Lynn/Jim trips (Park City, White Water Rafting, biking Farm Ride)

[midwif]

Just to start by wrapping it all up, it was a great week.

Jim and I flew in late friday night.? We decided to NOT ski ( I know, heresy) the first day in order to rest up, shop for food and scope out the "hood".
We stayed at the Redpine condos at the base of The Canyons. (courtesy of VRBO.com).
We headed to See-n-Ski (thanks Svend/Terryl) for discount tickets. We bought tickets to Snowbasin/Super Pass to the Cottonwood Canyons) at a decent discount.

That late afternoon we went for a timeshare spiel at the Canyons. I have done this many, many times before. In fact, almost everytime I have been in PC. They are aggressive about their marketing and I think it is worth my time for a 2 hr apres ski tour and talk for their latest offering, in order to get two free ski tickets to the PC resort of ones choice , plus discount tickets to most of the other resorts. If you know where you want to go, you can buy your tickets for the week at a better discount than at the SLC ski shops that have them. We decided to make our free tickets for DV.

First day of sking was on sunday at Snowbasin. Conditions: packed powder, sun baked, crusted crud speckled with intermittent piles of soft stuff. Hard for me to negotiate, but Jim handled with aplomb on his Watea 84's. But the bathrooms were to die for. And lunch wasn't bad either. And the place is just pretty great overall. Just no new snow for a bit.

Well, it puked snow that next day. Jim commented " I thought Deer Valley was known for its groomed trails!". Okay,? the visibility wasn't great, the skiing was soft and we are basically northeast skiers with minimal powder skills. Still had a blast. I fulfilled a long held desire to try Ontario Bowl that day. It requred a bit of a hike. When we got to the apex of the hike, there were almost NO tracks to be seen. I did wish I had a big, fat pair of powder skis. I had to really sit in the back seat to keep? the tips from diving down. But it was silent, beautiful and untouched. Magical even. Jim and I tracked down some fatties (or fatter skis ) to demo the next day. Most resorts got 12-16 inches from the storm.

Decided to do the Canyons the following day. I had Salomon Foils and Jim had Head Mogo 90's. I really liked mine, I will let Jim give his own review of the Mojo's. We had a fun time in the glades and powder. My long held assessment of The Canyons is that it's a fun mountain with fresh snow, but doesn't hold up as well as other places when its tracked out. We had it at its prime.

Next day: Powder Mountain. A bit of a drive, about 70 min. But a wonderful day. Bluebird, no lines, great snow and temps in the high 20's. The groomed trails basically serve to bring you to the different off piste areas. The only annoying thing was the persistent sound of the helicopter. All day long. Yuck. But fun to imagine being a heliski customer. Really like the place. But only with relatively fresh snow.

Next: Alta, a long favorite of mine. Challenging, as the temps were rising by noon and the snow was starting to bake. Crusty in parts, powder in others, crud with crust and mashed potatoes at others. Jim had a Wide World of Sports moment. Quite a fall; yard sale quality. In an area which was giving me pause and seeing him tumble and then slide was a reminder of how easy it is to get hurt. Fortunately, Jim was not, but the climb out was strenous for both of us. Gasp, gasp, at altitude.

Friday: A day of rest by mutual agreement. Yours truly was truly trashed. So, took a drive to Sundance Resort. Well, what can be said that hasn't. Mt. Timpanogos looming over the base of the gorgeous, rustic, small base area. I want to retire there.? Lotto, please, smile on me!!!
Frankly, the place is inspiring. The focus on environment, conservation, the arts, just amazing. Accompanying spa, restaurant, mountain an added bonus.
We should do a RS outing there for 3-4 days.? Non-skiing wives would enjoy as well, I think.

Final day: Solitude. Temps teens at night but rising to 40's during the day. These are the conditions I dislike the most. And which cause me the most fear. Slick powder, intermittent soft stuff, frozen, crusty crud. I had a hard time. Was fallling a lot. Did a yard sale with a small slide. Dug the toes of boots in to keep the head from heading down slope further. Jim came to the rescue. " Are you okay? Will you slide further?" A small test of lifted toes showed immediate downward trajectory. A helping hand was VERY helpful. After that, just looked for nice, smooth easy coast looking bumps when bored by the groomed. But Solitude is a great place. Trees, steeps, groomed, rollers. A nice combo. With fresher snow, would have been a blast. There is something there for everyone. And with warming temps, cooler than the lower resorts would have been. No real slush.

