Full cell phone service, full high speed wireless internet service... communication is excellent out here. Greetings to all those on the east and west coasts tonight! Already making some phone calls out here an looking forward to an INCREDIBLE day of spring skiing at Deer Valley tomorrow. I'm about a 100 yard walk to the lifts at Park City.

Beginning of the week could have some passing rain and snow showers but it looks like some big storms are moving in later. Hopefully Jimmy, Comprex, Crush, and John L can keep some updates going on this little thread as the week progresses as well, as I'll probably be too tired to do anything but read what they have to say anyway...

It was good to see that CV had some snow on the ground today (we flew probably right over the top of Tory Mountain). As a matter of fact, the Dolly Sods and CV was the only snow we saw between Baltimore and central Wyoming (around the Powder River Basin). That probably makes CV one of the most southerly locations for snow in the eastern two-thirds of the country right now. Hope it stays for the rest of the month!

Good on ya' mate! We had fun last week at Solitude and Brighton, fresh powder (6-8+ on Wed) from a storm that started as RAIN. Rain is not normal in Feb there. Anyway, if you get to Brighton check out the fine tree stands under Snake River Express or whatever it is called... Hard-coin is at the top, I think... left or right is good.

yo man! Hey are you staying at the Shadow Ridge, Silver King or All Seasons? It sounds like you might be ... hey bro my computer class is in the Sliver King! Ha!

See ya soon?

Crush dude, we are planning a rally to Canyons later in the week to take advantage of one of these incoming blizzards. I'm at the Empire Coalition, which sits right at the corner about 100 yards from PCMR. Gotta figure out the bus schedule out to the Canyons.

What a day at Deer Valley. 40 degrees, very little slush (just in some sunny spots), and wonderfully sunny skies. Almost wish we could get another day like this before we leave on Saturday but, oh well!

Hey Rog!

I'm going to be in SLC this upcoming week (March 5-8) for work. I'm looking to go skiing to either Brighton or PCMR for the night skiing thing (I'm the one that asked about it in another post). Would love to ski with some other East Coasters!! Send me a PM and let me know!

yo guys ok!

Like I hung with Connie Long and Charles and she wanted to post my cell phone number but I said no but here it is anyways so call me this week might be just a hoot: 202.369.5022 and now everyone has it see Connie no problems and so my name isn't Crush its Eric and so that's that and the end. And yes i think she's cute. And I also ski steeps. And i wear a brown hat. I ski too fast and my g/f is very pacient, err patient, or really u-n-d-e-r-standing and cute. She say:

"... sign off, that is it I am not saying a nother word, Monkey-head. ypu are not getting another

You don't ski too fast. You just set a solid pace. I went to Whitetail yesterday. I'm hammering Upper Angel first thing in the morning before it gets busy and I'm kind of thinking "wow this doesn't feel that fast for some reason". Rollers and kickers were sweet and easy. I tell ya a week in Utah does wonders for your east coast riding.

this forecast looks good...

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/snow/mtnwx/cottonwoodForecast.php

Quote:

---

Cottonwood Canyons Forecast
Prepared by the National Weather Service, Salt Lake City
for use in snow safety activities and emergency management

Date/Time Issued:
2006-03-06 03:32:00
Select a different forecast:
Period:

Synopsis: ...Heavy Snow Warning noon today through noon Tuesday...March storm cycle begins today. A moist pacific storm will move over the canyon areas today through Tuesday morning. The heaviest period of snowfall for the Cottonwoods will be from 900 pm tonight to 1200 pm Tuesday. For Provo canyon the heaviest snowfall rates will be late this afternoon through about 300 am tonight. Winds will be strong but should remain below severe levels. Another period of snow is likely...mainly for the cottonwoods... later Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. A strong cold front then arrives Thursday with occasional snow through the weekend.
[\quote]

ENJOY UT. Also, congrats on passing the 1000 mark.

Mr Z went by Tory the day before you flew over it..& also after it rained all day.There were Big left over drifts everywhere but Torys north face had a SOLID snow cover! Couldn't see what was going on at MPC cuz that MTn stays in the Clouds! ENJOY The coming DUMPS in Utah & hope you get some bomb Butt Bluebirds to go with them!!

