Kirkwood 2006-07
‘STOKE’….the Mid-May 07′ CA Mega TR (Mammoth, Sonora Pass & KW Cirque) – 05/13/07
DATES:
May 11th-13th, 2007
PLACES WITH SNOW TO SCHUSS DOWN:
Mammoth Mountain, Tioga Pass recon shoot, Sonora Pass (Mt. Leavitt, etc) and the infamously, always permanently, seriously, and humorously closed Kirkwood Cirque.
FRIENDS OF GRAVITY:
666, Zippy, Sierra Cement, Bcrider, Slim, and Hairy (who appeared out of the sulfur pits of Mammoth)
WEATHER:
How does bluebird, 50 F, no wind, and corn snow without suncups sound?
****CAUTION****
If above sounds horrible, click back on your browser of choice now!
SYNOPSIS:
Arrive to South Lake from SF at 12:45 am on Friday morning, day-trip-it’ from SLT to Mammy, Sonora, and KW Cirque respectively the following days, ski, and basically, buy a ton of gasoline….high octane of course.
Mammoth total snowfall = 231”
Kirkwood total snowfall = ~ 385”
Sonora Pass total snowfall = let’s say ~300”
MUSIC: Well….S L A Y E R
Slayer – “Angel of Death”
DAY ONE: MAMMOTH, CA (an area where one accesses the terrain via lifts)
The objective was to burn the rust of my shredded Gotamas via the groomed run system, and then bend some edges skiing over to the Paranoids, etc in order to punish some wide open corned bowls & chutes.
….but something strange happened. As I rode a lift, alone of course, a gothic yet animalistic creature appeared on a pair of Blizzards. It was then that I was in the presence of Hairy, the mythical being from the Eastern Sierra. Many have read about him, few actually seen him in first-person….ladies and gentlemen….he is real.
Ooooooh, Ahhhhhh. The Sawtooths and Beef (its what’s for lunch) as viewed from Bridgeport….
Another rare summer viewing of a winter creature…..yes, a snowcat:
The park was in a medium showing. Couple rails, few medium tables, one large table, and a pretty pathetic, although lengthly, pipe for Mammoth’s standards.
The upper mountain is accessed via the Gondola…
Sad year for Da Noids, but worth the hike for the epic corn steeze…
Stump Alley was nothing short of amazing…probably due to the fact that only about 40 people were at Mammoth on Friday. That’s right folks….let em’ run!
What’s the word? Ah yes, obligatory.
As one looks to the South….he finds snow and mountains.
This guy popped out of nowhere. I told him I wanted gnar. He smiled and then I followed….
Chair 23 goodnessssssssssssssssssss….
Smooth snow, and some obstacles…
Just what the doctor ordered…
As prescribed by Dr. Hairy.
…..and yes….Hairy in motion….on skis.
Over to the Paranoids to access Phillipes…little tricky.
Don’t plan on skiing form the top, I got the middle finger form my Gotamas…
But well worth it if you ask me….
Hairy got some vid-caps on the epic descent…
Warning though, little air towards the end….I suggest allowing time to thaw.
Aggressive FUN skiing!
Did I mention that we saw few if any of the human race after 1pm…?
Mammoth…all to ourselves. Can be yours until Memorial Day.
….and Hairy approved.
Figured I’d help the Tioga Massive by taking some recon shots…not looking worth it if you ask me…but who am I but a Tioga jong.
Lots of vertical, little snow…
DAY TWO: SONORA PASS, HWY 108, EASTERN SIERRA, CALIFORNIA
Four people, 5 cameras….not a small task even for a veteran TR geek.
2 weeks earlier…we did this:
http://www.slaythegnar.com/2007/04/sleepless-at-sonora-pass-mt-leavitt-ca-042707/
*Video – HD Video by bcrider (includes various shots from both outings)
After a sleepover eating candy and playing Mega-Man 2 on NES with Bcrider, we departed to Sonora at 5:15 am…
Of course, with the proper driving materials…
Time, 7:51 am – Sierra Cement contemplates on how skins actually work…
Zippy on the other hand got his off an 18 Wheeler…
And the Mid-May playground after a shitty season comes into view…
666 does his favorite 80’s dance up the Mars landscape known as Sonora…
No-Name peak…you know, if you want to do laps up and down to your SUV.
The boys start to bond rather quickly…
Zippy scratches some early morning Bluetooth…
Sierra Cement is anti-switchback when skinning…I hate him.
That’s how he was able to get this pic of us ‘normal folk’…
Bcrider scopes a line we didn’t see two weeks ago…
Zippy scouts the “Y”…
Here is a view of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range of California…
We decide on the Paris Hilton sized chute…
Sierra Cement paves away…
Zippy links some turns while listening to Hot Chip….
Splitboard dot what?
CA Chutin’…..
Zippy, again, in the Moment…on skis.
Schusssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, Schusssssssssssssssssssssssssssss……
666 down the crux…
Bcrider takes shooting chuting way too seriously….
666 down the gut…of Ms. Hilton
And Zippy zips down the fan….
666 goes to Kansas…
Mr. Electro at 150 bpm….
He switched tracks during this turn….amazing.
The knuckle dragger is on deck….
Ok, I’ll admit it, it sort of looks cool….
666 – up to evil things…
Mr. Cement prefers cement that is not quick drying….
Mr. AD-HD…
Zippy heads to lunch….
…quad-shot express
Nap time for Zippy’s longest tour to date…
666 dreams about taking off his boots…
Off to Dead Man’s Chute…
Ummmm…..getting a little steep guys.
There’s always one in the group…
666 was tired…he told me so.
Who is the dork? He’s not with us is he?
All digital music here….sadly, no cassette walkmen.
What would a couloir TR be without a tip-shot…?
666 gets first tracks since IT WAS HIS IDEA TO HIKE THIS THING!!!
Of course, he made selfish big turns…
Goth shot…
You are so not hardcore without hard boots?
Zippy remixes that boarder’s line….
And hits #7 on the underground off-piste skiing chart…
Dad takes a turn…..
Rad move dude…
Zippy, only releases on vinyl…
Bcsnowrider….ridin’…having a fun time.
CementMan pops some corn….
Yeah dude….now throw a sick method
Zippy spins his tracks in reverse…AT style…
The line of choice…well I chose it, but I’m not going to brag or anything.
Uberdork….on his way to the highway
Leaving his mark for the tourists that think they are on their way to Yosemite…
Poor little guy….he’s pooped.
The bottom face has been SLAYED…
So pretty pretty….
These jerks wouldn’t give us lift back to our cars….people these days.
Nice view of that line I picked out for everyone…too bad it sucked.
In the metropolis of Walker, they have this….
…where you can hand pick from these:
DAY THREE:
Lets stay close to home this time, have normal wake-up hours, and hit Starbucks on the way, shall we? Well then, lets go ski the Cirque at Kirkwood. ITS SO EXTREME THAT ONE CANNOT SKI IT LEGALLY DURING THE SKI SEASON!!!!!
E X T R E M E !
I guess they could still be open…but that would mean using electricity, so forget it.
The forbidden line is the only one that actually ‘goes’….
Slim crosses a chairlift graveyard…
…and soon reaches north-facing Bluetooth during the skin
Captain Xmas reaches the summit with Caples Lake in the background…
666 drops into Carnells…
The snow was so K-factor….