Almost every day after skiing, we would take a "longcut' back to PC. Jim likes to explore. There are number of really interesting canyons, lakes, reservoirs to drive around. It was fun exploring the surrounding country side as well. Farming next to upscale development. Cattle/horses and then a Victorian town.

That's all folks.
Lynn
(ps. might post some pics when I learn how. Thnk I need Jim for this)
 

[gregmerz]

Sounds like a quality ski trip.? New stuff explored, knowledge gained, physically exhausted and headed back to work to recuperate.? Kudos, Real Skiers in Utah ?? When do we leave ??

[jim-ratliff]

My thoughts on Lynn's post.?
A great week, great ski buddy (even when we decided to hike a quarter mile uphill to get to Ontario bowl).? I don't remember waiting in line anywhere the whole week.

SnowBasin.? Strawberry Bowl had been a favorite of mine in the past.? On this trip, the middle bowl area was better, probably due to better tree protection, some because I am better able to ski the terrain.? The great thing about Strawberry is that there are so few trees that you can ski almost anywhere, but that was a bad thing this time around due to the effect of the sun exposure.

Deer Valley:? SUCCESS is a green slope, and even it was bumped up.? I was very surprised that, given their reputation, Deer Valley wasn't trying to groom some slopes during the day (even if it was snowing 2" per hour).? But we found some good blue trees and slopes, one of our two best days of skiing.

Canyons:? They have opened quite a bit of new terrain all the way to the left of the map, and Lynn and I spent most of the day over there.? One area in particular was on the lee side of a ridge line, and it was easy to be knee deep in powder when you stopped.? I had powder baskets on my poles and could still sink the pole down to the handle in lots of places.? We didn't ski it elegantly or very well, but we had a great time over there.? Route was over the ridge line and down through pine and aspen trees, and into 2 or 3 large open bowls; top much steeper than the bottom.? Pine trees were pretty close together, but we were skiing there pretty slow anyway.? Lots of housing has been built along the sides of the trails since I was last there, much like the layout at Killington with trails and roads intertwined and tunnels or bridges common.

Sundance: Lovely.? Makes you wonder (or appreciate) the dilemma of finding a balance between preserving the naturalness of nature and still allowing the average man to see the beauty of that same natural area.? (and paying the taxes).? Lynn really loved it there, but she's a New York City girl at heart and probably won't ever to be able to really leave "the City".? Note that the Sundance ski resort really didn't appear to have much to offer; it's mostly blues and blacks but only 500 acres or so.? But the overall experience was pretty special.? They have a hallway in the restaurant with pictures of stars contributing and some handwritten sentiments from Redford about Sundance.? Mt. Timpanagos evidently retains some snow all year, so area doesn't dry out.? Would love to go horse-back riding up there some July or August.

Mojo 90's:? Didn't really like them much.? Compared to the Watea 84's the waist width of 90 didn't make up for the fact that the binding mounting point is farther forward (it's more of park ski).? Overall, really enjoyed my Watea 84's all week even though the inside of my ankles could really feel the extra width (the Magnum's waist is 71 mm).? Moved the bindings from +15 back to -15 for the two snowy days, but given the infrequency of me hitting this much snow (and not wanting to tote two skis), I think Gary and Ron's recommendation of the Watea 84 for me as a single ski quiver for Western skiing was excellent.? Lynn commented on how "soft" the skis looked as they flexed in the bumps, but still had good edge hold on harder slopes and great stability skiing in really crusty crud (especially noted the first day at SnowBasin but also the last day at Solitude).? The word "upflappable" comes to mind.

Alta fall:? A quick reminder on how quickly a situation can deteriorate when we get a bit overconfident.? Had to kick steps in the snow just to be able to walk back up the hill, felt like climbing a ladder with ski boots on.? Way too steep and narrow for me; never should have gone through the gate.? A quick jerk back to reality for both of us.

