Meanderings ….

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Another good freeze down in the valley.  The move to stay 2 nights in Ogden has now worked out well.  Never in doubt that I would head back to PowMow today.  Another brilliant sunny day and while warmish in the sun the temp was still well below freezing keeping the snow in excellent condition.  Once again got the ticket then up to the top car park.

Basically did 4 circuits of Cobabe Canyon for the day – one very wide, one wide and two in close.  Kept hunting for more patches of soft and relatively untracked and once more pretty successful.  Though convoluted – specially the two runs where you have to catch Paradise lift back after the long cat track run – it’s all made worthwhile by the amount of quality snow you can find days after a storm.

Had wondered at the lack of tracks in Powder Country yesterday – where you ski down to the access road and catch the bus back up.  Became clearer after a lift ride with a patroller – the Atmospheric River event 2 weeks ago had left a particularly resilient and dangerous snow layer and – depending on how future storms track – it may never open again for the season.

By mid afternoon the knees were doing a synchronised complaining routine.  The 2 days here and 2 days at Targhee this week have really made the trip for me and I’m feeling well satisfied – and pretty stuffed to boot.  Lovely drive back past Snowbasin and returned to the chaotic world of I-15 along the Wasatch.  Was all settled in the motel well before dark – a novelty in itself and a relief that there were no more big drives.  Winding down fast.

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Nice change to get up and not have to rush straight out the door.  Very relaxed breakfast with porridge and full coffee making routine – and then realized I was going to be late meeting Ngaere and Doug on the hill. Parked up top only to discover ticket sales were only at the main lodge.  Oh well.  Eventually we headed out for the traditional start down Dr C – immaculately groomed – then off into the trees at the top of Cobabe.  Mixed conditions – much was very heavily skiied and a little crusty but there were patches with delightful snow.  Didn’t take me long to figure out where tomorrow’s penultimate ski day will be for me.

After elevenses at the cantina headed for Village and Marys.  Even out here had been heavily skiied – it had been a holiday weekend after all – but once again found some very nice snow in between the crustier stuff.  After a run out wide in Marys did the traverse around the head of Cobabe for some lovely turns down to the cat track.  By the time we’d done the long and convoluted trip back to the top of Hidden Lake it was more than time for lunch – very nice chilli

Ngaere decided she’d had enough but Doug and I did one more run out through Cobabe – and found the most consistenly soft and untracked snow for the day.  The sort of skiing that makes this place such a winner for me.  By the time we were doing the last bump run back to the base of Hidden Lake I was definitely done.  Great day.

After dropping gear back at the motel checked out the 25th Street downtown area and grabbed a quite acceptable coffee.  For the second day in a row I find myself NOT indulging in my favourite activity of the last couple of months – checking snow reports and forecasts.  The end must be nigh.

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Left my drink bottle and cap in the car overnight – bottle was frozen and my rather worn old cap had gone rigid.  Followed my route of two and a bit weeks ago up the Snake.  Road was basically dry – except where they’d left the occasional 10cm deep patch of ice – not fun to hit at 90 kph if you didn’t see it coming.  Spectacular drive getting toward Jackson, temperature gradually dropping till it was more than 20C below at the Transit Centre.  Minor panic when I thought I’d dropped the card out of my camera – either in the snow or in the rubbish tip that is the floor of the passenger seat.  But of course it was still in my notebook from yesterdays transfer.

Was about to start walking to the bus stop when a guy asked if I wanted a lift – 3 people in the car and you can park for free.  Probably should have taken a better look at the size of his (very small 2 door) car before trying to cram myself into the rear seat.  By the time I was at the top of the Gondola it was going on 10.30.  Having coffee and pastry I was having trouble getting myself fired up and I never really got into it.  This is a spectacular location and a fun town, but it’s never going to make my list of favourite hills.  It just gets too much traffic,  and fresh snow gets tracked out and packed down way too quickly.  Some of the groomers had a nice relatively soft surface but a lot of it was pretty firm.  And I didn’t see much off track that appealed.  Thankfully it was STILL trying to snow and the summit was under cloud most of the time so I was spared the choice of whether to queue up for the tram.  During the 2 days at Targhee the snow was soft I never once heard the classic scraping sound of a snowboarder behind me.  Boy did I hear them today!

