At Lookout yesterday and mask compliance in lift lines was still pretty good. They still had their masks required signs up at the bottom of chair one and in the lodge.
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Pacific NW/AK/BC 2020/2021 PNW news, weather, conditions, stoke.
- Thread starter David Chaus
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Looking at the Stevens web site today to see what lifts are open and it says Double Diamond/Southern Cross and Tye Mill are closed. Jupiter is open. I don't know how that is supposed to work, unless they're running Jupiter to evacuate the back side because the other lifts broke down. I'm going there for the first part of next week and I'm a bit nervous about skiing the backside with all of the problems they seem to be having.
I skied Timberline with a friend Wednesday. Short lift lines. 43F in the parking lot for lunch. The magic lift was the place to be. Good corn snow. Lower Mountain was slow and sticky. I might have to figure out a better wax. I've been using some old Swix stuff I bought earlier this year.
Attachments
Alpental Today, Wed - Bluebird and Corn
My Crystal Mountain ski buddy was having some physical problems and canceled out on me . This caused me to say screw that long drive, I'm going to Alpental. Hey it worked out really well. I took a couple of warm-up laps on Debbie's HSQ which was nicely softening and then headed for chair 2 which takes you to the top of the mountain. Up there, Edelweiss Bowl was skiing really well. All of the chutes entering the main bowl and the bump runs down the ridge were sweet. International, which is a killer double black to black 2000 foot vertical run, was a bit firm at the top but lower Nash was fun spring snow. Alpental has some of the best black diamond and double black diamonds. The bumps were pretty civil everywhere. There were hardly any lines. The added bonus for for skiing Snoqualmie Pass area is the 6 Lane Freeway and going and coming at 75 miles an hour. A stupendous sunny day in the mountains.
Upper Chair
Edelweiss Bowl
My Crystal Mountain ski buddy was having some physical problems and canceled out on me . This caused me to say screw that long drive, I'm going to Alpental. Hey it worked out really well. I took a couple of warm-up laps on Debbie's HSQ which was nicely softening and then headed for chair 2 which takes you to the top of the mountain. Up there, Edelweiss Bowl was skiing really well. All of the chutes entering the main bowl and the bump runs down the ridge were sweet. International, which is a killer double black to black 2000 foot vertical run, was a bit firm at the top but lower Nash was fun spring snow. Alpental has some of the best black diamond and double black diamonds. The bumps were pretty civil everywhere. There were hardly any lines. The added bonus for for skiing Snoqualmie Pass area is the 6 Lane Freeway and going and coming at 75 miles an hour. A stupendous sunny day in the mountains.
Upper Chair
Edelweiss Bowl
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Nice! Alpental is a really fun mountain in the spring time. I've had some great days pounding slush bumps on International.
Thread Starter
TS
Stevens on Sunday. I apparently missed the bluebird spring skiing. It was snowing lightly, and pretty foggy on top. Everything was open except Double Diamond and Southern Cross. There were no lines to speak of, other than Hogsback, which I avoided.
With 1” new snow, the first hour or so was actually nice in places. 7th Heaven was crusty in places and in trees near the Meadows with some soft grabby untracked, it was challenging to reliably release the tails of my skis to turn; getting down into the bumps was more predictable. On the back side, traversing high from the entrance to Aquarius to about half-way down Aquarius face, I was able to get a half dozen nice turns in before getting down to the main run, and then the bumps had been pretty much groomed down so it big SG turns past the lift line. Off piste things were crunchy, but not so bad you couldn’t just ski through it.
Found some nice stuff on Lower Voltage.
Lines starting to form at Jupiter.
Looking uphill.
And the very next run, same fog on main trails but totally clear right nearby in South Park. While the snow was fun at the entrance, further down near the cat-track it was firmer and crusty. No repeats.
It cleared up a bit after 11:30, things started getting slushy lower, and I was done by 12:30.
With 1” new snow, the first hour or so was actually nice in places. 7th Heaven was crusty in places and in trees near the Meadows with some soft grabby untracked, it was challenging to reliably release the tails of my skis to turn; getting down into the bumps was more predictable. On the back side, traversing high from the entrance to Aquarius to about half-way down Aquarius face, I was able to get a half dozen nice turns in before getting down to the main run, and then the bumps had been pretty much groomed down so it big SG turns past the lift line. Off piste things were crunchy, but not so bad you couldn’t just ski through it.
Found some nice stuff on Lower Voltage.
Lines starting to form at Jupiter.
Looking uphill.
And the very next run, same fog on main trails but totally clear right nearby in South Park. While the snow was fun at the entrance, further down near the cat-track it was firmer and crusty. No repeats.
It cleared up a bit after 11:30, things started getting slushy lower, and I was done by 12:30.
STEVENS PASS
In case any of you missed this ,it is from the Stevens Pass website.
We will be closing the backside, including Jupiter, Double Diamond and Southern Cross, for the remainder of the season on Sunday, April 4. I sent them another email.
Way to go Vail.
In case any of you missed this ,it is from the Stevens Pass website.