Hey Nakedskier-

I think Brighton has more light coverage than PCMR and is closer, so you should probably do that one.

JohnL and I missed our hook-up today, but today was utterly epic. Knee-deep powder in Scott's bowl, about thigh-high everywhere else. The last run I took I found an ungroomed blue that had hardly been skied (who wants to ski a blue in powder) just off McConkeys (which was closed). I got to the bottom and decided to take a look at my skis, because I thought I hit a rock on the traverse across. Sure enough- there was a two foot long gouge straight down the center of my brand new Volkls. I was mortified.

Fortunately, the gouge was nowhere near the edge of the ski so the guy at the repair shop said he could have it fixed by morning. It was a real heart-stopper (because I killed my last pair of skis this way and I've been trying hard, honestly!, to avoid rocks this season) but now that it appears that everything is going to be alright, it's all good. Just another part of a great story for a phenomenal day!

Oh I jumped my first cornice today. Nothing big- only about 3 feet or so but it was into Scotts Bowl so it was a good pitch- but man is it nice to land in knee-deep powder. Much better than landing on east coast hardpack.

Did someone mention Figure 11 skiers? Yeah, they ain't ridin' Jupiter...

..oh ho! so dropping stuff and you dis'd JohnL an me !!!! U have to make up 4 that I got the skinny on PCMR ... so they stole parts from McConkey's to fix the busted shaft on Payday?????? hmmm that's just not right!!! So where are we skiing next!

Yeah, that skinny is right Crush. The only upshot is that no one- and I mean no one- had hit any of the terrain served by McConkeys as of 2:30 p.m. 'Cept me.

I'm taking tomorrow off but am ready for The Canyons on Thursday. JohnL and I- turns out we ran the "Ski-Cross" together down to the Jupiter Lift. Just didn't recognize each other (because, as you know, there are no friends on powder days).

Roger Z.,

We must have just missed each other several times today. The skier-cross race down Jupiter access was quite the experience. First two runs down Jupiter were epic; first consistented of numerous tree shots and hidden faces, second was straight down the center of Scott Bowl when everyone else was going left or right. Even broke trail for some locals at the bottom of the first run. Glad I took yesterday off.

Must have missed you on the hike to East Face / McConkeys. I did one hike around 3 PM to exit Jupiter Bowl and an earlier one around 1 PM before lunch. I made the mistake of climbing too high on the first hike; 5150 and the other chutes were scraped off, and I kept looking at all that deep pow further on down the ridge, so I ended up skiing down the bootpath as others were hiking up...

Well I'll be hitting Brighton as everyone suggests tommorrow around 12:30. Their night skiing prices start then and I can make the most of my afternoon and early evening. If anyone wants to join me (JohnL, RogerZ, Crush....!!!), you're more than welcome to. My work schedule is only allowing me to go tomorrow. And I'm heading home on Thursday.

Amazing story about today..... kind of wish I chose to go today rather than tomorrow. Stupid graduate school paper. I promise I will have it done tonight so I can go tomorrow!

Matt
 

Another good spot I found in the morning was 10th Mountain off of the Pioneer lift while I was waiting for Jupiter to open. Found a nice chute in the woods and made second tracks down it.

Yeah, you did the Jupiter Peak hike one hour before and a half hour after I did. By three p.m., I was nervously skiing down Home Run favoring my non-wounded ski, thinking about how much it would cost to buy a new pair of skis and what an idiot I was for nailing a rock that hard. But today I'll be able to pick up the skis and they should be good as new!

You sure you're going to the Cottonwoods tomorrow? The Canyons could be quite a nice day- less wind on this side- especially if we can actually *meet* this time.

Nakedskier enjoy Brighton! That's a fun place to go. Since I'm carless, however, you'll have to go without my lovely company for the day. JohnL seemed to do just fine without me, so I suppose you'll make it, too!

Bloody rub it in! You b*st*rdos...

Ok so, opinions on Park area vs Cottonwoods from a ski perspective only -- i have only skied the CWs which I like.

I have a friend whose skied everywhere and he has uncatagorically stated that the "Jupiter Bowl" is the only thing worth skiing over there.

His info is also at least 10 yrs old or older...

( i skied briefly at the Canyons last year waiting for a plane, i got lost...)

Hoo-ah! Greetings from Maryland!