Sub 400 inch years are so hot right now…
Santa sheds the xmas gear….
G N A R ?
Slim stepped it up here….blind straightlines are never relaxing
666 finds heavenly smoothness in mid-Carnells…
….looks terribly carveable
Slim on the same line….
666 pulls a Schmidt…
Then gets hella volcanic….
Slim gets his steep on….WHY IS THIS CLOSED?????????
…and then traverses into an open gem
Aggressive Alpine Skiing? You be the judge.
Looks like someone has been practicing his carves….
Slim says farewell to Kirkwood and rides Thunder Saddle to the car
Of course 666 has the best T-shirt for the Cirque descent….
….Mid-May 07’ Stoke Nerdblog transmission over
Short Skis Still Suck Hard and are Lame – Kirkwood LBD – 04/21/07
Date:
April 21st, 2007 – The year of the sub 400.
Location for Boarding of the LONG:
Weather & Temp:
The day started with some nice sunny, pre-storm skies, and then turned to flat light blight later in the day. Temps hovered around 32 F for most of the day, with some freshies from the night before. All in all a pretty mid-winter long board day.
Long Board Losers:
666, Basom, Zippy, Jrosen32, Tyrone Shoelaces, Slim, Mrs. Slim, Sis666, Shugs, Hop, SKiergirl, Skimoore, Supu, Lhs, Ridefree, Miss Zulu, and many others.
Skis that ‘do not suck because they truck’:
Synopsis:
As usual, and as most normal human beings are aware, short skis suck and long skis truck. More mid-winter skiing this time around, but with almost exactly one-half the base of last season. Shugs forgets his pass, then buys a $10 ticket, breaks his binding on his board on the first run, and then starts downing Zima to ease the pain of a day quickly going to hell. Let the madness begin.
Cameramen:
666, Zippy, Skimoore, Supu & Slim
Drinks:
Music (right click, save target as)
DJ FACEME – 80′s mix ‘Every Loser Wins’
http://www.faceme.co.uk/music/EVERY_LOSER_WINS.mp3
Tracklisting:
http://www.faceme.co.uk/pages/music.html#
LET’S GET IT ON!
Here are some spy shots of the attendees:
Skimoore & 666….
Jrosen32 y Zippy…
Hop and Supu…
Basom…killing it in pink
Slim. As you can see he likes to write short stories
Jrosen32 charges some early morning fresh on his mint K2 Extremes…
…then he goes really extreme:
Ty gets "aggressive"…
…nothing beats long boards in powder
DH Tree skiing…
…low profile tips mean more speed
Skimoore shows us what ‘Big Dogs’ are made of…
Supu likes it STEEP and TECHY…
Skimoore loves to ride in denim…
Tyrone hates to dress up for LBD…
…and of course, Hop, well he’s Hop.
…and he’s ACTUALLY MAKING TELE TURNS!!!!!
Lhs looking invisible in her snow-camo one piece…
SCHMEAR IT DUDE!!!!!!! Watch out for the SHARKS!
NOW WE GET EXTREMELY EXTREME:
666 near Chamois…
Hop in Ski School getting the scare of the day…
Skimoore wishing he grew up in the Blizzard of Ahhhs age…
Supu drops in……
Zippy tries a ‘scare air’…
Miss Zula getting gnar on Longoni GS boards…
Lhs ripping down on ELAN MONOBLOCKS!
OMG! BASOM! Look at that concentration!
Ty takes a weirdly different route….
Jrosen is looking hotter than Basom…
Slim appreciates fine artwork and a nice scotch after skiing…
…just AMAZING!
Jrosen32 is getting his freestyle on….
666 starts schmearing the 222′s…
Bringing back the good ol’ days…..
When fat skis didn’t matter…
Supu takes a groomer on his SG’s….
Basom searches for the DEEP!
"Americas next top male model?"
Rock Bonk Basom…
Zippy getting all Earth Day on us…
God, he’s looking hot! Last year, he skied that line lookers left that has a dusting of snow on it….on his long boards.
Skimoore gnaring it up…
Slim going for greatness…
Hop showing that 217 cm teles are FABULOUS in powder…
Group shot down Oops bowl…
Seriously, NO COMMENT!…
The weather starts to move in….but Jrosen32 is ALL BUSINESS…
Best bases EVER!…
666 finds a glacier route down Waterfall…
Next, I followed this guy to Sisters Chute…
Basom drops into some variable extremeness…
Basom on a 99 degree pitch….
Skimoore is more of a classic rock guy…
…more like ‘volcanic rock’. Ha Ha Ha Ha…
Slim gets mid-chute Emergency Air…
Ridefree is pretty damn smooth….
Hop is even smoother completing tele-turns on open powder…
Whoops…..
We ‘probed’ him out after this INSANE crash….
Skimoore followed me around Kirkwood for most of his life…I like his style.
Ridefree milking it…….
Supu got bronze for this jump…
Basom finds a steep in-bounds section…
Yep, he killed it on prolinks…
Schmidt showed up and showed us how its done…
Miss Zula is an agressive female alpine skier….
An agressive female EXTREME skier that is….
Slim hurries to the next ‘Best in Show’ event….
I R O N , C R O S S !
XTr3M3 JuMp!
RADICAL!!!!!!
Sherlock likes American treats…
Mmmmmm, tasty beverage?
Two words….BAD ASS!
Too much Sparks Light for the six’er….
Supu takes a look at his trail map to find another ‘double black’ to shred…
Great. Another scary Hop photo….
Back in Oops, I found this superhero begging for a sequel…
Super G’s provide the best platform for sticking those landings…
Hop slashing yet another reason why to lock the heel…..
Here’s Zippy skiing for REAL!
YESSSSSSSSSSS!
Zippy with ‘CROSSED UP AIR’…
666 takes the same EXTREME line…its a tripple diamond.
Hop loves to show the length of his skis…..
666 ends the day in some low-angle butter…..
EXTREME 4EVER!
Sidewall Slough over Bluetooth Rough to Gorgeous NorCal Stuff – 04/15/07
DATE:
April 14th-15th, 2007
LOCATION:
Northern California – weekend edition
Deep Pow Slayers and Ocean Gazers:
666, Slim, Supu, Tyrone, hop and a few firm groomers w/ Turx/Cindy and the 30 other people who decided to slay the gnar at KW on this day.
CLIMATE:
Arrival at Kirkwood on Saturday morning brought the first snowflakes. Of course, this meant that we had some time to slay the ICE before it got covered.
Temps ranged from 41 F at Hope Valley at 8:30 am to 27 F by Silver Lake at 4:00 pm. Snow, cold, and wind decided to make a strong showing during the day. Snow down to 5,000 ft, and cars sliding off HWY 88.
SYNOPSIS:
An utterly MASSIVE snow system PUMMELED the Sierra Nevada range of CA on Saturday.
*edit – not really. 
MUSIC: Dillinja – ‘The Angels Fell’
Hope Valley – no snow, and 41 F!!!!! Totally Awesome!
Looks better on the north facing aspects as shown by Carson Pass & Elephants:
Carson Pass Sno-Park…missing something…….?
Our yearly end of April jaunt to Moon Crescent may be a little EXTREME this year…
At least it still looks winterish up there aye?
What’s this white stuff?
Supu, Caltrans hop, and Captain Xmas Slim…
Hop and Ty look for dry-dock opportunities…
Ty on Lower Norms…SICKNESS!
