Brian, Ryan, Allison and I went to Winter Park in what turned out to be Mary Jane's opening day. I've heard it is basically a great powder day when that happens, so we were really stoked at the opportunity. Overall, things were open far before they should have been, with stumps and branches knocking people over left and right. With caution, there was great powder to be had though. A great start to the season! I returned on Christmas Eve for more terrific snow. That was the first day I can recall being able to chain tight tree turns in at least boot-deep fresh... I was exhausted afterwards. I also went back a week later and had a nice day on better-but-still-thin snowpack... the moguls were coming in nicely, and the season was off to a great start.
I made it to Copper a couple times this year as well. I never had a bad day at Copper when I had the same season pass 2 year ago, and this year continued that trend. I've only been up there twice, but it's been nice both days.
In January I demo'd a tele setup and had my very first tele lesson at Loveland. I'm hooked, and will be focusing on tele next year, for backcountry purposes if nothing else. I also had a great powder day at Loveland in February. The Ridge was closed due to wind, but the snow in the trees was terrific. With Silverton in my sights, I felt like my powder skiing was developing well. A few weeks later, I returned with my Silverton partners for some practice on the Ridge. We found mixed conditions, but had a great day nonetheless. I felt ready to test myself at Silverton.
I took part in a long weekend trip to Breckenridge with a group of friends from college. It was a terrific reunion that also provided 2 days of great snow. We drove up Thursday night, and it snowed steadily until we left Sunday morning. Note to self: stay at the Gondola House again!
Ryan and I made our way to Wolf Creek in the last week of January for a truly epic day. The 3 day total for the mountain was somewhere in the neighborhood of 65" so it was nothing short of amazing. I had never skied anything like that before, or been skiing in the San Juans, so this trip was monumental. I got my first powder face shots, and will be returning next year if another monster storm heads that direction. (Who am I kidding, that happens every year down there... I'll see you next winter, Wolfie!)
Last weekend I was fully pushed to my limits and tested by the weird vibes of Silverton. Let me be the first to tell you that everything people say about that place is true. There is no reason to ski Alaska with Silverton within a day's drive. You can't compare it to any other resort in Colorado. I was honestly really nervous about whether I was worthy of Silverton. It gave me all I wanted and more. Let's just say that I had an issue with a creek crossing and was done skiing on day one after my first run... my boot liners are still wet. Oh, and my Jeep broke down on the way out of town, and my camera died in the creek. That mountain shows no mercy. But......... it snowed 20" Friday night, so we skied amazing powder on Saturday. Those 5 runs will live on in infamy for me, and I wish badly that I could be there again next Saturday.
Overall, my steeps and moguls still have a long way to go, but I've definitely improved as a skier this season. I have 12.1 days in so far, which is probably double last year's total. I really don't think I improved last season, so I'm happy with that change. Even people I skied with in December claim to have seen an improvement in my skiing, and I attribute that at least in part to my tele lesson. I plan on skiing Monarch on Saturday, and get a few more Front Range days in before the backcountry season starts.
Next year's wish list:
- Follow the snow like this year... Silverton and Wolf Creek are musts!
- I've never skied anywhere in Aspen, so I'd like to get in a weekend at Snowmass, Highlands, or anywhere that will have me.
- Crested Butte is a stretch goal, but would be great to add to the list. Same goes for Telluride.
- dramatic tele improvement
