January 4, 2007, Crystal Mtn.

Thursday - Where did all that deep snow come from?  Even though I tried sticking to runs like Snorting Elk Bowl, I fell into the deep stuff a couple of times.  Imagine having your a$$ stuck in a garbage can and trying to get out.  The more you try to get up out of the snow, the more you sink in.  Trick is to remove skis and use ski poles as a platform to push up from.  Not kidding. Falling in that stuff is a problem.  Removing skis that you can't see or even move is a trick. 

However, I really like this snow.  If Crystal got snow like this all the time it would be home base for Warren Miller movies, except WM always films under blue sky and sunshine.  Lifts were working fine.  Foggy and cold - good conditions for preserving the snow. Visibility and white-out were issues in certain situations, typical Crystal. 

Pow varied from 4" on the groomers up to about 24" from what I could see.  Noticed a spot on Sunnyside where it was worn down to the grass.  On Luckyshot and GV Bowl, the pow was wearing down to boiler plate in spots.  This is just pow getting pushed around. 

Lot A was full (doesn't mean much.. half of it is reserved for rich people).  Shuttle bus was running.  Lift lines were moderate and by 3:00 it was getting lonely.  Some light snow on 410 between Greenwater and Crystal.  Nice to have traction tires.

The powder was so deep AND heavy that when I skied down the snorting elk bowl face I couldn't move fast enough to get a turn--just straight down the slope. The groomers were like skiing on a tub of margarine--perfect snow. Vis was an issue and I finally left at 1:00. My 20th day so far this season.

Keith Henson
Puyallup

Wish I had fatter skis for that thick powder. Had to keep the tips up, or else you would submarine. Sun broke out here and there making for some afternoon delight.

With 255" total snowfall this year, the base is looking great for spring.

Did you see the forecast for today and tonight and tomorrow and...holly smokes, it is going to dump?

I think even fat skis would have trouble in that stuff.  It takes a technique (which I am not good at) of really getting your speed up and making those wild pow turns.  I have those Pocket Rockets with 122mm tips and 90mm waist.  When I tried shooting off the groom into the pow, even my tips took a dive.  Finally learned to sit way back to pull my tips up, but that was kind of a strain.

I saw snowboarders standing knee deep in pow unable to move.  A couple were bending forward using their hands to clear path.   And then I saw a new snowboarder technique.  I call it the "chicken wing".  They were flapping their arms up and down to get their turns going.

Of course, I saw some real good skiers and boarders, shooting down the pow.  Where do these guys come from?  They must ski everyday.

Gotta get wild in that stuff.

Did you see the forecast for today and tonight and tomorrow and...holly smokes, it is going to dump?

Looks pretty good, although at Crystal I'm uncertain that the lifts will be spinning on the upper mountain. And being the first weekend of ski school could create a zoo.

* FREE WINDS AT 5000 FT
W 20-35 early Friday morning, strongest Mt Hood
SW 25-40 N and C, W-SW 15-25 S later Friday morning
SW 35-50 Friday afternoon
W-SW 40-60 Friday night
W-NW 40-60 early Saturday morning
W-NW 25-40 later Saturday morning
W 20-30 Saturday afternoon
W-SW 20-40 Saturday night, strongest Mt Hood
If the winds are out of the West or East they should be able to spin REX and 6.

This season Crystal's business model have introduced two can't win plans:
1) A new preemptive lift closure procedure. Tell everyone a day ahead about the lifts wind closure before the wind actually shows up. The day the lifts are pre-closed, the winds are so light you could light a cigar with a paper match at the lift base.
2) Report on the early phone reports that all chairs plan to be open. "Winds are light averaging 30 mph out of the SW (they omit the 3 hours of gusts to 50 part)" Get you to the lots and ooopps... all the upper lifts are on wind hold, only after you pay $53 to ski chair 9, but here is a coupon for a free hot chocolate. At that price they better offer complimentary refills.

Thank Goodness for telemetry, so we can make our own decisions.

Sorry to jack the thread.

I think even fat skis would have trouble in that stuff. It takes a technique (which I am not good at) of really getting your speed up and making those wild pow turns.
Of course, I saw some real good skiers and boarders, shooting down the pow. Where do these guys come from?

The deep snow can be challenging to ski-Here are a couple of my tricks-
It's hard not to get pitched fore and aft-in the deep broken up powder-just got to cut back a little on the gas peddle a touch to stay centered and round out the turns more.

Deeeep and heavy snow is a touch and feel thing-
The key is to not panic because the snow is going over your head or into your mouth.
Stay calm.
Go straight and make subtle moves to turn and fore and aft on the ski. Keep as centered as possible on the ski, so if you start getting pitched forward you can lightly lean back and to center again.
One of the biggest misconceptions is leaning back to far to ski deep snow, leaning back is a controlled move to get momentum or counter a potential forward pitch and that way I can move back to center and save energy on the quads.
Stop where you can move again without pushing to hard.
Think like a boarder, you don't want to get stalled, don't ski where the flats are unless you have an escape route such as a cat track or ski trail.

My 2 scents, hope it helps.
Joe