Supu gets into the DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
This is what covered the mountain…..GNARLY FUN!
These are prime Supu PHOTOSLUT conditions…
OMG! He’s an AMAZING deep powder skier…
He makes skiing ‘dust on crust’ look enjoyable…
HOP MAKES A TELE POW TURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slim decorates some trees…
Ty ties on some ‘sugar on concrete’…..
The determination, the dedication, TO THE SCHMEAR!
666 finds NECK DEEP!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!
Ty gets scenic….
Low angle schmear campaign….
Hop directs traffic during construction……
Seriously, its getting ridiculously deep. About 2 inches at this point!
Ty scrapes some blower and launches into oblivion….
Kirkwood gourmet anyone?
Hop looks into Ski School….’looks like November’ he says.
…AND THEN IT GOT REALLY DEEP!
Edge of the storm, hail and bittorrent madness…..
Central valley greenery…..
Westward we go….the Delta we cross!
Tunnels abound….
Thunderbowl Turmoil, Whispering Westshore, and Getting Ghetto at Alpine – 04/01/07
Kirkwood, CA & Alpine Ghettos, CA…soon to be something else??????
&
Skiers, side-steppers, and drinkers:
666, Zippy, SQ99, dookey67, Corky, Mrs. Corky, Arty50, Slim, Mrs. 666 (on the reserve list)….and everyone else in Supu’s Xtreme thread:
http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81688
CLIMATE: (temps in F)
Super cold…around 50 F at 8:00am
SYNOPSIS:
SQ99 IS IN TOWN!! YAY! YIPPIE!
So he finally bit the bullet and flew out here. Arty acted as his chauffer, while I acted as the Thunder Bowl/West Shore/Ghettos guide. However, the bad news is that only a hint of winter snow was holding onto Thunder Bowl for SQ99′s ski vacation. Everywhere else, including north facing aspects is now TOAST. I’d be rather surprised if you find winter snow anywhere, including up high. The weather for his ski holiday was mostly bluebird, slight cloud, and with a slight wind.
The big dilema was deciding on whether to watch the extreme show in the cirque, or ride. Well, since I haven’t skied since my wife’s injury, and SQ99 has never been to these parts, I decided that skiing was in order. Even though I really wanted to cheer on Ty, I’m sure he’ll now befriend this handsome fellow. However, SQ99 did get to watch the superfinals, as I rallied to pick up the Mrs to see Blades of Glory….a mighty fine motion picture I might add.
MUSIC: Alec Empire – New World Order….turn it up!
Dorkwood was day one:
A quick morning draw….
Leads to Zippy relaxing at the summit of Chunder Bowl….
The Line. V-tree proper. Sad to see the lack of coverage this time of year.
Zippy rips a line down the exposed face…
and then decides to FEEL the snow for stability…
Can you find him?
Steep and not deep….
Winter snow = woot!
A little air never hurts…
He’s the commi on rockets in this protected pocket…
666 makes one last turn on V-tree…he wanted to huck the whole thing, but I told him the landing may hurt. Thankfully, he refused.
Pocket gaming…
Its actually a natural piste run….
Ok, its Squirrel’s turn. To be fair, he didn’t want to ski this. He had no idea where he was, and I kept yelling profanities about how he should just straightline it.
I think the rodent did an adequate job….
Here is a pic of SQ99 skiing. Ever seen him do that?
Captain xmas wishing it was December, admired SQ99′s skillz….
Next, we roll to the Wall so we can get over to West Shore. Zippy decides to pre-release above the death-tracks under the top of the Wall, and perform a "face-plant maneuver."
Sadly, his shoulder dislocated, and while he popped it back in, right now, he looks like this…..
While Supu and other drank to dehydration….
SQ99 and I ran up to Westshore proper. Here, SQ99 gets scenic….
The snow was kinda Smoooooooooooooooth!
I think he liked it. Well, he likes skiing suncups in September, so I think he’s enjoying himself…
Now into the "ankle breaking zone."
Squirrel gets aggressive at Alpine Skiing….
666 takes the more direct route…with some heavenly snow.
JMetzler airs it out in the Sisters area….
The mothership stopped by for coffee…
and we flew out for an early showing of…
Mrs. 666 gets hella extreme and bruises a couple ribs in the shower…
She takes some pain killers, and has a few cocktails….she’s fine. At Lph’s with that dude who hit Hospital Air….I think the fame has totally got to him.
Ghetto Cam at Alpine:
SQ99 and Arty had WAY too much fun the night before to meet me at Alpine at 9:00am, so I had to session the ghettos solo. Armed with some mint Gotamas tuned and stapled by Basom, and a cell phone that takes photos, I attack the mountain….
Estelle Bowl….the ridge closed before 11 am. This is what you missed SQ99!
Beaver bowl baking in the sun…
Secret Chute off of Scott Chair…little tight at the crux.
And so….they finally show up. Here’s SQ99 on Keyhole not listening to the photographer’s instructions…
Arty50 on the comis looking comfortable…
I just hope he doesn’t try to cut down any trees with those things….
666 performs an "air turn" on the top of Sherwood Cliffs…some winterish snow still left in there.
…he told me that he was "enjoying himself."
Back to the Secret Chute…666 shows SQ99 the "fun spots."
Steep, and a tad deep…
After 666 landed a 15 footer onto ‘glacier ice’ in the lower Promised Land area, Arty decided to perform some 50/50′s on the box instead…..so core!
Squirrel had "fun" in Tahoe..even though the snow was "shit" and "rotten."
Until next time….
EL FIN…….
Winter’s Warming Wrath Beckons Kirkwood Karnage – 03/19/07
Kirkwood, CA during the March Summer of 2007 (March 10-11th)
Skiers and ER Patients:
666, Shugs, Zippy, Jrosen32, Ridefree, and of course, Mrs. 666. Hell, even Sven from Jackson Hole made it to take a few Oops laps on Saturday.
CLIMATE: (temps in F)
Ranged from the high 20′s to the low 50′s….er….at 9,000 ft.
SYNOPSIS:
Hitch a flight with Shugs to South Tahoe, ride the OB with Shugs, Zippy, Jrosen32, and Ridefree on Saturday, and then take Mrs. 666 out for day in the sun on Sunday.
Winter snow holding on strong on the fierce North Facing aspects, with springtime slush everywhere else. Bluebird. No wind.
However, the Mrs. took a tumble on Sunday down an alluvial fan that lead to insertion of hardware into her right ankle/lower tib-fib. Hospital madnezz ensued.
MUSIC: Commix – ‘Call to Mind’
Day numero uno:
Shugs loads the Concorde for the quick space flight…
Eastern San Jose pastures…complete with happy cows.
Super spy shot of Iron Mountain/Kit Carson ski field (for sale for the right price)
A high alpine lake…
"Dude, I think the landing strip is more to our left"
We survive, and make it to Tahoe in 52 mins. Shugs gets a swell night of sleep and rips down Sentinel…
Why screw around on the piste?….the winter stashes are waiting in West Shore!
Jrosen32 gets the party started…
Ridefree makes an official appearance in a TR!!!!!!!!!
This particular off-piste adventure has a steep aspect…
Jrosen32 carves the turkey….
..and soon, the smell hits Shugs which leads him to carve some as well
…and seconds please…
Ridefree actually rides a snowboard. Its a device that slides like a pair of skis.
