Day 50 - Kicking Horse

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a 3 hour, coffee-lunch-nap break back at the condo; very nice day - mostly clear and relatively warm; 9 runs; 19,000 vertical; skied the SkiLogic Customs; soft groomers with the exception of 1 run through the leftover crude from yesterday off Redemption Ridge; I don't say this often, but I didn't like the way my skis worked today - I could never find the sweet spot on the SkiLogics; getting more accustomed to the big hill here - made 1 top to bottom (3,750 vertical feet) today with only 2 stops; finally cleared enough this afternoon to take some scenery pictures.



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Day 49 - Kicking Horse

10" overnight, but delayed opening because of avalanche danger. Instead of remaining in the humongous Gondola line, we walked over took the Catamount chair and did a few laps on the bottom of the hill. Got first tracks on a groomer with 5" or 6" on top and did some low angle powder bumps then went back to the condo for coffee while the Gondi line hopefully diminishes. We'll head back out shortly. Letting Tommy use my Line Supernatural 108's for the remainder of the week.

Went back out and did a couple off Redemption Ridge and one down Feuz Bowl. Mostly clear and comfortable today with a little snow in the late afternoon. 7 runs, 11,000 vertical, skied the Volkl Katana's. Fell 3 times today.



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Day 48 - Kicking Horse

This is a real skier's mountain - big and steep without many groomers. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a lunch break at the top; 2" or 3" overnight, with snow all day and temps in the twenties; just 5 runs, 12,500 vertical; skied the SkiLogic Customs; skiing this week with Tom Watson - we got separated when he was going to walk back out the top of Bowl Over; found some good skiing in the glades under the Gondola; skiing here is a humbling experience - glad I'm not here with either of the Chris's, they'd kick my ass.



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Day 47 - Lake Louise

Day 4 on my Big3 3 day lift ticket. Out 9:00 to 10:15 - I had to drive today, so I just left when I skied to the bottom and didn't want to get in either of the lift lines; 10° with overcast skies and no wind - light snow the whole way from Lake Louise to Kicking Horse; 6 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; some firm groomers with a tiny bit of snow on top; caught the very first chair at 9:00 and didn't really see many people till I made the mistake of returning to the bottom; sad that it was snowing lightly for the drive to Kicking Horse - everyone says it's a spectacular drive, but I didn't get to partake.

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Day 46 - Lake Louise

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a quick coffee break; mostly cloudy with intermittent flurries and temps rising into the teens; 15 runs; 25,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; they've had some snow, but it's obvious they're having a lean snow year; can't get enough of the scenery.



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Day 45 - Sunshine Village

Out 8:30 to 11:30 with a quick coffee break; 6" to 8" overnight - intermittent snow and sunshine with a little wind high up on the western peaks of the resort; 10 runs, 10,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; powder; good morning - got 4 in before it got tracked up at all - left when the crowd started to arrive and really ski it off quickly; rode all but 2 of the main lifts; feeling ok.



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Day 44 - Mount Norquay

Out 9:00 to 12:00 without a break; increasing overcast that ended in some light flurries with temps in the low twenties and no wind; 21 runs; 21,400 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #1's; firm but carvable groomers; basically the only person out till 10:30 or so; funky mountain layout, but there was a marvelous pod of blue groomers at the end of the rainbow; not much snow here either, but it wasn't as firm or crunchy as Nakiska; glad I stuck to my original plan and came here today; didn't get scanned, so my 3 day, Big 3 Pass still has 3 days on it!



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Day 43 - Nakiska

Out 9:00 to 1:15 with a quick coffee break; clearing skies with temps rising into the twenties and some wind up high; 23 runs; 33,000 vertical; skied the Head i.SG RD's; firm, flat, and fast; more people today; skier cross again - fewer kids race training today, SG followed by GS on 1 trail only; finally got to ski my SG skis - first time since I bought them in March '16; talked with a 'local' today and have changed plans just a little - bagging Mt. Norquay, adding a second day at Lake Louise instead.



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Day 42 - Nakiska

New definition for 3f - firm, firmer, firmest! Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; sunny with temps in the upper twenties and a stiff wind the higher up on the hill you went; 20 runs; 28,640 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm and crunchy everywhere - not much snow here - lots of closed trails; didn't get to ski many of the Olympic courses - the top of the DH was closed because of no snow, the SL was closed for snow making, and the SG/bottom of the DH was closed for training - that left the GS, it was firm and rolly but overall flatter than I would have expected; Nakiska is now an Alpine Canada training site and man were they out in force - SL on this slope, GS followed by SL on another, and at least 100 athletes competing on the skier cross course; nobody else on the hill today - no lift line; I'll do one more run tomorrow to get to 30,000 vert; it's really beautiful here.



