Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Day 18 - Jackson
Ken is truly the one to talk about endless skiing. Today was his 15th day of skiing with only the 3 travel days for rest - the one to Steamboat, the one to Utah, and then the one to Wyoming. After a tough day at Jackson, today, we have decided that tomorrow will be another rest day as we move back toward Denver. Of course my schedule has been much less than Ken's since the flu kept me away from much of Utah's skiing but I've now had 3 agressive days of skiing so I guess I'm officially back in the swing of things in spite of my continued hacking at the end of every run.
After 2 days of skiing a fabulous 18 inches of "butter like" powder at
Grand Targhee, I was beginning to feel like some kind of super skier. However, Jackson did a quick job of humbling me today. Everyone keeps asking us "What's your favorite Mountain?" We are pretty quick to answer that our favorite mountain is the one that get's the best snow on the day that you're asking. However by adding qualifications, we can give meaningful answers to that question. If what one is looking for is the most interesting terrain, then I would have to say Jackson is the winner in my book. The mountain is Magnificent! The views are breath taking. The rock cliffs are awe inspiring.
Anyhow, I no longer feel like a super skier. The mountain put me in my place. It was a beautiful sunny day and the 27 inches of powder over the last 2 days made for quite the challenge. One would think we would be in extacy with all that snow, but with the sun beating down all day long, that snow becomes very much like mash potatoes and is lots of work to ski thru. I do find that talking about snow becomes difficult. Yesterday as Ken and I were riding the lift with a local, he told us that they didn't consider it to be a powder day unless there were 18 inches of new snow after the lifts closed. So what we considered to be the biggest dump of powder on our trip was not even going to qualify as a powder day. Ah to hell with the locals.
I'm hoping that Ken will still help load some pictures for this post but if not, we'll get some more in soon. James has informed me that the next 3 days should give us a fair amount of sunshine, so if our skiing is starting to let up a bit, it looks like the weather may make up for it. It's hard for me to say this, but I'm looking forward to a bit more sun and a bit less skiing.
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3 comments:
Where is Cade? Does he still have the "Chubbs". They were the perfect skis for cutting through that heavy powder. So, it sounds like you are reaching your limit. Don't be ashamed, even ski bums take days off, now and then, to chase girls and make some money. Ken definetely deserves an award for endurance.
Dan and Ken,
Here are my recommendations for skiing Breck, if you decide to go there.
1) Anything under the 6 chair. This is my favorite area at Breck. Only complaints are that it is too short, and the lift is slow. It's high up, so the snow is usually nice and dry even on warm days.
2) The T-bar to Horseshoe bowl. Nice, very steep, high alpine bowl skiing. Different from Vail in that it's way up and doesn't face south, so the snow doesn't get baked.
3) Anything off the Imperial Lift (Imperial Bowl, Whale's Tail). This is even higher than the T-bar. It's never been open when I've been there, but it should be great if the snow is good. Lots of super-steep, wide open skiiing. Some of the steepest slopes anywhere in bounds in CO are Lake Chutes, far to the skiiers right of Imperial bowl, with a pitch greater than 50 degrees. I've never skied it.
4) Under the E-chair. Here you'll see lots of very steep, sparsely gladed trails (Mine Shaft and Devil's Crotch are a couple). These are lots of fun. You can ski the 6-chair, then ski all the way down lower boneyard to the E-chair, then ride up the chair to get a visual of the terrain.
5) Windows. While you're at the E-chair, you should check out Windows glades at the top. I've seen the entrance sign straight and a bit to the right of the top of the chair. I've never skied this, as I've heard it's really tight, but you guys should love it. Apparently, there is always great snow in there. Some of the Windows glades are accessible from a short hike. I'd ask some of the locals for more info. You should definitely check these out.
6) Peak 10. The great thing about the Falcon Chair at Peak 10 is that it's never crowded, even on busy days. On Peak 10, you'll find Corsair to the skiers left near the top of the lift. This is my favorite pure mogul slope at Breck. Dan will love it; Ken may find it annoying. A bit further down, but on the same face, is "the Burn," a great gladed area that should be right up your alley. There is some double black terrain on the other side of Peak 10, but I've never skied it. If you try it, let me know how it is.
7) Southern Cross and Goodbye Girl (and other double-blacks) under the Peak 8 SuperConnect. This can be another uncrowded lift on busy days. You can ride up the lift to see the terrain. There is midstation that picks up skiers partway up the lift, so you can ski this area without skiing the long runout.
There's more, but that should keep you busy.
Have a great day!
James
pope beckster,
i still have the chubbs, but i'm looking for some new skis. shorter would be good. my 190's had trouble following dan and ken in the trees.by the way, i have 12 days in since the adventure started.
cade
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