TR: Powder Mountain 3/10/09

[rvrscum]

The Wasatch got hammered on Monday. Storm totals at resort areas varied from 12" to 20+". I started getting mine at Deer Valley around 10 am. I was released from work at lunchtime, and enjoyed the >1+" per hour for the rest of the afternoon. Made arrangements to have Tuesday off, as did my one of my roommates, Mike, who works with me at DV. It was decided on Powder Mountain for Tuesday. We chose it because it is so big, you will get mucho freshies, and there's always new places to discover at Pow Mow. They were reporting 14", and a weather station just a few miles north was reporting 25".



Another bonus for me was that I finally got to drive my newly purchased powder boards on a big pow day. My new skis- the Icelantic Shaman. It's 160-110-130, and has a 15m radius, which is just hell on trees. Check out how puny Mike's Volkl Mantras look in comparison:







Looking into Powder Country:







Mike coming towards me:







And past me:







We picked up a cat pass when we arrived, but it wasn't open yet due to avy work. So after skiing the right (off of the access road) side of Powder Country, we were going to ski the left side after we got off the shuttle bus. When we got to the top of Sundown lift, Lightning Ridge had just opened, and we got on the first cat of the day. Looking down into Hook Chute:







This was the most challenging run we had all day, due to the flat light. The run is like a mini-bowl, which funnels into a chute, and then turns right into a huge apron. At the top the snow was a mixture of wind-scoured hardpack that turned into ski cut/bomb hole crud morphing into knee and waist deep powder. For the first part, only the stains from avy charges gave any reference to horizon. And we were kicking off sluffs about every turn, some large and some small. Mike looking down a small chute we traversed over to that funnelled back into the main line:







Back in the middle:







Looking back up the apron. Our line is obscured by the fir trees on the right. Mike is a speck in the middle of the pic:







Mike getting his:







Shot from the Paradise lift, my favorite in Utah:







After luch, the sun came out and Mike took over photo duties. A local showed us a new line over in the Sanctuary area. Me spooning tracks:







Geting mine:







Peeking into a chute under the Paradise chair. I had just intentionally kicked off a sizable sluff with my pole from the mean-looking cornice to my left:







Dropping in:







On the way down:







Loving life:







At 3pm we rant into a buddy of ours from DV, Ryan, who was there with his GF. We did a couple of laps with him. I'm on the left, waiting for clearance from the photog for the drop in front of me. Unfortunatley, a miscue with Mike led to a missed pic of me, but here's Ryan sending it:







Mike took this shot from just off the Timberline lift. James Peak is the distant mountain. Skiers right of Lightning Ridge is the ridgeline running across the middle of the photo. The Hook Chute (and so many more) is at the end of ridge, framed by the far lift tower:







Bonus pic, taken from DeMoisy Peak at Snowbasin a week prior. Looking SW over Hill AFB, Ogden, and Antelope Island. Crappy snow, cold, and the camera died right after this shot:

[TheGnar]

Nice pics. Is that tree snapped in that one picture? Looks crazy.

[teledave]

rvrscum;174383 wrote:
After luch, the sun came out and Mike took over photo duties. A local showed us a new line over in the Sanctuary area. Me spooning tracks:







Been there.

rvrscum;174383 wrote:
Peeking into a chute under the Paradise chair. I had just intentionally kicked off a sizable sluff with my pole from the mean-looking cornice to my left:







Done that.

rvrscum;174383 wrote:
Another bonus for me was that I finally got to drive my newly purchased powder boards on a big pow day. My new skis- the Icelantic Shaman. It's 160-110-130, and has a 15m radius, which is just hell on trees. Check out how puny Mike's Volkl Mantras look in comparison:









Badass boards!

[dreamnofpow]

Way to get it Rvrscum!

Nice Shamans. Zeus and I were checking those out a level nine.

[jbc28]

Teh unsuck! Nice.

[Zeus]

So what is the initial verdict on the Shamans? They look killer in the store with the wicked topsheets... how did they do in the pow?

[KneeDeep]

What length are those? They're making them longer than 170 these days, right?



I know they're not THAT much bigger than the Mantras- but you did some nice trickery with the camera angle. If you liked those on the powder day, you should get yourself on a pair of rockered skis, or even reverse sidecut/reverse camber.

[2slikstix]

Kip is not a tall man.



Awesome day! Looked sweet! I rode my Harley in 80 degrees while you were gettin that.

[dreamnofpow]

@KneeDeep 174405 wrote:What length are those? They're making them longer than 170 these days, right?



I know they're not THAT much bigger than the Mantras- but you did some nice trickery with the camera angle. If you liked those on the powder day, you should get yourself on a pair of rockered skis, or even reverse sidecut/reverse camber.



Just curious and somewhat serious... Has anybody tried mounting a set of waterskis, without fin of course?

[teledave]

I wanna say that Seth Morrison did it in an MRP flick a few years back. (And skied a sick AK face on them)