It's been snowing since sometime last night, although the overnight fruition only amounted to about 5", it's piled on that again during the day, and will likely do so overnight. The 5" were nice, but more will be better. It's been dark and blistery up at the top all day, "the wind was a howlin', and the snow was outrageous!"
But what we're getting really excited about is that big mother off the coast that should bring the staple blessings in white for our annual ski camp that does have (when available) a heavy focus on Steamboat's Champagne powder. Craig's "just don't turn" lessons happen at least once during every camp of the last five years, and the final backcountry day is always better with some of that fresh snow.
It's not too late to help Sponsor a Soldier to the 5th Annual All Mountain Ski Camp; visit our Facebook casuses/donation page to donate any amount you can!
The sun peeks through the clouds as I type, breaking open the sky, blue pushing white further into the mountains... bringing visibility for fireworks this evening as we ring in the new energy, new decade, new year!
But that wasn't how it was this morning; pitch black and dumping snow when we woke, adding what seemed like another 6" to the 12" that was up there.
This week is our early week, the ski area opens 15 minutes early during this busy 7 days between the holidays to cut down on the morning lines- brilliant for us early risers, I tell you. We were in the Gondy line behind the legions of First Trackers at 8:00am -a nod to all those hard working blue coats that have to "suffer" through 4 extra powder runs bright and early- and we were at first chair of Four Points by 8:10. As Brooksy said, "We'll catch em by their second lap up Sundown."
We blazed a knee-deep trail off Four Points to Rainbow-Moonlight; many took Sunset but there's nothing like that reliably fresh-groomer Rainbow that makes that 10" new feel like you're a rockstar. Less obstacles, less work; and conserving energy early today was wise. We'd made 3 runs by 9 and didn't want to come up for air. The Clocks, Tornado, Sideburn, Face... you name it, there was at least 8" on it, and up to 18 in the trees.
Nature squeezed in one last hurrah for '09.
On the way down I spied someone poached Mother Nature's Atlas-sized bumps, that looks to be ready soon! And Conce's open, but not much powder left on it from this high alt. storm. But there's Champagne all over that upper mountain, by the truckloads. And while it was completely fogged in and dumping those perfect, dry, symetrical flakes while we were up there, it's bright and blue as the Caribbean Sea outside now.
Sometimes I have to just look around and say, "Do I really live here?"
Forecast brings us more we hear, this break in the clouds is just a tease. We hope for a January to remember for our 5th Annual All Mountain Ski Camp starting on the 11th... if you know the dance, do it for us!
See you in the deep- AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
thanks Jimbo for the break from filming!
You know it's a slim December when the locals are amped up for 8 inches since the mountain closed, 11 in the last 24 hours, but that's what this morning offered as we joined the pack at Storm Peak at 8:52am. It was still snowing lightly at the 5degree summit when we arrived and bombed down Storm Peak; ahh, some of our favorite terrain is finally skiable on December 24th. Merry Christmas!
We continued down Rainbow to freshly-opened Moonlight, littered with piles of new and old snow that hadn't been touched by anyone but Ski Patrol. It was warmer as usual on the "sunny side", so we took a lap up Sundown and tried out 1 Oclock and into the 1230 trees. Also seemingly virgin for the 09-10 season, our all-time favorite stash was in mint condition. Scared of what was underneath still however, we watched our line carefully, but wow; our billows were over my knees, and over Craig's head. Lovely.
Furthermore, the right side of lower high noon was also among the best I've seen it; knee-high powder mounds primed for bombing.
The fog, goggle failure, and ridiculously low temperatures kept our morning short, we've skied our VA visitor to rubber, and the powder just makes it worse. So after another run, we found our way down to Lower Valley View which has been groovy all week but was divine today.
Merry Christmas everyone! See you In The Deep!