…I think its like skateboarding without the trucks and wheels.
666 goes for the sweetness right down the Turkey’s throat….gobble gobble mate’
Jrosen32 finds a line out on his skier’s right and finds some "winter firm packed wind blown powder"….
Ridefree gets hella aggressive….at downhill snowboarding.
Shugs gets his steep steeze on….
And through the exit…wonder what would happen if one would take a tumble at this point…..hmmmmmm.
Shugs gets worked by the hike out, so the skiers are left to take a look down "The Diagonal Chute"….OMG! Zippy on the face above "The Diagonal Chute."
Good thing he brought weapons for the upcoming slayfest…
OMG! He’s in it now, too late to turn around. He’s fucked!
Or is he????????????
He’s officially "The Diagonal Slayer"
He’s officially been knighted….
666, as usual, getting the sloppy seconds…of snow, and image quality.
Down at the cliff area near the bottom of Chair 4, Zippy finds some fresh…at 60 F.
I’d like to see Al Gore to explain the softness of this landing in the extreme heat…
Jrosen32 adds more facts to the argument…
Science is FUN!
Zippy on Hellz Bellz Core Shot Hellz Yeahz…
"Come closer next time jackass"…
…and day one comes to an end.
Day TWO: The day you wish never happened….
Cirque looks a little thin this year…at about 50% from last season.
On the backside, Shugs calls to let us know he’ll be doing a "fly-by"
Me and the Mrs hit up West Shore proper while Greydon, Ty, Mrs. Ty, and Walter ride down the skier’s left aspect…
A healthy Mrs. 666 skiing a healthy line…
Sadly this is the last turn of her 06-07 season….
As we pan out, the story starts to unfold….
The really bummer is that she basically fell at the exit of the chute. She slayed the whole chute, to the point that I had to hussle to get some shots of her coming down. The snow was awesome mid-winter packed pow, and as she made her last turn to the exit, then take the left-hander to the traverse out, she caught a tail and did a roll. She tried to get her feet underneath her body, but the snow changed to a very firm windpack surface, and momentum was gained. I think the injury happened when her right ski popped off as she tumbled on the firm pack. Both skis released, and then she went for slide to the lake. The good news is that her ankle is the only injury. Also, the good thing about where she fell is that there was absolutely nothing for her to run into. The injury was solely from the force/tweak of her ski releasing. Would it have been better for the skis to stay on? Don’t know, but I have a feeling that if her bindings were cranked, we’d have more chances of knee injury etc.
(she slid from the crux down to here)
Big thanks to Greydon, Walter, Ty, Mrs. Ty and the Kirkwood ski patrol for coming over, even in the immediate sidecountry to help us out. It sucked to have an old friend on patrol to see Halle injured, but its nice to see familiar people in that situation.
Perfect weather, people, and cell service made the recovery absolutely perfect. Her leg was elevated immediately after injury and up until surgery. Since we were in Alpine county, the easiest scenerio was for the CHP to fly right down to the lake and pick her up. So, also props to the CHP, they were awesome, super friendly, and most helpful.
All in all, after injury she was at the hospital in two hours. I could not imagine a better scenerio.
That is, until I got to the hospital to see her scans/x-rays…
Something seems off….maybe a fracture distal tibia and fibula, with subluxation?
Surgery took 3 hours, but lph made sure he knew that she was an EXTREME athlete. From half-ironmans to shopping the yearly sale at Saks, he told him that it may be worth the extra effort to get her as close to normal as possible. The surgery came out like this…..
(joint looks good…bonegraft was taken from below her knee to supply the "missing bone")
Its been a week. Its been tough. She’s pretty bummed, but everyday gets better. Thanks for the positive vibes, it was extremely thoughtful and delightful to show the Mrs. pre and post surgery.
Thanks again,
666, the skier
Sickday Sessions Vol. III – KW 02/28/07
Kirkwood, Inbounds Northern California
SkI3rS who filed TPS reports from the chairlift:
666, AKA, JMetzler, Skimoore, Clack, Slim, Lph, Runethechamp, hop, and skiin’Ian, and others.
AMATEUR PHOTOGS:
666, JMetzler, skimoore (he’s horrible), Lph, Slim (needs a new camera) and maybe hop
CLIMATE:
O’s F to 24 F – cold for Tahoe. Flat light, medium winds, 20 minutes of sunshine, and 5-6 inches of accumulation during the day.
SYNOPSIS:
Hail in SF, snow at 1,000 ft, unplowed roads, 15 ft of new, and cold temps equate to some quality times being so sick that one cannot make it into work.
Hop called just as we hit Hwy 24, and told him just to meet us up at Kirkwood. Literally just off the boat from Guam, you can see his bloggage of the day in this thread:
http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78593
MUSIC: Busdriver – ‘Kill Your Employer’
Hail Storm in SF….super rare, no reserve
Winter in Nor Cal….away from the mountains. We mow our lawns all year long here, which, is kinda weird aye?
Spraywashing the Tenderloin…
Cheap gas…fill er up’
Hit the gas….AND then the brake
Highway freshies…
Walkway to Kirkwood Lodging. JMetzler, our host, brings us to the faceshots…
"Hmmm…I think I have the key"
Snow is so retro….
Morning coffee stoke….
Before this shot, he called in sick.
And so did JMetzler…
666 – after a fun line…
Even Runethechamp took the liberty to fall back on some projects…
Why not? ArmpitD33P!
Slim gets naughty on his Blackberry…."I’m sick"
Runethechamp takes flight…
Patrol was nice enough to give us first dibbies on Eagle Bowl…Clack on his first day of the season.
Well, can’t say he didn’t pick a nice one!
Untracked is kinda fun…
Its so cold when it hits your face…
Fourth Chair on the backside…but not to ski that, no way!
Cool….’its like a wave man’
Slim point its…..Near Hells.
And then finds the white room….
Random boarder finds some fluffy fluffness….
Slim, lower cirque private field…
OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooH!
C l A c K, with a powder fever, in the 20 minutes of sunshine…
Yep, he’s got the sickness….
666 goes for flat landing madness…
Clack and I sailed off of Danger the following run, but cameras were not allowed…sorry.
AKA giving us the moustache without the finger….
How the hell am I supposed to name these guys?
Ummm – hello?
Ty? You in there?
666 powder skiing…
Skiin’Ian….citrus air
A Powder Skier…
We took 4 laps from 2 pm to 4 pm in Outer Palisades…this is why:
Finally, the Spur is looking like the Spur again….
Storm finally clearing out…
Gracious Godsend of Alien Gnardicalness – Kirkwood – 02/19/07
Date:
February 18th – 19th, 2007 (Freak Storm Day 2007)
Location:
Alpine, Amador, & Alien County, CA, USA
Weather:
18 F -34 F with a freak lunar 6 inches and then some of freakish snow. The snow gods gave Kirkwood a blessing to the Tahoe area. Can’t really explain it, but nowhere else in the region received any snow. However, spotters indicated a circular object parked above Kirkwood at 200,000,000 feet.
WEIRD ALIEN SNOW COMMENCE!
Bloggets:
666, Shugs, seanyob, mouthole, lph, Arty, AKA, Zippy, serge, skimoore, and Jrosen32.