We will be closing the backside, including Jupiter, Double Diamond and Southern Cross, for the remainder of the season on Sunday, April 4. I sent them another email.
Way to go Vail.
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Thread Starter
TS
Ouch!! I was aware of “maintenance hold” for DD and Southern Cross, but to just close the backside? Guess I’ll be making the longer drive to Crystal a few weeks earlier than anticipated.
Crystal Wed, Best Ever, No Foolin
The short report, beautiful sunny day, little or no lines, and superb spring corn snow.
The details, we started skiing about 10:30 which was about perfect. Everything was just softening up. We took nice warm up runs on Lucky Shot and Iceberg, then off to the front side of REX. Sunnyside and Memorial Forest were just a hoot, delivering the best corn we have had in a long while. On chair 6, Powder Bowl skiers left was in fine shape slightly after lunch. That was worth a repeat. On the front side of 6 we did a chair line run skiers left that we call The Pinnacles. This is a steep chute opening opening out to a fan. It is a run that we don't get to ski very often. There was never a bad run. I broke out the Hawaiian shirt, the baseball cap and the lightweight gloves. A nice cold beer at the Naches Tavern's sundeck topped off a perfect spring day.
The short report, beautiful sunny day, little or no lines, and superb spring corn snow.
The details, we started skiing about 10:30 which was about perfect. Everything was just softening up. We took nice warm up runs on Lucky Shot and Iceberg, then off to the front side of REX. Sunnyside and Memorial Forest were just a hoot, delivering the best corn we have had in a long while. On chair 6, Powder Bowl skiers left was in fine shape slightly after lunch. That was worth a repeat. On the front side of 6 we did a chair line run skiers left that we call The Pinnacles. This is a steep chute opening opening out to a fan. It is a run that we don't get to ski very often. There was never a bad run. I broke out the Hawaiian shirt, the baseball cap and the lightweight gloves. A nice cold beer at the Naches Tavern's sundeck topped off a perfect spring day.
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Days 51,52,53,54 of the ski season.
Saturday: Warm and slushy at Skibowl in the day. Nice firmer snow Skibowl at night
Sunday: Cool and firm at Timberline in the day, turning slushier. Nice snow at Skibowl for night skiing.
Monday: Cold and wonderful at Timberline, turning to soft mogul skiing. The perfect spring ski day.
Tuesday: Some more spring skiing at Timberline.
Skiing with Hunter, Archer, and Scott Chewning
Easter Sunday Archer and Hunter shaved my beard off for the summer. We stayed at my friend's condo in Government Camp. Hunter took a jump bigger than he expected and crashed shortly after I took his picture. I found the perfect ski outfit for Lisa Chewning: Metallic polychromatic reflective, with gold purse, gold shoes and a reflective face mask to match.
We had a great time on spring break. A day of rest now and then off to the beach for a few days.
Here's Videos:
Scott, Archer, Hunter: Mustang Sally: https://youtu.be/tZB8qEvg_Pc
Pat: Mustang Sally:
https://youtu.be/UpKIPgPDs6Y
Hunter, Archer: Mustang Sally:
https://youtu.be/0SVznRMpk_w
Scott, Archer, Hunter : Ski arms-out
https://youtu.be/vK5uVm-jjhY
Scott, Archer, Hunter: Some ski jumps
https://youtu.be/trg0b8jCKU0
Scott, Archer, Hunter: Some ski jumps
https://youtu.be/e9wKox58bHQ
Archer and Hunter: Ski tree edges
https://youtu.be/uKGxyAskH7I
Archer and Hunter: Sliding in Snow
https://youtu.be/WhcNW3Klhuc
Archer, Hunter, Pat: Shaving beard off
https://youtu.be/CLYa_jQSPMA
Archer, Hunter, Pat: Shaving beard off
https://youtu.be/tIsx57dc_Hw
Saturday: Warm and slushy at Skibowl in the day. Nice firmer snow Skibowl at night
Sunday: Cool and firm at Timberline in the day, turning slushier. Nice snow at Skibowl for night skiing.
Monday: Cold and wonderful at Timberline, turning to soft mogul skiing. The perfect spring ski day.
Tuesday: Some more spring skiing at Timberline.
Skiing with Hunter, Archer, and Scott Chewning
Easter Sunday Archer and Hunter shaved my beard off for the summer. We stayed at my friend's condo in Government Camp. Hunter took a jump bigger than he expected and crashed shortly after I took his picture. I found the perfect ski outfit for Lisa Chewning: Metallic polychromatic reflective, with gold purse, gold shoes and a reflective face mask to match.
We had a great time on spring break. A day of rest now and then off to the beach for a few days.
