God Save the Pow
Word to the George…could be a new shirt on the way.
Old Man’s in July
Snapped a quick photo on a hike into the Gore the other day. The old man still has a good sized chunk of snow hanging tough in the 80 degree summer heat. A far cry from the towering wall of snow in March…but impressive in it’s staying power nonetheless. A reminder of a great season and hopefully of what’s to come.
4/20/11 report
Hey all,
The hits just keep coming. Hit five hundred for the year and skied EV powder the latest I ever have, not a bare spot in sight. Blustery windy and dumping yesterday, the storm preceded by some good thunder the night before. Worried about stability issues as the high wind and warmer denser snow created a noticeable 6 to 12 inch firmer spongey layer on the north aspects. Relieved to find the slab didn’t have much energy, and little or no movement at all occurred during our three lap no poma day. Very cushy, surfy surface that rockered skis are made for. The Ol Mans gash is slowly turning into a tunnel as the prevailing winds from the s/sw are doing there best to connect the outer flanks of the notch. Tried not to make eye contact with the bulging cornice after shooting the gap and running into the middle with DPS Dave on the third lap, fresh from Dtown after an airport run to get one in.
So nice to be up top and know the names of everyone there, shooting the shit and reviewing what has to be considered one of if not the best year in EV memory for consistent snow. Justifies my ski bum lifestyle for the last thirteen years. Looking forward to the second season coming up and should have ski reports through May from Abasin and beyond.
4/15/11 report
Hey all,
The reports of EV demise are greatly exaggerated. Skied the old mans again yesterday, continuing the spring old mans addiction and found winter like snow conditions with the three or four inches of fresh snow. Continuing to keep the notch viable with the saw for those who dare venture into old mans. The cornice continues to grow, a bulging overhung mass that now looms over the entire bowl. I’m sure there is a formula for the energy released by this death star sized snow load if it fell, something I’d love to see (from a significant distance). The drop in in requires putting that image out of your mind and railing it.
The end of the poma is my favorite time of year for EV. Traffic slows to a crawl, reminiscent of ten years ago, when you could count the number of tracks on one hand in Benchie and Old Mans. Conditions are the best I’ve ever seen for this time of year. An EV with winter snow and not one bare spot on April 15 is something that hasn’t happened since I’ve started skiing back out in EV. I’m truly an old fart so that’s saying something.
If your willing to skin a little longer, the reward is worth it. Peace.
EVI – Going BIG 04/11/2011
Going BIG off a 40 footer in the East Vail Chutes. DEEP powder turns and some trees round out the run. EVI friends Big J and DJ were along for the trip. Nas provides the soundtrack. Stay Calm and Move Along.
4/6/11 Post storm report
Hey all,
Reporting after the latest storm blew through. Dumped eleven inches in a matter of hours on Sunday. Went to battle the cornice in Old Mans Monday the entrance topping out at a ten foot drop, even with the help of the trusty ol G3 bone saw.
The cornice to the skiers left of the gash is topping forty feet, easily the biggest I’ve ever seen. Teed it up with the boys on Monday, success ratio for the drop in for the cornice is around 40 percent, with some epic double back handsprings, luckily no injuries except bruised egos. Stability was very good with the new snow adhering well to the old snow surface, light sluffing in the middle, but no step downs past the old surface layer.
Had to go back to get the saw after it dislodged from my ski pole and dropped into the landing zone. Had and interesting time climbing down the notch with my whippet and Side Stashes as tools. Able to cut a ledge half way down, then got myself down using the tails of the skis as anchors. Lowering myself to the deck seemed like a foregone conclusion until I kicked a step into air pocket in the cornice and pulled a slide down cornice face to back handspring maneuver. A ten minute hike to my gear under the cornice with a sprained shoulder as my reward for trying to free climb down a overhung ledge. He’s a big dumb animal folks. Got my saw.
Monday skied well, with the cold temps sticking around to keep the snow good all day, reminiscent of a January day. My spring addiction to Ol mans continues, as the drop in really thins the herd and allows for great skiing the day of the storm. Tuesday was still cold, but the solar energy manked up all of Old Mans as well as the rest of EV. That time of year.
A shout out to Johnny R for skiing chutes and ladders solo Monday afternoon. Tracks looked sick coming around on the bus after my third lap, with the late day EV bus riders looking out and wondering who would ski such a line. Nice line. Waiting for the next reset button to be hit, as it looks like another pacific storm starts to roll in on Wed, and snow continuing for the weekend. Stay thirsty my friends.
4/1-4/3 reports
4/1
EV skiing was truly funky. Did an Old Man’s, the new snow was like skiing two feet of mattress. The warm temps and high winds turned everything exposed into a glazed donut. Trees are still skiing well, with deep space funk snow. Graupel warning in effect as the little ball bearings were collecting everywhere, making a possible weak layer in patches where they aren’t degraded by the sun or blown off, especially in shaded wind protected areas. Today’s sun and warm temps should mank everything out pretty well. Amazing the difference a couple days will make in the spring. Monday Tuesday were some of the best days in awhile, now we’re back to the good ol melt freeze cycle, maybe without the freeze. Taking time off from EV to let the legs rest. Watching the next possible storm on Sunday, Monday. Put on the shades and slush it up. I hope we get a few more pow days before the EV season closes out.