Cameramen:
666, ZiPpY, Shugs, Skimoore, Lph, and Arty50
Music: Skream = ‘Rutten’
Synopsis:
The latest weather report before entering destination dream state, mentioned a slight chance of snow, but the satellite image showed nothing. Calls to the Bay Area reported highs near 80 F and bluebird. Then, at 5 am, the hear of pitter-patter on the window made the next two hours of sleepy time muy enjoyable. As I looked out through the window at 7 am, it’s super wet. Not a terrible sign at 6,250 ft. Then, the Kirkwood html cam showed clouds but no precipitation as of yet. Arrival to Kirkwood graced us with puking pukeage of the white stuff, which continued until 1 pm. By the time it finished, a much needed coating over the spring like snow pack gave us mid-winter bliss while the rest of the Tahoe area got stoked on flatwhite ice and slush.
The following day (the Quarterman’s B-day) was bluebird….and the ski day of the year ensued. Grab a comfy chair, crank the volume, turn on your sub, pop a can of Sofia’s champagne, and sip and enjoy.
Day One:
The salt falls from the sky portal of beyond consciousness….
Shugs is ready if the chair drops him near the spaceship…
He then rides the foreign substance with ease in Oops…
Sadly, Shugs wishes he could ride with his Xbox Live headset…
Mouthole, our newest alien soldier and brother of seanyob, slices into Ski School Chute…
Shugs starts to get cocky even as the aliens watch him from above…
They are starting to like his ninja skills, and may ask him to join them for a coffee near Area 51…
But before they could reach him, he rallied this last run right into his Mobile Command Center complete with home-style electrical outlets…
Seanyob is off to Thunder Saddle where its 95% winter pow skiing, and a hidden area from "you know who…"
Mouthole uses his laser weapons to get deeper into the snow….
seanyob slices through the antenna-minefield (trees are actually planted by the aliens)
666 gets some practice at Bubs before the afternoon showdown….
…and clears the first level without dying.
Higher frequencies brought us out to OB Palisades where we found the untouched alien substance…
Skimoore taking some samples to bring back to the lab…
666 taking the backup samples in case Skimoore gets killed by Bruce Willis…
…as the aliens watched, 666 gave them the universal sign of war.
Lph, actually an alien informant, was later captured after this air….
Arty50, another species of alien lifeform, getting sprayed by our PowdRsLaYEr weapon…
Day Two million:
Our attack plan the previous day kicked those aliens out of the valley harder than Will Smith could ever accomplish…and the friendly solar radiation returned.
However, I did give them permission to mess with the BC touring fold over near Round Top…
Today’s plan – clean up the foreign substance.
Jrosen32 begins the first sweep past Rabbitzzzzzz…
But ZiPpY uses some anti-gravitational formula instead….
Unknowingly to Zippy, his canister was leaking on the lift-ride up…so we all have anti-gravitational capabilities….
Zippy again TRYING to follow my line…
Skimoore volunteers on outer Palisades…
Jrosen32 uses some device called "Prophets"
Being from Mars, Skimoore is familiar to less gravity…
Zippy’s home planet is beyond Pluto…so he’s never seen the ground.
"this alien substance is fun"
666 making 1 turn….
Its almost harder to keep your feet on the ground…
Zippy finds a strange straightline….
Jrosen on Wagon Wheel ridge…
Zippy hits an orb above Funnel….
Over at Norms Nose, Zippy decides to "lean back and enjoy"
Although he was skiing extremely fast, he was still rather bored…
This is getting old….
You can probably make out our lines….
Lower cirque bliss….
The aliens gave us a deeper supply in here….
Skimoore wishing he was on my Comis…
666 looking for rare artifacts…..
Zippy doubles it from above…
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh…
Clear for departure on Zippy Spacesphere Lines…
"Where we always arrive on time"
2nd round of detoxification…still only our tracks.
Life of a researcher is hard work…
Zippy in hi-speed doubliah action….
Was it like this at Squaw?
"Moon over Neptune" air
Zippy is treating this cleanup like its actually fun….
Over to Oops at 1 pm, still untouched…
Why not? Cue the mario jumping noise….
666 making a pretty waterfall, too bad that stuff is toxic…
I like this turn….
Zippy finds an M&M near his binding…
…and then uses that energy to jib the tailwing of the aircraft.
Its a hard job but sometimes you need to get into those "tight places…"
Zippy is great at his work….
666 follows Zippy’s "committed turn-turn"
…snd sucks up the rest of the junk.
Jrosen does some probing on Ski School…
Zippy on Upper Ski School…
Finds an area untouched by human life-forms…
666 in the same line….
Tested the rocks for radiation but thankfully, the results were negative….
Even at 3 pm the research was still ongoing…
Off to Sisters area for more excavating….
During Zippy’s line we heard some foreign on-lookers die from the exposure…
Zippy in Oops EP…
That’s right…its getting late, but the research MUST CONTINUE for the human race to have a shot of survival…
Fingers is the last area for testing…very narrow, but clean of harm.
Zippy over the Finger’s Glacier Air into the Finger’s Glacier Landing….
The leftover spacecraft pieces are great for terrain parks…
The cockpit is actually quite smooth for jibbing…
Our work is done….Zippy in a disrepectful taunt to the aliens.
…but on my home, I noticed these strange creatures…hmmmm.
…in 2 hrs, 52 mins I arrived back to the base. It was then that I realized that I live in a city with the largest population of extraterrestrials.
AND a couple days later….
From Rinse to Spin cycle, the knob finished on BASE! – 02/10/07
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Date:
February 10th-11th, 2007 (WINTER – DAY ONE)
Location:
Clusterfuckwood, CA, US EY?
Weather:
Temps held steady at 28 F to 32 F, total snowfall at around 5 feet with some deeper windrifted areas.
Riders of the Storm:
666, Mrs. 666, ridefree, Zippy, Shugs, Tyrone, Jrosen32, Mishap, Jmetzler, Slim, Mrs. Slim, Casey H of Moment, SuPu, Seanyob, serge, mc_roon, Haskins, lph, AKA, skimoore, Big Blue, lhs, watersnowdirt, BASOM, kidwoo, and others.
Music: The Rakes – ‘Retreat’
Synopsis:
Saturday skied as if you were swimming laps at your local YMCA. Although it was 99% snowing top to bottom, it still soaked most skiers who refuse to pay full retail on Goretex clothing. Our only ride up the Wall chair took about an hour to reach the summit. (Yes, its 2007, but at Kirkwood its 1907) The snow was smooth but started to get pretty mank on the last 100 meters.
Sunday skied like a great winter pow day. Well, that’s if the chair you were riding actually made it to the top. Even better the parking attendants were telling people to park in unplowed lots. Huge lift-lines on Chair 6….opened late and basically the only chair running until noon. The Wall and the backside eventually opened but the most fun was had on 6 at the end of the day. Ultimately, hucks, SG pow turns, and untracked at 3 pm created immense gratification that was SEVERELY lacking the first couple of hours.
DAY ONE: The RINSE cycle….
7:00 AM – "….the snow level is hovering just above the base of Kirkwood." Mrs. 666 immediately retreats to a dream state of kittens and proposals. I grab my trusty Glad ski suit and head out with Seanyob and his brother.
"…Do you have chains?…..Do you have chains?…….Do you have chains?…..hello, do you have chains?….I wonder why there was a line-up before Red Lake?
Looking better on Carson Pass?
Hmmmm…even better on Chair 666.