Here's Videos:
Scott, Archer, Hunter: Mustang Sally: https://youtu.be/tZB8qEvg_Pc
Pat: Mustang Sally:
https://youtu.be/UpKIPgPDs6Y
Hunter, Archer: Mustang Sally:
https://youtu.be/0SVznRMpk_w
Scott, Archer, Hunter : Ski arms-out
https://youtu.be/vK5uVm-jjhY
Scott, Archer, Hunter: Some ski jumps
https://youtu.be/trg0b8jCKU0
Scott, Archer, Hunter: Some ski jumps
https://youtu.be/e9wKox58bHQ
Archer and Hunter: Ski tree edges
https://youtu.be/uKGxyAskH7I
Archer and Hunter: Sliding in Snow
https://youtu.be/WhcNW3Klhuc
Archer, Hunter, Pat: Shaving beard off
https://youtu.be/CLYa_jQSPMA
Archer, Hunter, Pat: Shaving beard off
https://youtu.be/tIsx57dc_Hw
I skied Stevens on Monday and Tuesday. Fantastic weather with lots of sunshine, which was needed to soften up the rock hard snow. Once the softening took place the skiing was really good. It would have been good even early had they had the back side open. This was my last time at Stevens this season, but we've got nearly a month left at Baker which keeps all of the the lifts open every day.
So will Stevens be the first area to be divested from the Vail portfolio? We can only hope.
It's such a shame that they shut down the backside, considering how good the backside can be in the spring. That aspect means at this time of year, you often didn't have to wait at all for things to soften up. Just go back there first thing in the morning on a sunny day and it's already probably starting to soften up. Then move to the frontside if/when the backside gets too soft and conditions there would often be just starting to hit their prime.
Thread Starter
TS
Or a day like this morning in which it snow 6 inches overnight at Crystal and 10 inches overnight at Stevens, and I’m agonizing over which to ski today. If the backside at Stevens were open it would be a no-brainer.
Is it me or has Alpental really expanded their lower mountain grooming this year? Also see them grooming the lower part of chair 2 much more frequently. Have to say ski Alpental groomed is like skiing a different mountain. Now need to bring carving skis for the morning on crisp groomers and something fun for the afternoon on the upper mountain
what is really crazy is that I am in Whitefish this week and Alpental, my home mountain has better snow lol.
So far every time I've taken a trip east to Montana the snow and weather have been worse than at home. The last time we bailed on the trip and headed home for decent snow.
Actually the snow has not been bad, great spring skiing conditions, but nothing close to the base we have at Alpental this year. Looking forward to skiing Alpental into May this year as it looks like their base is holding up nicely. It also looks like they may have some more snow in the forecast
Crystal Thur. 4/8 You Missed Out
It was a sneaky, cold, winter, powder day. The snow was boot top deep at the base and bottomless in certain areas on top. The best part was most of the powder pigs stayed home . I found untracked powder turns all day, well up until 1 o'clock. Chair six opened late and skied great when I did it after my lunch break. The sun appeared only in sucker holes which helped a lot for snow preservation, however the lower mountain did get a bit thick. Thanks to everyone who did not show up.
It was a sneaky, cold, winter, powder day. The snow was boot top deep at the base and bottomless in certain areas on top. The best part was most of the powder pigs stayed home . I found untracked powder turns all day, well up until 1 o'clock. Chair six opened late and skied great when I did it after my lunch break. The sun appeared only in sucker holes which helped a lot for snow preservation, however the lower mountain did get a bit thick. Thanks to everyone who did not show up.
Thread Starter
TS
I decided to go to Stevens, almost regretted my decision as Hwy 2 was closed for avy control from 7:30am to about 9am. By the time I drove to lot G, booted up and used the restroom at the lodge, it was almost 10.
But the 10” overnight made up for the inconvenience, and it continued to snow until noon. It was around 26 degrees in the morning, and warmed up to 35 by the time I left, so probably not as good quality snow as at Crystal, but I didn’t care, it was glorious. Some untracked on 7th Heaven, but the tracked up stuff was fun as well.
Cloud 9.
LIttle Tree.
I lapped Skyline/7th Heaven until the lines at Skyline got too long for my tastes and headed over to Tye Mill. Several runs on Roller Coast/Gun Tower where I’m the only one there. Tye Rock was so buried in snow it didn’t seem like a chute. I hit Tye bowl when the visibility improved, and did a few runs at Kehr’s, before hitting the trees and inadvertently ended up at the RV lot. Called it a day at 1:30.
Tye Bowl
584” for the season (so far), and even with VR having staffing problems and being closed some days, or closing the backside early, it’s been a pretty good year.
But the 10” overnight made up for the inconvenience, and it continued to snow until noon. It was around 26 degrees in the morning, and warmed up to 35 by the time I left, so probably not as good quality snow as at Crystal, but I didn’t care, it was glorious. Some untracked on 7th Heaven, but the tracked up stuff was fun as well.
Cloud 9.
LIttle Tree.
I lapped Skyline/7th Heaven until the lines at Skyline got too long for my tastes and headed over to Tye Mill. Several runs on Roller Coast/Gun Tower where I’m the only one there. Tye Rock was so buried in snow it didn’t seem like a chute. I hit Tye bowl when the visibility improved, and did a few runs at Kehr’s, before hitting the trees and inadvertently ended up at the RV lot. Called it a day at 1:30.
Tye Bowl
584” for the season (so far), and even with VR having staffing problems and being closed some days, or closing the backside early, it’s been a pretty good year.
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