But an ordinary days skiing is still pretty good – particularly when it’s included for ‘free’ in your already bought ticket. By 1 I’d had enough to justify the visit, and after a more traditional trip back to the car – via the bus – headed into town for coffee before hitting the road.  One final spectacular drive down the Snake valley then it was off onto new ground.  All good until I started heading west back toward Idaho.  Pretty soon I was looking back on this mornings road clearing with nostalgia.  They’d obviously just done one pass with the plows, and I think sometime the blade had not been all that near the road.  I reckon it would have been better driving surface if they’d done no plowing at all.  Not fun.

Then once through the thriving metropolis of Henry (at least 2 buildings) a new plow driver must have taken over and the going got significantly better. When turned onto US30 it was like a super highway.  When finally got to Lava Hot Springs there was no way I wasn’t going to have a nice long soak to justify coming through this way.  Have had a number of visits here but first time in daylight.  Great watching the sun getting ready to set through the clouds of steam.

Much refreshed, it was only a short drive to the interstate, then 130kph all the way to Ogden.  Last long drive for the trip done.

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10cm overnight, 30cm in 24 hrs and 70cm storm total – the snow factory delivers once again.  Another early start and was back on the highway under a rapidly waning moon.  Much clearer day and looking like a benign drive, but once again ID-33 threw up some challenges.  It was about 15C below and yesterdays blowing snow had turned into today’s ice patches.  Better timing today and caught the 8.30 bus up the hill.  Could actually see the top of the hill on the drive in – a nice novelty.

Given that only 15 – 20 cm would have fallen since I stopped yesterday I couldn’t believe how smooth the snow looked in the ungroomed areas – obviously the wind had been hard at work here as well.  Headed for Lost Groomers and got relatively clean tracks down into the trees.  And with the return of visibility came a return of my skiing abilities.  Yesterdays big soft bumps had been well and truly buried and it was just wonderful.  Headed over to Sac and a fantastic run down Medicine Bowl. 

Had brought an extra layer of down with me and thought I was going to need it but when the sun came out it got a bit more pleasant – but still cold enough to send me back in for coffee after a couple of runs.  Trees above Chief Joe Bowl and Steamvent also skiing just great – getting well trashed by now but still big mounds of fun fluff everywhere.  Quality snow and skiing and the last day here for this trip demanded another session of beer and wings.  A terrific run down Crazy Horse – groomed but soft – and a final run through the trees past Lost Groomers and I was done for.  This place is just fantastic.

Was snowing again when the bus turned up – a nice little doze on the trip down and a few flurries in Driggs.  But sunny and calm for the drive back and this mornings ice sheets had transformed into dry bitumen.  Go figure.

Both knees feeling the effects of two days with lots of teles, but I reckon I can just get through to the end of the week.  Last big driving day tomorrow and only two more accommodation shifts.  I reckon I might just make it.

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I love it when a plan comes together …

Snowfall here had been pretty brief last night, but reporting a bit over 20cm on the hill.  Drive up US-20 was OK but a little twitchy once turned off – highlighted by the sight of a car nose into a deep ditch of snow and accompanying 180 deg skid marks on the road.  Was hoping to get to the 8.30 bus from Driggs but trip had been a bit slow so decided to drive up.  With solid snow cover on the road it was actually far better than sometimes when the road is supposedly cleared.  Snowing steadily on the way up and it didn’t let up all day.

Well and truly socked in at top of Dreamcatcher and looking like a classic Grand Foghee day.  Headed for Rock Garden and quickly realised I’d forgotten how to ski soft deep snow – particularly when I couldn’t see anything.  Dropped down into the open trees and couldn’t believe how deep it was skiing. I’d like to say that I was gliding through the fluff without a care in the world but I was really struggling.  Headed for Lost Groomers and once again wonderful snow that was skiing way deeper than I expected and I continued to test the depth and try to get my powder ski skills back up and running.