What a week! Comprex, JohnL, Crush and Jimmy can attest that they don't get much better than that. Springlike the first couple days followed by powder skiing from Tuesday to the end of the week. More snow falling out there today and we're all (except for Crush) back here in the middle of spring. I'm trying hard to settle down and do some work but visions of making first tracks keep dancing through my head.

Very, very brief summary of Park City skiing:

Deer Valley- lap of luxury. Great groomed runs, incredible food, surprisingly friendly patrons. Limited off-piste terrain but the Daly Chutes are pretty nice.

Park City- kind of a mix between Deer Valley and The Canyons. Scotts Bowl doesn't get skied out for a while, which is good because after a storm they are a bit slow to open the bowl skiing up. Never made it to Pinecone Ridge (it was closed both days I was there due to laconic avy blasting) and Jupiter Peak itself was skied out by the time I got to it (plus it was in a fog bank- flat light at its worst), but I can vouch that there's some good lines up off the Jupiter Lift. Home Run is a great end-of-day stemwinder down the mountainside. Three miles of novice pitch relaxation to soothe the aching quads.

The Canyons- bit difficult to get around the mountain; not well laid-out and kind of low in elevation. On the plus side: the best advanced and expert skiing in Park City. You could spend several days at 9990, Peak Five, and Murdock and not get bored (ok, maybe a little bored but not too much). When they open the out-of-bounds bowls it takes more than a day to ski them out. I was still cutting fresh tracks on one bowl not a couple hundred yards from the 9990 chair at one thirty in the afternoon. Hike out a little further and you've got fresh tracks probably until the next storm hits. The pitches on the 9990 chair are the steepest in Park City and are sure to give you a good workout.

I'm not sure which my favorite was. From an overall skiing perspective, I'd probably say PCMR, but from an advanced skiing perspective it was certainly The Canyons. If you ever go to PC, Deer Valley will be a favorite for solid intermediate skiers, but no snowboarders allowed there. Good cruisers on that mountain. Sidewinder was an absolutely awesome intermediate run, probably the best one all week.

BUT... back to reality...

Yo Roger .. damn-man ... sorry we did not ski together ... sounds like you did just fine without me .... what can I say I had to make some bux that day but glad i got to ski your leavings lol ! JohnL text-messaged me on that day ... he said Solitude was epic as well .. and wtf I still got a face shot in the woods just outside of the gate off Peak 5 so I guess we all did well.

maybe next year? Or heck The Canyons will be open (I think) 'till the 17 of April ! And then there's Snowbird .....

When are you guys heading back out? I have been working up a trip out to SLC to ski Alta and the Bird, perhaps Solitude as well (I hear it tracks out much slower after a dump). Almost pulled the trigger this week, and still may do a Tues-Fri trip if a reasonable airfare suddenly pops up (I am a skiing minute-man these days, ready to go at any moment). But it will most likely be in the next 2-4 weeks. I did ski PCMR in early April 1998, and had excellent powder, so there is plenty of time.

I appreciate the reports, it's been fun reading them! I just got a pair of Volkl Karmas to round out my three-ski quiver, and they are spectacular in powder and soft snow. I already have them in my travel bag in anticipation of the trip!! I am really looking forward to Mineral Basin at Snowbird -- I like the notion of transitioning my way into the inbounds-backcountry terrain, since they have green, blue, black, and dbl black routes down. I'll move up the food chain until I feel like a big fish and stop there!

Craig

No problem Crush, we'll catch up sometime I'm sure. I made sure they saved some tracks for ya.

Skier219- Solitude gets skied out within a half-hour. Don't go there, and don't tell anyone to go there, and don't even think of Big Cottonwood Canyon or acknowledge its existence. It's a waste of your time, and anyone else's time, so you and anyone reading this message should never bother to go skiing at Solitude.

RodgerZ -

Roger, comprex sorry to miss u this trip great snow allweek tho, skied mineral basin in a snowstorm Wed, Thursday at Brighton powder in Millicent....JohnL that bus ride isn't really so bad, never know who'll you meet.... Crush thanks for the powder drills got my first face shot without falling down couple of days later at brighton, looks like you got plenty of snow coming, see ya...

Craig, turn off ur computer, pack the rest of your stuff and get yerself to UTAH now.