Seanyob likes skiing in a washing machine…
Although his bro would rather be smoking cigs and spanking people…
Shugs and I roll the Wall, where we had ONE HELL OF A TIME sitting on it for an hour…..Thanks Kirkwood, did I say bankruptcy? No, he did not just say that….??????
At the summit, bluebird and no wind. EPIC!
After that stellar experience, I found ridefree hucking by himself near Waterfall, but that’s nothing new. Supu and I head to WagonWheel and lapped endless untracked sierra cement.
Here’s the definition of Sierra Cement….courtesy of SuPu
As you can see, my camera doesn’t have an underwater feature….but little Supu gets some chest deep.
Zippy takes a Maytag air….
SuPu preferes the Westinghouse powerturn….Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Then I saw this in the corner of my eye….ballet skiers love powder!
Skimoore takes a lap with us, and complains about everything.
The camera had enough but Slim manages to air it out in Oops…
Day TWO: Spin cycle…getting drier
We woke up to an inch at lake level. Here’s the shot of Tallac for Sierra Cement, bcrider & gimpy…
Caltrans madneSS! There’s a mini-cooper in that spray…
Super tight photog-driving skillz….
At this point, I threw Shugs’s PDA phone in front of that thing…sadly, it didn’t survive.
Serenity at Caples….
This is where the day started off really well. They finally open it around 10 am, and open it they did! From Olympic to Monte’s. It stayed untracked for a whole 2.8 secs.
I wonder who rides…er rode those skis?
Billy Christmas decided to come for a ski…
ZiPpY airs it in Oops alternate….
…and then ollies over Team Bulletproof’s training ground.
Tyrone having some needed fun….man, he sure looks dry in that coat!
They managed to open the Wagon Wheel ridge for the first time of the year…the weather getting nasty, and the funnel lookin’ tasty!
Zippy drops in for first tracks….
…he makes a remarkable right-hander…
And then lets gravity take hold…
Jrosen32 follows his little bro’s line….
….only to backslap but stick the glacier landing that Zippy uncovered.
Evil Mentholman decides against a backslap and decides to land in a minefield…and thereafter straightlines into avy-debris…fun times.
Back to the ChROnIc lift – ZipPy on the main terminal of Oops…
…and the lemmings followed. AKA in a babysitter air…
Lph getting a technical itch….
…Then back to wait at the W A L L !!!! EXTREME EXTREME EXTREME!
Casey H, CEO of Moment Skis and I roll solo over to the lower cirque. Killer avy debris led to some untracked cliff drops.
Casey again, taking it to Extreme III in the Sisters…
To which he earns some flat-light flight time…
Jrosen32 SOARS LIKE AN EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!
…AND TURNS LIKE A SIDEWINDER!
Captain Xmas, after eating a bowl of spaghetti and syrup….
Milliment Manny finds some pillowed poetic justice…
He had fun, he told me so…
Then back over to little Jimzzzzzz as the opened Sentinel Ridge. I took off to make 4 turns down to the cave (Comis are too much fun, sorry)….but I guess Jrosen32 found a cliff.
Casey gets into the Moment on his skis….
Excellent Viz, and ZippY’s awesome compressing skills create this scary look of Casey on Ski School…
BASOM….the awesomeness is hurting the ccd.
Casey again, Schmidtting-it’
Man, he sure has a license to thrill.
At this point, its 3 pm, we’re all tired and we decide to hit Palisades for a cut-up pow run. Well, we get the ridge and they open up the rest of Pali to the boundary….just for us. Mrs. 666 was granted first tracks with smiles…but Casey shows how to ski the Comis….
The snow sucked in there…kind of boring. Even worse, the farther you went to more untracked it got.
FOUR PAIRS OF MOMENT COMIS! That’s got to be a record for surface area on a hi-speed quad.
Team Moment getting all gHeY!
RadnardicalnesS!
Bye bye, thanks for shopping and don’t forget to fill out our customer service survey….
666
Clinical Depression Malfunction – 01/27/07
Date:
January 27th, 2007 (although one could have mistaken for November 27th)
Location:
Steepanddeep, California (OK, not so deep)
Weather:
Low of 8 F in Hope Valley to 36 F at the afternoon departure
Scroungers:
666, Zippy, Tyrone, Mrs. Tyrone, Jrosen32, Mishap, Slim, Mrs. Slim, Casey H of Moment, SuPu and other addicts.
Music: (Right click, save target as)
DJ Fexomat – ANTI-JINK BRING DA SNOW SUICIDE AGGRESSION METAL BEATS
http://fexomat.thoughtbludgeon.com/fexomat…he_sickness.mp3
Synopsis:
Its been about a month now since any measurable snow. June Mountain (down south) has closed for the season, and the storm door has failed to show any signs of being even close to allow the 20 foot storm we require. Desperation? Maybe. There’s still plenty of quality to be had. First tracks on steep groomers in a hoodie is hard to beat under the Californian bluebird. Add to that, some north facing chutes littered with mid-winter-firm-pack, you’ve got yourself an entire day planned.
If you’re in CA, and think its not going to be worth it to go skiing…check this report. Every resort in Tahoe has its gems….here’s a photo-essay of what Kirkwood has to offer.
What a better way to start a ski day than a Venti Redeye and some Mary Anne Hobbs…
Snowbank madness (for bcrider)
That’s right, groomed piste pics (we’re getting desperate)…Jrosen32 taming the beast.
Tyrone showing that it pays to show spray…
C’mon, you know that snow looks CARVALCIOUS…
Jrosen32 in the fingers looking for his wedding ring….
Supu finds some month old mid-winter madness…
Tyrone finds a horrible BLUETOOTH pitch into the drain…
This is self-explanatory….carving is fun, I admit it!
"Can you hear me know?"
Tyrone on the wind-loaded left-hander…..
Supu pretending he’s back on the North Shore….
Mishap grunting for greatness…
I HAD TO!!! HE’S FRIGGIN’ ON MIDWINTER SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ty finds some month old pow in the trees…
SuPu near Waterfall…
Kirkwood advertises "free-wifi" but the Wall dissallows downloading…
Someone didn’t tell these piracy experts…they made it to the summit.
OMG! EAGLE BOWL ANTI-SUNCUPPED SOLID FIRM CORE………..
Ty earns his hardpack wings near Kodak…
And again in the rock garden of despair…
Jrosen32 on skier’s right of Chamoix…not a good place to lose an edge.
Ty testing his testis…
Reproduction? Not if I fall…throw him a rope!
666 man gets jiggy with it…
And 666 is definitely NOT having a good time…
Jrosen32 leaves the ground…
and then ZiPPy gets all TecHy…
Ty breaking mach I through breakable bulletproof….
Supu just knows how to make this SHIT snow look stunning…
ZippY in the shot of the day…while I’m on the phone with my broker. Not a bad shot if I say so…
This shot is for Squaretail…you’re welcome. It was a Karma type of day.
So out of a group of 11 or so, I punch up to California Chute as captain solo…
Nice views of the mountainous terrain behind for some possible day touring…some more snow would help that. And what’s this white stuff that suddenly appears WHEN I REACH THE SUMMIT????
Funny, it looked steeper from the chair….
God this is great! Bulletproof Balls of Fun! Oh and look, I get to walk over those rocks at the bottom. YeSSSSSSS Sir!
Zippy finds more untracked…no seriously, he did.
Zippy in Waterfall area…acting like a waterfall.