4/3
Watching closely the weather moving in from the NW. Forecast is for another run at Mon/Tues powder days. Looks like a good chance for significant snow this afternoon, today and tomorrow. Sobering story in the daily about a big slide near A Basin, ten to twenty feet deep on a south aspect, 300 feet wide that caught a couple skiers.
The deep snowpack has changed significantly with the warm temps, crust formation and the percolation of water into the snowpack. Planning on digging another profile pit in the Gore on Tuesday. Look forward to sharing the results with everyone.
3/30/11 Trip Recaps and Storm Report
hey all,
It’s been good to see new people checking out the site. We are always looking for content, so if you have trip reports or pics you’d like to see on here, please let us know, shoot us an email, or post up on the Facebook page. If we like your style, we might even get you on board as a contributor.
Now onto the goings-on from Monday and Tuesday:
Our third run to King A’s (now to be referred to as Horton’s Line in honor of the man himself), was an eye opener. Wall to wall rip in the upper panel of Horton’s, about 18 inches deep and two hundred feet wide, apparently skier triggered by someone traversing over to Gwenivere’s, ran all the way through the lower choke and into the flats above the last water fall. The soft slab debris was piled high in the gully, and luckily the ski tracks of the group before us showed everyone to be on top of the debris. Did a couple cursory beacon checks through the run, happily with no hits.
It is truly amazing the power of moving snow, and when EV sheds, it’s time to be cautious and take a mental note of the areas sliding.
Tuesday was much better stability as much of what could rip in EV Monday did. The new snow came with colder temps Monday night, and the six to eight of new fluff seemed much more stable, especially on the debris that slid yesterday. Able to get out to Old Man’s first and fresh. Always amazing to look through the notch and see a blank canvass in Old Man’s with good visibility. Gets the heart going, and you definitely want to stick the cornice entry in front of your friends.
DPS Dave, Big John, and I all managed to hit it. I went first, cut it to the right and skied the sparse trees. Able to watch those two tee up the middle. With nothing running from my cut, they took it. Awesome run. We staged before the lower bonus aspens for a safety meeting. Pulled out the probe and found a 95cm storm total in the north facing, fairly low trees and skied blower trees to the traverse out. Our bus ride was packed, and we knew getting out early was the call. Rather than deal with the second lap madness, we got off at Columbine and headed for the Gore once again…
…Oh the Gore, land of endless lines and lessons. Had the two o sevens for the skin, and quickly fell behind DPS and John as DPS Dave flew up the day old skin track and I tried to keep him in sight slogging the Caddies uphill. Had skin issues, culminating in a double skin fail face plant that had me covered head to toe in fluff. Tragically funny. As I was muttering hateful things at my skins and clearing my boot for another go, a voice behind me piped up. “You know, you really shouldn’t kick those AFD’s”
Behind me was flannel boss, not from our group, skinnys in tow flying up the trail, watching me flail like a wounded moose. Now being in Bighorn, having a skin moment in really no the time or place where I want advice raining down from the trees. “I work in a shop” he says. I just wanted a solo moment in the woods, covered in melting snow, hands filled with soggy, useless skins. I wandered to this side of the highway to get away from such third person interaction except for my friends. I told flannel boss to go ahead and that I as well work at a shop, but wasn’t really in need of Duke advice at the present time. Lesson learned, take care of you skins on a multiple skin day, even if you’re all jacked up about firsties in Old Mans.
Next lesson learned. If you come upon a large disgruntled man in the woods, don’t disturb him or offer upbeat advice. Stay calm and move along.
Caught up with my crew at the flats and offered apologies to my partners. Nothing more frustrating than failing skins. We followed Dave into the steep trees and were rewarded with deep shots all the way to the tree gully opening, about 750 feet below our entrance. The gulley to our right, Dave lead the way through the trees, avoiding the gully and the new two feet sitting on top of the melt freeze crust from the previous week.
Dave shouted clear, and I delved in farther right, asking the Gore gods if I could, might I, test the open pockets. After three turns on the tree spine wall, the answer was an emphatic no. Big J yelled and I knew that the beast was at my heels. I hit the throttle, skiing towards Dave position. Coming over the last steep roll, I found myself, in mid turn, on the bed surface from Dave’s slide, railing toward a stand of baseball bat sized Aspens.
It was a strike, and I filtered through the stand, ending up sliding head first through an evergreen tree well, dodging my sluff as it rolled by. Lesson learned, if loaded lower tree faces have slid once, probably will again. Don’t get greedy like I did, stay in the trees. Lesson part two – Small radios are a good idea in complicated terrain. Information such as “hey, I slid out the entire lower face, so watch out coming over the last roll” is valuable and can’t be communicated via shouting over wind gusts.
Big J rolled through cautiously to round out the group. We made our way out, scoping smaller tree chutes along the was. Again the Gore was chock full o lessons, good snow and dicey moments. Another great two days off, more pow, more lessons and painful comedy. Video from across I-70 coming soon…
Long Road Ahead…
…gotta work to get the goods.
Friends…
East Vail Institute 