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Day 41 - Buck Hill

Buck Hill Invitational today - I think every high school kid in the state was here. Out 9:00 to 12:30 with no break - stayed out while all the kids were inside between runs, then just left when I finally went into the bar and couldn't find an empty seat; 40° and overcast with a little wind; 28 runs; 6,000 vertical; 28 runs; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; pretty good conditions - it just got chewed up pretty quickly on the main run(s) that all the kids were using as training; I'm going to guess 400 boys and girls racing today - easily the largest ski race I've ever seen in person; met two neat old guys from Indianhead, Bob "Hak" and Tor Bjorn "Bing" while booting up this morning.

Hairpin, Delay, or Through?


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Day 40 - Granite Peak

It's in Wisconsin. Out 10:00 to 2:30 with a long break for a pizza and 3 beers; a cool, slightly overcast morning developed into a warm, sunshiny afternoon; 32 runs 17,500 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; used the new boots again today; a nice little hill - 700 or so vertical - lots of run choices - 3 high-speed lifts; everything had a little pitch on top with a long run out - think Camelback, but real wide; they kept the runouts on the lower mountain interesting by building tons of rollers; I'd come back here again.



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Day 39 - Snow Trails

Family Ski Day with the Rauschenbergers. Out 9:30 to 3:00 with a couple of long breaks; clear and cold with no wind; 30 runs; 6,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; excellent conditions; no crowd; skied with Lee, Tami, and Mark; used the new boots again today.

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Day 38 - Seven Springs

Out 9:30 to 12:30 with a ½ hour coffee break in the Tahoe Lodge; cold, windy, and snowing lightly - clearing as I left; 23 runs; 15,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; out by myself today; nice morning alternating laps on Gunner and Giant Steps; conditions were pretty good - Gunner was a little firmer than everything else, but still very doable; feeling ok; skiing ok; new boots again today; probably the last time I'll take the shuttle if I've got a choice - see picture.



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Day 37 - Seven Springs

Family ski day with the DiSaia's. Out 9:15 to 2:00 with a long coffee break at the Tahoe Lodge; clear and cold, temps around 10° or so, with no wind; 15 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; conditions were passable given the heavy rain that preceded yesterday's snow; not much of a crowd for a holiday Sunday; skied with Lee, Tony, Dan, and Ashley; Ashley's pretty good given today was her 5th day on skis; used the new boots again today; other than having the start of a cold, I'm feeling pretty good physically.



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Day 36 - Montage

Beer League. Temps in the mid-fifties with a little bit of wind and an impending monsoon; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; 4 runs; 2,000 vertical;

28.74 (14)     29.24 (?)     best - 28.74 (14)

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Day 35 - Mountain Creek

Out 9:00 to 11:45 without a break; clear and cold with no wind - a chilly 15° this morning; 16 runs; 13,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; they made ¼" of snow at the top of the main lift - just enough to hide the rocks and gravel but not enough to prevent me from putting a full length gouge in my right ski when I hit an unseen stone.

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Day 34 - Mountain Creek

Out 9:00 to 1:45 with a quick break for an excellent bowl of clam chowder and a coke; mostly sunny and windy with temps rising through the thirties; 22 runs; 16,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; skied ok - counter, then kink leading with the inside hip; long, long walk to the slopes from the parking lot; the cabriot is the stupidest type of lift ever devised - all of the inconvience of a gondola without the benefits on an enclosed cabin or seats.

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Day 33 - Elk Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Masters SL Race. Out 8:30 to 11:15 with a couple of quick warmup breaks; clear and extremely cold and, thank god, no wind, -11° in the parking lot when I arrived, 5° when I left; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; 8 runs, 6,900 vertical; firm and grippy snow on Slalom; surprisingly there were a lot more people out on the hill today; after a nice first run, i was very disappointed with my effort in the second - rather than fightng to stay in the course I just skied out after getting the tinyest bit late on the third gate.

59.34 (13)    DNF    -

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Day 32 - Elk Mountain

Inagural Mid-Atlantic GS Race! 'Out' 9:15 to 1:00, although most of that time was spent in the lodge; -5° in the parking lot this morning, 0° when I left, otherwise sunny skies and a little windy; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; 6 runs; 5,100 vertical; Slalom was groomed flat and the snow in the course held up very well - smooth and grippy with very few chatter marks; very few people out for a Saturday - they only ran one of the lifts in front of the lodge and there was never a liftline; skied ok; feeling ok.

41.32 (25)     41.54 (23)     1:22.86 (22)

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Day 31 - Elk Mountain

Race Training. Out 9:30 to 2:00 with several short warm up breaks; 0° with mostly cloudy skies and a stiff wind; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 14 runs; 11,900 vertical; the snow was relatively soft and groomed flat; 9 runs through a wide open GS course on the top half of Slalom; despite plenty of traffic the course held up well; high and round worked best given the pitch of the hill; skied my new boots for the first time - I think they're too soft - they also need blown-out for the heel spur on my right foot - I'm using my old boots in tomorrow's GS; today's training was the very first event held by the newly formed Mid Atlanti Masters organization.

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