And again, finding a 25 cent slot….
Almost the biggest storm of the season…no really…I’m not kidding.
And now for some shots of why we love California…just outside of Jackson.
Collier road madness….
Some vines, a tractor of some sort, and a wicked sunsetting tree…
Levee drawbridge anyone? Yep, we have those too.
Special thanks to Jrosen32 who contributed as my photo assistant and taking 99% of his pics with his overexposure button pressed to level EXTREME!!
Arctic Anomalies v. Adrenaline Addicts – 01/15/07
Date:
January 13th-15th, 2007
Ski playground that hasn’t had a huge storm since….well, last year:
Weather & Temp:
HELL HAS FROZEN OVER!
Our good pal Mr. Wind seems to like these parts this year, so he decided to return for most of the weekend being most heavy on Saturday morning. The temps ranging from a balmy -16 F in Hope Valley to 20F at its warmest stage. I guess the wind blew in an inch or two into some areas on Friday.
Members of Ski Club California:
BASOM!!!! just killing it!
666 racer steeze
skimoore sliding into home
Supu displaying his pride
Zippy rollin retro…
And Arty50, Mrs. 666, Shugs, JMetzler, Mrs. JMetzler, DaveP, Jrosen32, ridefree….
Synopsis:
With no doubt, Sunday was the coldest day I have ever skied in the Sierras in my lifetime. Out of our group of 8 or so people, 5 were showing signs of frost bite. I know it sounds wierd, but this rarely happens. Down jackets were a must as a mid-layer and balaclavas were the fashion accessories of the day.
Even without any significant snowfall, we still managed to find the goods in an otherwise dissapointing start to the season. With Basom in town, it was time to give him some FUN SKIING! YAY!@!@!
Music Klaxons – ‘Golden Skans’ (Erol Alkan edit)
Day One:
This doesn’t happen too often at 6250 ft in California…
Basom did some uderwater laps before departing to Starbucks…
Upper lifts on windhold…and with single digits? Its going to be a RAD day!
So we decided to session the Waterfall area…Basom having FUN.
Supu dicing away at the horrible conditions in Tahoe…
Basom is a legendary skier. He can ski almost any black run…
He even does aerials…
But wait, the upper mountain OPENS to the next best thing to powder. That’s right. Untracked groomed!!!!!!!!
After a few steep groomers, we take Basom into Oops…
Yes, he skied it blindfolded…he’s that good.
So Zippy leaves his ski boots at home, and HAS to snowboard. Here he is near the fingers…
Did I mention Basom is on a pair of Moment Comis?
He says those skis like to go fast in any condition…
Zooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm!
Zippy surfs down some protected windblown underneath the Wall chair…
…Basom follows suit.
Basom in another straightline off of Waterfall…funny that there seems to be moguls missing below.
Zippy…in the white room.
Eagle bowl was a callin’. Basom is having fun. He told me so.
Arty links up an air…
Supu carves on the Tahoe bluetooth…
I then decide its time for Basom to experience West Shore’s goodies…
Views toward Desolation Wilderness…
Good thing I know this area like a Starbucks in Omaha…
And then God himself drops in…
Wow, glorious perfection…not the skier, the rock formations.
Chalky memories ensued…
"I’m having FUN FUN FUN"…he yells.
Its Arty’s turn to slay the gnar…
Supu using the "sidecountry slalom technique" he learned in ski school in Australia way back when…
STEEP!
Basom, please don’t fall here…I don’t want to scrape your brains off the rocks, thanks.
Almost there mate…
Arty testing his str8line skillz to the limits…
Supu gets a different camera angle…
This is where he starts to cry like a baby…
You should have heard him. Next time I shoot chutes in video…
I detect a history of light breezes from the east….
Basom finds some refreshing snow…
And then Supu finds a deeper spot..
Basom in Thunder Saddle making himself look good…
Are we having FUN yet?
About two inches of fresh below was a nice surprise…
You call that a schmear Supu??????
A quick toss of the poles into Basom’s truck, and then so quickly, I’m owing him money…
Its my birthday, and I’m only doing one shot of Patron Silver…
…with a few more cocktails, Dreamcast and Virtual Tennis 2K2 Madne555 ensued…who needs PS3?
Supu drank all of those in 5 mins…he was in the emergency room until the lifts opened.
Day Two: Cold as BALLS!
Basom going straight…wow, what a surprise dude.
Boring..where’s all the ice you guys were talking about? That snow actually looks good.
Clouds rolled in and the temps plummeted…Zippy now on skis, tries to warm up in the Sisters.
Basom follows with a baguette sandwich…
Zippy soars into some firm moguls…
…and without hestitation, the Basom TR continues.
Maybe you should shed a layer dude….
Zippy took a few grainy pics. Jrosen32 sips some Champange…
What’s this? Where can I get a coat like this guy?
He followed us into Eagle Bowl….
…we all agreed he should become an instructor.
Zippy finds an early season pencil…
…which Basom steals and skips class.
Zippy gets bored and gets inverted…LAME!
skimoore finds a tree to leap over…
We had enough warmth to take-in one more lap on Cornice. The groomer below wasn’t looking to hot…
Zippy in the hidden Ski School chute…
Funtime? I like.
Basom thought it looked FUN, so he went next…
Across from the TEH CAV3, Zippy airs it out…
And Basom takes a committed turn…
Since the cameraman also hit every line in this TR, he’s not missing this one…
Day Three:
Hope Valley, 8:17am….my vehilce has NEVER hit this temp in California…NEVER!
Elephants and Carson Pass…
This is what happens when you don’t groom runs during global warming…
Funny though, just a few hundred feet away, JMetzler found this….
…and then down lower, skimoore found this…
MEGA BLOG COMPLETE……..
Wicked Weekend Without Wind at KW – 01/07/07
Date:
January 6-7th, 200SEVEN
The ultra fabulous ski field:
Weather & Temp:
Absolutely wind-free Californian sunshine, with temps ranging from 5-45 F. With total snowfall of 90 inches for the year, you know its going to be deep out there.
Members of Ski Club California:
666, Mrs. 666, AKA, Arty50, Lph, Zippy, Tyrone Shoelaces, Pimpin Frog, JMetzler, Mrs. JMetzler, DaveP, Jrosen32, Mishap, watersnowdirt, bklyntrayc, rumors of Squatch.
Synopsis:
After a solid 18 inches of fluff followed by 300 inches of wind on Friday, the weekend conditions were going to be questionable at best. However, the goods were uncovered, and the weekend turned out to be wishfully wicked indeed.
Music St. Cal – ‘Losing Ground’
Day One:
Stevens Peak – updated with some frost…
This is California Mr. Gore……frozen solid. Caples with Roundtop pictured.
As Slim would say: Hi there!
Zippy in T-saddle…one Moment at a time.
Mrs. 666 cuts the cue and finds a line…
Making Schmidty happy…
JMetzler takes a pose…
Zippy gets uber-gnarly in T-saddle….
Different camera, same landing….
He decides to straightline skier’s right of Chamois…
Seems pretty solid on those Comis….
Kinda boring if you ask me…the moguls down there aren’t even that huge yet.
Off to the Outer Palisades…BC gates OPEN….666 shows how horrible the snow was after the hurricane on Friday.
SUPER wind-effected….
Mishap and Jrosen32 rode the same skis and wore the same outfit…Mishap finds some horrible snow…
Jrosen32 is having a bad time….