[Svend]

Lynn, Jim -- sounds like you had an awesome week. Thanks for the report....now some pics please!

Utah is a special place....all those resorts within 30 to 60 minutes of SLC or PC, all that dry powder, all that sunshine....an embarrassment of riches in a skiers world.  Add to that the nice locals, reasonable prices (we never felt gouged...well...alm ost never.....), and laid-back western atmosphere....sweet!

It's good to hear someone else's perspective on a couple of places that we want to visit next time -- Sundance in particular.  We asked a lot of locals about their favourite resorts, and only a few were keen on Sundance.  Those who panned it were pretty hard-core skiers, though, but from what you say, the place has other qualities beyond the slopes that make it high on the must-do list.  Next year, then.....

[Gary]

Jim and Lynn...following suite with the gang...sounds like a wonderful experience and great preview for the rest of us.

I love the concept of exploring resorts. Finding a local like Ron did at Steamboat to guide us in, through and out again of the glades was just fun and so very interesting.

Glad to hear the Watea 84's filled your expectations Jim. It's a wonderful ski and so versatile. I actually suggested Greg look into demoing it for his broken snow ski days.

Wow, you guys covered a whole lot of terrain and sounds like some great conditions to play in. The thing about new mountains, varied terrain and conditions....this stuff challenges you to be a better skier....to be all you can be....to be a force ......yeah Ok...I know you get it.  It's amazing with a little push how one can rise to the surface as long as  a darn tree doesn't get in the way..YIKES!

Hope your season has not ended yet....still snow on the ground...I do however hear my golf clubs whining in the basement and I even thought this morning I heard a chant "bring us up, bring us up"......paid no attention as my skies having just been waxed are awaiting their scrape and brushing for this weekends get away. Their turn will come and they just better be up to the task.

Best,
Gary

[Ron]

Sounds like a gret trip! It's really all about powder isn't it? Nothing sweeter. Silently and effortlessly flying over untracked pow is something you can't explain to non-pow skiers and its something I dream about often. I am so happy to hear you got puked on!  Next time, grab some fatties and really enjoy the ride. Jim, go at least 100 underfoot bro' and try a softer board. Awesome!  Now where's the pictures?

[Svend]

........flying over untracked pow is something you can't explain to non-pow skiers and its something I dream about often.

I'm sure the snowflake patterns on your PJ's and all your bed linens help fuel those dreams.? ?

[midwif]

Svend
How do you know about the PJ's?
 

[Svend]

Well, I don't! (indignant glare in the general direction of Manhattan)? This ain't a Brokeback Mountain moment.? Besides, I've never met Ron, but I hear he's got style sense, even in his PJ's.   

[jim-ratliff]

Sounds like a gret trip! It's really all about powder isn't it? Nothing sweeter. Silently and effortlessly flying over untracked pow is something you can't explain to non-pow skiers and its something I dream about often. I am so happy to hear you got puked on!? Next time, grab some fatties and really enjoy the ride. Jim, go at least 100 underfoot bro' and try a softer board. Awesome!? Now where's the pictures?

Wellll, Ron, to be quite honest I'm not sure that the above quite described our experiences.  ? Sometimes it did; but sometimes we weren't flying and sometimes it wasn't effortless.

We did try to rent or demo some fatter skis but with limited selection and success.

[Svend]

We did try to rent or demo some fatter skis but with limited selection and success.

Well, if you'd gone to Kimball like I told ya to, ya coulda rented some Mythics.  Would have transformed your persona forever, cowboy.

Ron, I hear you, and would love to experience flying on powder some day.  Looks like an amazing experience.  No wonder you dream about it.  Will just have to make it happen! 

Actually, I'm crossing fingers that Alberta gets dumped on in a couple of weeks, as I'll be out there in early April for work and right near the Banff resorts again.  Hope to get at least one, and maybe two days of skiing in -- Nakiska and Lake Louise or Sunshine.  Will have to rent some skis again, but there should be lots of choice.  Sunshine Mtn. has a wide range of Head skis. Will see if I can get a powder lesson too, if conditions are good.

