Mood:
party time!Topic: shred report
New Snow: 0"
Conditions: Powder, packed powder
THE TRAM IS OPEN! My favorite thing about the tram is the fact that the Gondola line is always shorter and faster when people wait for the tram. Apparently the "no new snow today" made people forget that on Thunder, Sublette, and the Tram, ALL the snow that's fallen this season is "new." Or maybe there was a big party Friday night. Either way, the lines at both the tram and the gondola were nonexistent once the lifts opened.
My first run down Rendezvous Bowl was exactly what I expected. I was lucky enough to hit it before it was tracked, so it was soft, but deceiving. It looked like an open field of powder, and for the most part it was, but the surface underneath the powder is anything but flat. I stayed light on my feet and didn't just charge straight down, so I managed to avoid damaging my board on the hidden rocks I exposed. There really weren't very many, and I was definetly heard whooping and cheering as I carved out my first tracks of the season. The traverse back to Gros Ventre was brutal, but at least the corduroy was fresh, and I even found some nice, soft freshies on the left side of Rendezvous Trail. Lower GV was thin, but groomed enough to navigate, and before I knew it I was back at the base.
At 9:30, I met up with K and J and took the gondola, then made a beeline for Thunder. Since the lower part of Ampitheater had been open for two days, there wasn't a whole lot of untracked snow on it, and there were snowmaking guns near the bottom of the trail. So it was mainly skier packed moguls, which is not my first choice. The light was a little flat, so I was anxious to leave Thunder, but K and J wanted to take a run or two before heading over to Sublette so I followed them down the upper part of Ampitheater. I'm so glad I did - it was smooth and very fresh, and about a foot deep. It was so good, we took it again, this time cutting into the woods. As I made my way down, I saw K and J watching me and yelling to stay right. I followed their directions into a wide open, steep field of powder. Fantastic!
We decided to head over to Sublette chair, but Grand wasn't open yet so we took Laramie Bowl. The middle was tracked, but on the left side I found an untouched line and floated down without feeling anything more than a passing scrape on the bottom of my board. Near the bottom, I cut back onto the groomer and carved down to Sublette.
I suggested Bivouac woods for our next run, and the boys followed me. I stopped at the top of the treeline to wait, and K decided to spray me with powder since I was seated. Unfortunately, he misjudged the amount of snow on the trail, and a huge wave of snow utterly buried me, getting into my jacket and obscuring me completely from view for about two seconds. (Don't worry, K felt so guilty he offerred to buy me a drink when we stopped for a break.) It didn't bother me though, because once we cut into the woods it was the best, deepest powder run of the day! Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE trees?
After a brief lunch break at Casper Restaurant, we got a call from E who was on his way up the gondola, so we lapped Casper while we waited for him. Sleeping Indian hadn't been groomed and was basically moguls. In my attempt to find fresh lines on the side of the trail, I cut a little too close and landed next to a tree. Of course, the snow was so deep and soft that I couldn't get any leverage when I tried to stand up. I tried using a tree branch, but it wasn't quite high enough to pull me all the way up. I finally scooted down, rolled over, and carved back around onto the trail. Luckily the guys were patient. On the next lift up, I saw E making his way to the lift just after we had loaded onto it. We waited at the top, and decided to head back to the base. We traversed over to Moran and discussed the game plan. The guys wanted to take the tram, but I really wanted to check out the halfpipe. We've never had a halfpipe this early in the season, and I was excited to check it out. I was also way too tired to traverse back from Sublette again, so I bid the boys adieu and cut down to the halfpipe.
Park and Pipe crew did a fabulous job getting the pipe ready - it was smooth and perfectly shaped. My technique wasn't quite so smooth and perfect, but it was a blast anyway. I carved the rest of the way to the base and headed back to town, exhausted but satisfied.