He then finds a natural super-pipe all to himself…..
JMetzler hates skiing snow like this….
Sometimes life throws you a curveball…JMetzler is ready.
Mrs. 666 wanted some POWDAH, so I took her for a lap…she hated it.
Rare appearance by Mr. Camo Hoodie…
And again skiing EAR DEEP in Tahoe!
Day TWO:
Mt. Tallac getting better….slowly.
Temp in Hope Valley on the morning commute….
KW BC recon from car window…without it our weekend would not have been as rad.
Ty on some protos in Chamois/Oops….
Ty ties one on….
Ty near the Fingers…
…and then below performing ski-testing maneuvers…
Zippy getting into the gnar in Lower Cirque…but may line was WAY more bmx.
He hearts this maneuver…
SCHRALP????????
OMG….LOL…PLEASE, you’ve got to be kidding….optical illusion air.
Who’s that guy? And why does everyone I know ski on weird skis?
Our initial target…but being lazy we opted for a super steep slope below us instead…
Super secret location….I’ve never skied it with such a low snow-pack.
Zippy pressed play on his video Ipod…
Yes…he’s watching Blizzard of Ahhhhhhhs.
Ty’s turn to test his bindings….
Definitely a no-fall zone…there’s a nasty rollover down there.
Zippy finds a line on the lower leg of the couloir…
Amidst some bluetooth…
A marmot came out of the rocks and scared Zippy…
So he had to go straight….
I guess 136mm underfoot can still carve aye?
Ty makes a picturesque turn on a steep slope…
Triple diamond for sure…
Even the new 114mm’s can hold an edge….
Ty traversing under another option…
Our line in the middle, grins all the way around…
Being the first people out there meant a slog back to chair 4…
Still got another run in the saddle…Zippy zippin’
The kid just doesn’t like to go slow…
Lame, even if he almost died flying into those trees…
…END OF TRANSMISSION
Kirkwood and South Shore Xmas 06 update – 12/26/06
*12/26/06 – Kirkwood and South Shore update*
WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED….
…well that’s what my mobile said in Meyers just as I left Meyers at 8:20 am.
South Lake – Hurricane force winds near the lake, but no precip as of 2:10 pm.
Music:Xmas with the Vandals – ‘My first xmas as a woman’
Kirkwood – 9:00am – windy and about a inch of new plus windblown.
Ski School – windblown bliss….felt like I had the Cornice chair all to myself this morning.
Looking down towards Chamoix…buffed out sweetness all morning. The snow kept falling and blowing around. Tracks filled in by each lap.
Skier’s left of Oops….Oops was skiing nice…really nice. Even better was the Chamois section that cliffs out to a 5 footer.
Carson Pass – 12:30 pm – Chains were required from the valley before Red Lake through Kirkwood. Snow packed roads from Kirkwood to Red Lake. Snowing but not sticking in Hope Valley.
Keys getting pretty rough – Heavenry in the background, which I heard is horrible and crowded btw.
Trust me, its freakin’ windy! Power going in and out.
Ho Ho Ho…Need Mo’ Snow in Tahoe – 12/25/06
December 24-25th, 2006 – Christmas 2006 – Lake Tahoe!
*We need snow.
**Lots of it.
Kirkwood – They’ve opened the entire mountain….meaning all lifts (all acreage except Eagle Bowl/Norms Nose/Wagon Wheel from chair 6.) Actually, I’ve never seen the backside open with this amount of snowpack, but you’ve got to give them credit for doing so.
They opened the backside on Christmas Eve. Slim, Shugs, Mrs. 666, and I took a few pow laps in Thunder Saddle, but you’re basically skiing light on the feet. Groomers were nice, and the skied out off-piste was mostly mid-winter packed powder. The variable snow exists on exposed ridges and untracked areas in Thunder Saddle, the Wall, and in Oops and the Palisades.
Stevens Peak off of Hwy 88:
Elephants and Carson Pass….
Shugs carving on Zachs…
Monte’s and Fingers – top ridge not open
Cirque – we need snow guns in there!
Mrs. 666 in Thunder Saddle – not too bad aye?
Shugs gets a pow turn…
….into a pow-manual
Shugs getting some more in Thunder Saddle…
Chair 4 Patrol with gardening clippers on the piste…
AND YES THAT’S A POWER WEEK WACKER!!!! OMG!
Slim on lower vista…
Mr. Extreme in Vista…
…ditto…fun line in the early season
….some fresh underneath
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..
Slim and I headed to the Palisades for some AMAZING snow!
We rallied the boundary line for some decent pow…
XMAS DAY!
2 pm arrival – work off some xmas calories. Hmmm…I thought a storm was brewing?
Ahhhh…cute doggie 
Mrs. 666 above Chair 5…
Groomers…
Nice view to the west…the storm?
Shugs on the Wall…
The Wall skied really well. Wind was blowing in snow from the ridge above which made it a pleasant ride back to the bar.
HO HO HO!
Its Thin But Oh So Radical – 12/03/06
***NO POWDER PICS HERE, NO WAY…that’s so last week!
Want to know how much snow there is just due south of Tahoe?
The video will explain it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcsXfpGFaQw
In case you’re still running AOL 2.0 on your Windows 3.0 machine, below are some pics and the details….
Date:
December 02-03, 2006 – Opening day of Buckboard (one of the resort’s most premier groomed adventures) and Chair 11 of the Kirkwood 06-07 season.
Weather & Temp:
Absolutely G O R G E O U S Californian sunshine, no wind, and ideal temps ranging from 30-40F….nice temp to take a walk with the dog.
Extreme ski mountaineers:
666 – in true form:
Slim – Dressed to impress and late for class:
Shugs – Dressed for an Antarctic winter evening:
Zippy – Daft Punk ain’t playin’ at his house:
Jrosen32 – Just after killing Sasquatch for needed warmth:
JMetzler – spending WAY too much time on Youtube:
….and Misshhhhaww, Vets, Tyrone Shoelaces, Mrs. Laces, Mrs. JMetzler, LegalDave.
Our Rides:
Moment Renos, Karmas, Nitro Supernatural, a pair of Fischers, 190 V-pros, 180 V-pros, Dynastar BIG’s, G4′s, some Bro’s, Pocket Rockets.
Synopsis:
Below shows the amount of gnar provided by the corporation:
Green = groomed manmade bliss
Purple = the natural snow bush runs
Hot Pink = the epic adventure called Buckboard
Looks a lot better from the highway eh?
The order of the morning on Chair 5:
What Buckboard skied like:
Lower mountain Corduroy MADNESS!
Jrosen32 has a carving fan…
Zippy WAIST DEEP!!!!!!!!!!
The Chronic Chair needs just a smidgen more snow….
The Wall actually resembles…..well….a wall….
Fingers and Wagon Wheel bowl ridin’ dirty!
666 eye’d a boarder until he found out it wasn’t Shugs….
Shugs shows why it pays to get there early…
Shugs takes off some of that rust of his edges, er…legs:
Snow is always whiter on the Eastern side…
666 licks some carpet…
Shugs laying it DOWN >>>>>>>>>
Roundtop, Moon Crescent, etc 12/02/06. The lookers right bowl would probably be the best bet for coverage since it had snow throughout the summer.
Closer view of the Northern aspects….bring the 90′s quiver:
THANKS FOR PLAYING……
