Road Trip ! No Sunglasses

[Bad Wolf]

"It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."

Well not exactly; it's 697 miles to Salt Lake City, I quit smoking years ago and now I need reading glasses, but it's still a road trip! As soon as I get off work, the wife and I are packing the car and heading for the mountains. This will be our first real skiing vacation together, other than weekend trips. We are spending a week in Salt Lake and hoping to hook up with the Junk Show crew at Park City. The rest of the week will be skiing the Cotton wood Canyons, then stopping off at Brian Head on the way back to ride with Chad and the new 125s. And yes, at last, it's snowing.

The first glitch has already come up; we were hoping to drive though Flagstaff this evening, around the Grand Canyon and stay in Lake Powell for the night. There is a huge storm hitting the White Mountains today, so we are going the long way around through Vegas. Not too bad, we got a room at the Boulder Station for only $34. Only adds about an hour, but not as scenic. Still, you can't ski if you're stuck on the side of the interstate.

And yes, the kids are staying home with Grandma. Bonus!

"Jake, Hit it !"

[Greco]

ah, The Blues Brothers was may favorite movie as a kid. Have a great time!

[valmorel]

Sounds like the kind of undertaking a road trip to the Alps represents. Love it . . . .

[Bad Wolf]

We had to take the long way round but made it to SLC tonite. Sounds like the storm closed Flagstaff down, so it was good choice to go through Vegas. We saw the first snow on the mountain tops near the Utah border;



then it really hit the fan on the pass north of Brian Head;



No one was hurt and we waved on the way by. All the Utah resorts are getting hit this weekend, they claim two to three feet by Monday. Park City tomorrow. I'm packing Bakava for Dave Bloom, the good stuff, fresh from the Lebanon.

[CAN]

You're making us antsy. I think now we're leaving Wednesday to get two days in before we meet you.

[Bad Wolf]

You're making us antsy. I think now we're leaving Wednesday to get two days in before we meet you.

The forecasts keep making it look good, but you can never count on it until it's on the ground.

First day out today and the first day on a "real" skiboard with Spruce Risers. Felt a little rusty, no injuries, good day. My goal this year was to get back to having the kind of fun I used to have on the slopes thirty years ago, so this was a good start.

We rode Park City, and got to meet RVL8 riders Dave, Brandon and Ray. Nice guys, and very patient hanging out with us. I did get an instant lesson in Black moguls form Dave. Good job the snow was deep and soft enough to break my falls! That was another goal, just didn't expect to do it the first day out.



As you can see Park City was pretty chilly; we had a high of 21 degrees with about 10 inches of snow overnight. Not complaining, we didn't come here to sunbathe. Getting Superpass tickets for Alta tomorrow, due about another couple of feet this evening. Not too sure about powder yet, I'm used to pressuring the tips, now I have to lean back to keep the tips up.

[CAN]

Alta was our first real deep powder ever. It was a blast. You are going to have a great time and tired legs. Once you get that floating feeling you will be addicted. That day has turned us into powder chasers. Can't wait to hear back from you.

[Dave Bloom]

We had a blast riding with you two today. The pow was delicious. It's great getting together with other skiboarders.

[Bad Wolf]

Alta was our first real deep powder ever. It was a blast. You are going to have a great time and tired legs. Once you get that floating feeling you will be addicted. That day has turned us into powder chasers. Can't wait to hear back from you.

We were both pretty tired today and actually left a little early, but still rode from 9 till 3 without much of a break. The groomers we ride in Arizona are definitely less tiring than the powder, steeps and moguls we had today. The wife and I both keep fit, but it's not the same as the real thing early in the season. When you start to feel a little tired, you've got to quit before you get hurt. Got a nice single malt to help me sleep tonight, then Alta tomorrow.

[Dave Bloom]

Got a nice single malt to help me sleep tonight

We could have shared that on the lift.

[Bad Wolf]

We got to hit Alta today, the land of elite skiers and no snowboarders. Glad they let us in for the day!

