trees)...

I.

II.

III.

Oh, a farmer and his son, they were on the run, to the hay field they were bounding
Said the bum to the son, "Why don't you come to the big rock candy mountains?"
So the very next day they hiked away, the mileposts they were counting
But they never arrived at the lemonade tide, on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Untouched lines through the trees...I think we arrived.

I.

II.

II.

One evening as the sun went down and the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking, and he said "Boys, I'm not turning."
"I'm heading for a land that's far away beside the crystal fountains;"
"So come with me, we'll go and see the Big Rock Candy Mountains."

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, there's a land that's fair and bright,
The handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars all are empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarrete trees,
The lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Rock candy indeed.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay
Oh I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall, the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Well, there's lots of snow on my big rock candy mountain. Sometimes things get a little hazy in the big rock candy mountains...

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, you never change your socks
And little streams of alcohol come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats and the railroad bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew and of whiskey too
And you can paddle all around 'em in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

All your friends come to the log ride on the big rock candy mountain. Dylan ran into pals Andy and Cody. Just another demonstration of this year's synchronicity, Andy was on The Expedition with us. Cody was only on a board for is fourth time...amazing!

Dylan...

Andy...

Cody...

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains the jails are made of tin,
And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in
There ain't no short-handled shovels, no axes, saws or picks,
I'm a-goin' to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Ski buddy Mark escapes through the trees on Eagle's Flight.

Ted walks right out of jail.

What a great day--fantastic snow, great friends, outstanding lines. What a privilege it is to ski and to have such a great little area (despite the management) so close to town.

I'll see you all this comin' fall in the Big Rock Candy Mountains!

Choppy & Sloppy

We've been waiting for winter to release it's icy grip and give us a sunny spring day. Today was sort of that day.

Sort of.

We intentionally got a late start because it was in the 30's when I got up and 19 at the mountain. It was warm earlier in the week which means ice or hard pack. We arrived around noon and things were shaping up pretty well. The sun was out, but the low clouds were a little threatening on Diamond Peak.

It was pretty choppy at the beginning--lots of chatter on the snow as it was beginning to soften. It got better as the day went on.

Choppin' down High Lead.

Dylan bonks the Terrain Park sign.

Tearing down High Lead again.

The locals are looking forward to spring.

Conditions are great for early April and we're probably looking at two or three more weekends as long as people keep on coming up.

Totally 80s

Just another powder day at The Pass.

Today was the Totally 80's bash. It is common for ski resorts to have events at the end of the season--which is getting pretty close now. In typical Willamette fashion, the event was pretty low-key.

We pretty much skipped all the festivities to partake in the powder party in the trees. The weather report didn't call for much snow, and the DOT said a couple of inches, but it had really piled up over the week in the woods.

Dylan shoots the cannon.

After a few runs on the south face, we headed to the stash. The one place that nobody else seems to go on a powder day at The Pass. We got easily 10 shots through the trees that we're all untouched lines.

Outrageous fun!

Racing through the grotto on SDN.

SDN lives up to it's name, at least the Steep and Deep part.

Dylan took time out to photograph me.

I'm also enjoying the fact SDN is living up to it's name. Gotta love waist deep turns and face shots.

The S3's float!

Shreddin' the woods.

Overall, a great day. We did 20 runs and quit shortly after 2pm. We'd tracked out everything worth anything, and worn ourselves out. We didn't stick around for the Totally 80's Bash; something I would have definitely done 30 years ago.

Reflections of wonder.