I’d been worried about whether holiday crowds would be a problem but it was a non-issue.  Longest wait for a lift would have been 3 minutes and by 11.30 queues were close to non-existent.  After coffee headed for Sac and started to get a bit of rhythm back in Medicine Bowl.  And it just kept snowing.

A great day and easily justified yesterdays long cross country drive.  I didn’t do a lot of runs or vertical, but by the time I quit I could barely move.  Drive down the hill was fine, but the heading toward Rexburg had its moments with snow blowing horizontally across the road reducing visibility to Sweet FA.  Back in the motel did the last couple of motel bookings and settled the last of the final week arrangements.

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Targhee picked up about 10cm overnight and storm is on track so it’s all go.  Original plan had been to spend the 3 days of this presidents day weekend doing a leisurely drive back from Oregon to Idaho or Utah, but this storm chase has put paid to that.  Unfortunately means I didn’t get to drive out along the John Day as it would have added another hour to an already very long day.  The first few snowflakes of the storm were chasing each other around as I finished packing the car, and it snowed lightly but steadily for the first part of the trip through to Burns.  As soon as you get a short distance from Bend you’re back into the sagebrush country and combined with the low cloud it didn’t make for the most exciting trip.

But then started following the north fork of the Malheur upstream through a very dry but quite pretty canyon.  Snow stopped and sun even made a couple of attempts at cutting through the cloud.  Had a period of 130kph freeway travel on I-84 before rejoining US-20 as it headed out into the Idaho mountains.  Some truly spectacular peaks to the north before the road climbs up to the bizarre landscape of Craters of the Moon.  Would have been nice to have a wander here but temp had now dropped to well below freezing and with a stiff breeze, even a brief sojourn for a photo op was pretty challenging.

Made it into the outskirts of Idaho Falls just after last light had faded.  Ended up being ten and a half hours door to door with the odd coffee stop or three thrown in. Lucked out with the weather staying so benign – could have been a REAL long one if things got messy. Cheap but very comfy motel room has a recliner which I don’t dare sit in as that would be the end of me.  Went out to get something from the car after a couple of hours to find several cm of snow on the ground and falling steadily.  Looking good.

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Forecast was for 1 – 3 in overnight but they just got a trace.  Have finally decided to head east tomorrow, so last day here today.  A few flurries early on and some rather nasty rime forming on the goggles, but thankfully cleared up pretty quickly.  Was expecting dust on crust but once you got down off the top of the runs it was actually skiing better than that.  Some nice windblown meant that if you pick the right line you could get deep enough fresh to mask the hard base layer.

Once again Olympian was the run of choice off Pine Marten, and Cloudchaser again provided great variety and fun.  Actually ventured into the trees a couple of times but it was a little daunting – you’d get up to half a dozen nice turns in but then strike patches of full on glaze ice – often strategically placed to propel you toward waiting trees – so I once again chose to stay on the relatively groomed.

They’ve finished the repairs on Summit and were running the cable at low speed without chairs to test it all.  At first I was hopeful that I might finally get a run, but after it took half the morning for them to de-ice Northwest it became obvious they wouldn’t have it up and running today.  Might have been a blessing in disguise – while it all looked very nice from a distance I suspect there were LOTS of BIG ice sheets just waiting to cause mayhem – and it was getting VERY blowy up high.

Quit about 2.30 – good fun day.  I’m going to lose a day of my 3 day ticket but that was always a possibility and OK given the price I paid for it.  Back in town headed for the Old Mill district to do some retail therapy while I was in the and of 0% sales tax.  Spotted a promising looking pasta restaurant and headed back that way for dinner a couple of hours later.  It looks like it’s a pretty popular area at any time, and there was some event going on near the river and it was the start of a holiday weekend.

So it took forever to get a car park and then had to wait about 10 minutes for a table to become available.  But it was all worth it – excellent linguine with shrimp, clams and fish and a fine local hefeweitzen.  A good way to finish up what has been a most enjoyable stay – despite a couple of intruding issues.  Pretty much packed up before going to bed to get ready for an early start.