They got about 10 inches overnight, freezing cold, but very nice surface conditions. The summit was recording 40 mph winds and 10 below, no chance of slush. They had 111 of 116 trails open with most of the blues groomed and zero wait on the lifts. The blacks looked pretty deep with powder, but I'm not quite there yet. We are going to Brighton tomorrow, and they are up to 43 inches in the last few days with more coming tonight. Dave Bloom said I just had to go for it, maybe tomorrow. Just lean into the hill, keep my tips up and my feet together.

The Canyon road required chains, so we took the City "Ski Bus" up from the Park & Ride. They have rack on the bus for skis, but our boards were so short they kept sliding around and smashing into everyone else's gear. I was worried my Summits were going to ruin some guys $1000 Powder Slayers. On the way back down we just held our boards instead. We got a lot of interest from the other riders on the bus about what they were; nothing mocking, just curiosity. Everyone was nice to us on the lifts and slopes as well. Just as we were leaving the storm was coming in and the top of the mountain disappeared.





Alta is one of the last two resorts in the country that does not allow snowboarding. I have to be honest and say that I really noticed a different atmosphere there, just friendlier, more relaxed and helpful. I do wonder how much business Alta gains (from skiers would dislike snowboarders) and how much they loose from banning snowboarders. The modern ski family is often made up of Mom and Dad who ski and the kids who snowboard; that's a lot of business to loose. Guess it must be worth it.

The wife got a nasty case of Shin Bang, so we got her fitted for some foot beds. Seems as though her boot liners are compressing with age letting the heel rise up.

OK, whiskey, sleep, skiing tonight's storm tomorrow. Life is good!

[Bad Wolf]

We could have shared that on the lift.

Sorry Dave, it was a 12 year old Glenlivet. I did suggest you stay for a few more powder days in the Canyons, could have finished off the bottle as well.

[Bad Wolf]

We don't get much snow in Arizona; enough to have a decent season from late December to early March, but they closed I40 down this weekend because they got 7 inches!

Brighton has now received 50 inches in the last four days, including 16 inches last night. We skied there today and now I know why you guys go on and on about powder days. They groomed the greens and lift connectors, everything else was left as it fell. We spent the day skiing in knee deep powder with waist high drifts to blast through on the trail edges. I even went off trail through the glades and took on a few steeps. Late in the morning it started to snow again and filled in the morning tracks. The locals call this a "free refill day".



I'm sold, nothing compares to that feeling of floating on powder. We're selling up and moving to Utah, well at least as soon as we can kick the kids out of the house.

Day off tomorrow, taking the wife to the mall, then the mighty Snowbird on Thursday. Life is good.

[Bad Wolf]

As a side note;

Brighton is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country, they had their 75th anniversary last year. The crowd there is mainly die hard skiers. I was on my Summit 110 Customs and the wife was on her Trees. We had several people telling us that we wouldn't be able to get down the mountain on "those little skis". It was kind of a shame because these people are meant to be educated in their sport and were unable to understand the concept of a modern skiboard. By the end of the day we had lots of folks asking interested questions about our boards.

This is my first year on "real" skiboards, so I really have nothing to compare them to, but my Summit 110 Customs performed very well in the powder, at least for my level of skiing. I have the bindings set back slightly on the risers and tend to ride skier style with my weight forwards. I found it fairly easy to put the weight back on the heels a little in the powder and they seemed to float very nicely. I did get bogged down once or twice, but that was a break down in my technique. It would have been really nice to have been able to compare with the RC's and new Spruce's on a day like today.

[Bad Wolf]

No skiing today, took the wife to the mall, dinner and the movies. I could see the mountains from the mall, calling me....



What a tease. I needed a day off anyway with sore ankle bones. If there is one drawback to powder it's all the skating you have to do on the flats and traverses. We even had to skate downhill on some of the greens.

Snowbird tomorrow. No snow forecast tonight and it's going to be sunny with a minus twelve wind chill. At least we get to stay warm on the tram.