[jim-ratliff]

Well, if you'd gone to Kimball like I told ya to, ya coulda rented some Mythics.? Would have transformed your persona forever, cowboy.

We did go to Kimball quite a bit (Starbucks, ABC store and two restaurants).? However, for skis I was looking for something wide, not a MID-FAT like the Mythic Riders.? However, I'm not sure that this "cowboy" wants to have his persona changed forever.? Are we back to BrokeBack again?? ?

The Mythic Rider (I think) is 122-88-110.
My Watea 84's are 126-84-112.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

So I would get 4mm of extra waist but give up offsetting width in the shovel and tail.? Not enough difference to notice, I assumed.? ? But I'm glad you like your Mythics; I also like my 84's.
I thought about renting Watea 94's, but they were only available in the 186+ length and that seemed long (my 84's are 176).

BTW, my experience with horses was equally challenging.  A friend from high school had recently acquired access to a couple of horses and he had become a pretty good rider, so we decided to go for a ride while I was visiting.  In Kansas, open territory, and we were having a great time until we decided it was time to head home and to recross the Walnut river.  The dirt on the far side of the river was a bit muddy and his horse sank into the mud up to its haunches (while mine is still standing knee deep in the river.  I was convinced that the horse was going to break it's leg, or that we wouldn't be able to get it out of the mud.  I can identify with it now a bit, because it is just as hard to walk in snow boots in waist deep snow.  Fortunately all worked out OK except for horse and rider being quite muddy, but riding horses isn't quite as easy as it looks on television, and the sense of being responsible for the well-being of the horse was sort of over-whelming at the time (as was the later experience of realizing that family now included a child and I was responsible for the welfare).

So Lynn, have we beat horses and BrokeBack mountain to death enough??

[Svend]

Just kidding you about the Mythics, BTW.  Wasn't seriously suggesting that they were any better than the 84's for powder.....just having some fun.

Cheers,
Svend

[jim-ratliff]

No worries, mate.

I bought the 84's primarily because I seldom get that kind of snow on trips west and wanted a "somewhat" wide 1 quiver ski.?

Because of the amount of snow, I actually considered the Mythics (maybe in a longer length) until I realized that they weren't dimensionally enough different that I could tell the difference, and we couldn't find anything up in the 100mm width.? So Lynn wound up trying some Salomon Foils (about 85mm) and I tried the Mojo 90's that I knew weren't that much different and really didn't enjoy very much.

PS. We did appreciate the Kimball Junction tips; carried the print out of you mail message around in the car all week.
PPS. I was editing my other message while you responded, so go back and check out my horse experience.

[Svend]

So Lynn, have we beat horses and BrokeBack mountain to death enough??

OK with me...?

But a great story about the horses.? That must have been a strange feeling, seeing a horse half swallowed by mud.? Must have driven the poor creature nuts with fear when it realized it couldn't move.

Interesting that you weren't able to get decent float in powder on your Wateas.? At 176, I would have thought that would have been plenty of square inches underfoot to get you through.? Makes me wonder how well my Mythics will do in the deep stuff...they're 178's, and I'm heavier than you.? I'm not experienced here, so I guess the only way to find out is to try.? Will have to coax Ron into giving me a powder lesson, though.? Nudge, nudge....

I bought the 84's primarily because I seldom get that kind of snow on trips west and wanted a "somewhat" wide 1 quiver ski.

BTW, that's the same reasoning I had when deciding to buy the Mythics -- a single ski for trips west and also good for fresh snow / crud here in the east.? I could have used them at least five times here in the east this winter.? As really deep powder skiing is likely going to be a rarity for me, I saw these as being much more versatile.? Reasonable length, too, at 178.  Anything longer would have been too cumbersome on the groomed and in bumps/crud, in my estimation.  Besides, they're a lot of fun on groomed runs.?

Kimball Junction has a lot going on now.? Did you find the coffee roastery? Pretty darn good espresso shots to be had there.? We took a couple of pounds of beans home too (just finished them, actually) and they were very good.