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This is getting ridiculous.  If I’d known it was going to take this long I would have just made up some data!  Had initially thought / hoped it would all be done by lunchtime and could then toss up whether to use a day of the ticket or do a few hours XC.

When it became obvious that was never going to happen took a wander downtown for another visit to Looney Bean – purveyors of fine coffee – while I could still at least get to enjoy some daylight.

Finally all done just in time for another wander downtown for dinner- another brewery, another beer and some quite tasty fish and chips.

Difficult as it is to believe, in between bouts of work I’ve been procrastinating greatly on where and when to go over the weekend.  Do I stay here, hope the promised storm delivers and that they keep some lifts open?  Or do I cut and run and head for Targhee where the forecast also continues to look promising.

And so the waiting begins.  Storm possibilities both here and back around Targhee way for the weekend and as usual I don’t know which way to go.  Meanwhile there’s a big job of work I can’t put off any longer, so it’s a day in the motel room logged in remotely with an occasional break for a wander and a coffee.  Hoped to get it all done today but it’s very slow going on a small single screen.  Oh well, at least I’m not passing up prime skiing conditions.

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Lovely morning but with hard pack on the hill, figured there was no reason to rush, so took the 10 minute walk to downtown and started checking out the coffee options.  Actually there are probably more brewpubs here than cafes.  Ended up at The Commons, overlooking the Deschutes – which is just a small stream here – for a perfectly acceptable offering.

Easy  30 min drive up to Bachelor – the road just gently and steadily climbs up and for the last bit you’re out in the open with the mountain and The Sisters dominating the skyline.  Picked up my 3 day pass and headed out to a basically deserted base area.  They really got hit hard here last week by the ice storm that came wrapped up in the atmospheric river.  I was even more keen now to be able to ski off the summit lift after not being able to get to the top at Mt Hood, but it looks like I’m in for continuing disappointment.  It took them days to start deicing the top of the lift, only to discover a foot of ice on the lift communications cable had knocked it out – will take most of the week if not longer to repair it.  Oh well.

Stunning outlook from the top of Pine Marten.  Did a warm up dowd coffee – firm but not as bad as I’d feared it might be and from about half way down it actually skiied very well.  Did a run down Outback then kept going to catch Northwest up – the highest point you can get on the mountain with Summit out of action.  Quite astounding ice and snow buildups at the top and some most impressive snowghosts.  Had a great run down Olympian back to base, grabbed a coffee then started working across toward Cloudchaser – a new lift since my last visit here.

The whole of this pod – even skiing the liftline – is intermediate pitch and with a little fresh snow would be a great playground.  Some relatively open trees at the top and fun rolling terrain.  Did venture off trail a couple of times but looked much better than it was so once again stuck to the groomed.  Another day with 0 points for fresh and zillions of points for spectacular and fun.  Wind had been steadily picking up and I was most happy I stuck with what seemed like overdressing at the start of the day.  When I started heading back to the middle of the mountain the wind was really howling and straight into my face.  Alternating between sheet ice and really nice windblown, the traverse back had it’s challenging moments. One more trip up Pine Marten and the wind blew me back down to base to round out the day.

Had made a point of finding Deschutes Brewery on this mornings wander, and headed there for pizza and beer for dinner.  Disappointed to find that the Zarabanda – their beer I’d found in Portland that got me interested in Saison as a style – was no longer being made.  Had a cloudy pale ale that was a bit weird but grew on me and a taste of another ale that will be my first choice next visit.

Next (and final) week looking pretty dry at this stage, but the intervening Presidents Holiday long weekend – when I’d planned to avoid skiing to avoid the accompanying crowds and have a relaxed drive back to Utah- is starting to shape up as a realistic last chance to ski some fresh so like all good plans it looks like being thrown out the window.  The 3 day ticket here can be used over 5 days, so will probably hang back on using the other 2 days until the forecasts become a bit clearer.