Powder skiing next week, anyone?

[boar2m]

Well, after a long hiatus Ullr finally drops by PNW but his visit appears to be short-lived.  According to the latest forecast, either Monday or Tuesday of next week has the best powder potential.  At the same time frame the windy forecast at Meadows looks discouraging as well.  Meadows usually have issues operating their lifts after any storm even without the wind so you know the drill when it’s windy – limited operations/terrain and the goods get shredded faster than I can say zip-a-dee-doo-dah …yeah still better than not skiing at all.

You know I am really glad to have Meadows in our backyard as our little playground but her short-comings always have me longing for her wild sister farther up north. Skiing at Crystal on powdery weekdays is just so much better than at Meadows that I am getting all aroused and charged up just thinking about her!  Snow at Crystal does not get wind-affected as they do at Meadows/TB, and weekday skiing is not crowded at all.  I often find myself skiing untracked powder ALL DAY long.

Well, I am sitting on the fence at the moment, checking Crystal’s telemetry now and then, hoping for some major dumpage.  If I can find some avid powder hounds to join me on my powder quest up north, that will definitely push me into taking the trip.  So what do you say? After such long dry spell, there has to be at least one pow-hound lurking in here that needs some powder-fix as I do?  Yeah, Kenny and Walt, you won’t be going right after the W/B trip so I am not even asking you two.  Btw I bet Friday/today at Whistler was awesome, eh?

Ok, this is what I am thinking:

If NOAA forecast (shifting all the time I know) hits somewhere or anywhere near their target, and Crystal receives at least a foot of fresh by Sunday, it’s a go! There is really not much to plan for.  You say yes, then we meet up and drive up Sunday night and ski Crystal Mon & Tues ...be flexible and plan on skiing one more day on Wednesday if conditions hold up. If FL remains low and/or snow keeps on coming, we can even change the scenery and hit Alpental on Wednesday before coming home on Wed-nite.

Crystal during weekdays is not nearly as busy as Meadows and she has so much more terrain that I often feel like I am skiing the backcountry wilderness all by my lonesome …and unlike Meadows, even after a major storm all Crystal lifts operate like a clock-work at the 9:00 a.m. bell.  I can almost promise you that I will find untouched snow all day long on Monday and into Tuesday.

I know it's a long shot - heck, I can't even get you to come out and play at Meadows, but what do you say?

[Kenny Brundidge]

Whistler was totally awesome today. Fresh snow overnight, clear skys, no wind, and powder galore! Walt and I hiked up to Flute summit at noon and had a perfect run into Symphony. I can't make Crystal next week, but I am looking forward to Utah!

[boar2m]

Well, Crystal did not provide primo blower days that I was hoping for but she is always fun to play with …hooked up with an off-duty lifty and found plenty of pow-stashes in Left Angle trees.

Looks like I didn't miss too much at Meadows ...70+mph wind, yikes!  In retrospect I am glad I went solo.  I would have been bummed to have taken people all the way up to Crystal to have less than spectacular powder day.  Hopefully next storm cycle turns out to be better than one that we just had.