January 5, 2016, Alpental

Another great country club Tuesday.  Nothing but the usual retirees and those guys who somehow get Tuesday off?!!  Matt n Heidi in first position, Chris second, Frank third, Crispin right in there, and a dozen others got to deal with the wind blown hidden moguls early in the off and on fog.  Even with a 1030 executive start they were no fun for my sore knee but we powered through in the nice 6" fresh cascade powder.  Sadly last year's Colorado fluff is gone now. We missed Snake Dance and Elevator opening but man we scored first tracks in boot top and deeper untracked fresh in Stokes when Nash gate opened around 2pm.  Then Draft Dodger was great but Big Trees had seen skinner poaching.  Thanks Emily and Juya for senior sitting!!

It ain't poaching if it's legal - the Alpental "Back Bowls" beyond Draft Dodger Ridge are excluded from the uphill travel restrictions and are treated as true backcountry. In years past there's been a "gate" there indicating it as such (I haven't been to DDR yet this season to see what all's out there).

I tried to say "Hi" while riding past you this morning, Silas, but all that came out with a mouthful of snow was



Good day, I'm hoping to give it a go again tomorrow.

went to the backest bowls with crispin & Ach today. i will confirm that the obvious shit is skied out but otherwise I couldn't see much else. flat ass cloud cover from 4k-5.5k ruled.