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April 7, 2019 Snowbird
09 Apr 2019 13:58 #232845
by Zap
When we arrived at the Gadzoom lift office it was sunny. The young ski teams were at the base of the Mid-Gad lift with their parents. We put the sun lenses on our goggles, but by the time we arrived at the top of Gadzoom lift the clouds had arrived and it was "flat light". Let's go higher and ride the Little Cloud lift, hoping to get above the clouds. When we arrived at Hidden Peak at 11,000' it was still "flat light". OK, let's ski down into Mineral Basin; it has a south exposure so we thought it would be spring conditions, ie. the snow would have softened. Wrong, it was "super flat light" and frozen groomed runs. I was thinking that our mid 70's bodies have "old eyes" and I was just missing the fresh spring lines. Wrong. It will take awhile to return to spring conditions, maybe. The ski school staff on this side of the mountain was taking their clients off the Baby Thunder lift because of the flat light and frozen surface. Our past visits were with fresh powder and beautiful conditions. Things happen. It was time to go down and think about plan B.
Snowbasin was in the sun and it was the last day for the Strawberry gondola. We loaded our ski gear in the car and figured that we could be there in an hour. 30 minutes before our arrival I checked my smartphone for another look at Snowbasin and the dark clouds were heading that way. Plan C, keep heading west towards ID. Sun Valley, Bogus Basin, and Brundage all had forecasts with showers for tomorrow and the next couple of days. Looks like the Northwest also has rain and more liquid snow forecast.
Homeward bound. This has been a great trip for the last 21 days from ski areas in OR, CA, CO, UT, and planned ID. Time to get home and take care of things. Jill needs her garden fix and I will start the planning for our downhill and backcountry tours later in the month. Age does have some advantages.
Zap & Jill
April 7, 2019 Snowbird was created by Zap
When we arrived at the Gadzoom lift office it was sunny. The young ski teams were at the base of the Mid-Gad lift with their parents. We put the sun lenses on our goggles, but by the time we arrived at the top of Gadzoom lift the clouds had arrived and it was "flat light". Let's go higher and ride the Little Cloud lift, hoping to get above the clouds. When we arrived at Hidden Peak at 11,000' it was still "flat light". OK, let's ski down into Mineral Basin; it has a south exposure so we thought it would be spring conditions, ie. the snow would have softened. Wrong, it was "super flat light" and frozen groomed runs. I was thinking that our mid 70's bodies have "old eyes" and I was just missing the fresh spring lines. Wrong. It will take awhile to return to spring conditions, maybe. The ski school staff on this side of the mountain was taking their clients off the Baby Thunder lift because of the flat light and frozen surface. Our past visits were with fresh powder and beautiful conditions. Things happen. It was time to go down and think about plan B.
Snowbasin was in the sun and it was the last day for the Strawberry gondola. We loaded our ski gear in the car and figured that we could be there in an hour. 30 minutes before our arrival I checked my smartphone for another look at Snowbasin and the dark clouds were heading that way. Plan C, keep heading west towards ID. Sun Valley, Bogus Basin, and Brundage all had forecasts with showers for tomorrow and the next couple of days. Looks like the Northwest also has rain and more liquid snow forecast.
Homeward bound. This has been a great trip for the last 21 days from ski areas in OR, CA, CO, UT, and planned ID. Time to get home and take care of things. Jill needs her garden fix and I will start the planning for our downhill and backcountry tours later in the month. Age does have some advantages.
Zap & Jill
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