Had a most pleasant flight from LA to Brisbane. I managed 5 or 6 hours sleep. The Bose noise cancelling headphones will be a necessity for all future flights.
Sitting in Brisbane Airport for a couple of hours waiting for connecting flight to Perth provides the ideal opportunity to recap and reflect on US Ski 2015.
It goes without saying it was an absolutely awesome trip. A little more of the deep stuff would have been good, and it is somewhat ironic that we caught Colorado and Utah in one of their driest Januarys on record. But that's ski vacations. You pay your money you take your chance. We got terrific packed and groomed winter snow everywhere we went.
One of the most striking things about this trip is that each resort had its own special flavour and unique points of difference.
I skied 20 of a possible 24 days on snow in the US. Not a bad result given the mileage covered travelling between resorts and the body management requirements.
It's great to read the Niseko blog and see the team has been getting some quality pow. You've gotta love Japan for the way it can consistently turn it on. Snowbird is renowned for its consistent deep snow in much the same way as is Niseko, so I feel there is an itch that may need some scratching in the future.
Niseko or Snowbird in 2016....that's gonna be a tough call.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Day 24 Snowbird - A mixed bag
Last day in Snowbird dawned dark and gloomy and windy, so I took that as a good excuse to have a lie in. I also needed to pack and check out of the hotel. Got up around 8:30am, had a long leisurely breakfast, sorted out me gear and checked out.
Hit the Peruvian Express at 10:30am. The tram wasn't running. Half way up Peruvian it started snowing hard. Big hail like flakes called Graupel. Caused by turbulence in the cloud that swirls the snow flake around, the Graupel flake gets layered with more and more ice until it becomes too heavy and falls from the sky.
Graupel is like polystyrene pellets and when it accumulates in reasonable depth its like skiing through a big bean bag. It was snowing so hard today that within a couple of hours there was about 2 - 3cm accumulation. More than enough for the bean bag effect.
So the sensation under foot (ski) was very nice indeed. Unfortunately it wasn't matched by the visibility which was appalling. Overall sensation was like skiing through a bean bag with your eyes closed.
Not entirely conducive to relaxing, last day, wind down skiing. I broke for lunch at 1:30pm, keeping an eye on the accumulation because I didn't want to get snowed in and miss my flight.
Lunch was great, I dined at the Fork Lift restaurant which is one of the more posh restaurants in the Snowbird centre...although you wouldn't get that from the name.
I thought what the hell it's me last day....let's splash out. Most the other restaurants were closed so there wasn't a whole lot of options. But lunch was great, and not overly expensive, given it was silver service, and I even had a glass of chardonnay.
It had stopped snowing when I returned to the slopes after lunch. But the visibility was still terrible on top, and the warm temperatures on the bottom meant the snow lower down was very, very heavy and sticky. Elephant snot we call it. A very mixed bag of conditions.
So I called it a day at 3:45pm and returned to the Inn to shower, change, repack my ski gear, and await the shuttle departure at 4:45pm.
Sorry no pics today 'cos me iphone decided it was out of memory, and I'd packed me vid cam. The weather was horrendous anyway.
All in all a fantastic trip. Snowbird is awesome and the perfect epilog to the skiing extravaganza.
Would love to come back sometime, especially if I could get the timing right and hit it with some POW.
Hit the Peruvian Express at 10:30am. The tram wasn't running. Half way up Peruvian it started snowing hard. Big hail like flakes called Graupel. Caused by turbulence in the cloud that swirls the snow flake around, the Graupel flake gets layered with more and more ice until it becomes too heavy and falls from the sky.
Graupel is like polystyrene pellets and when it accumulates in reasonable depth its like skiing through a big bean bag. It was snowing so hard today that within a couple of hours there was about 2 - 3cm accumulation. More than enough for the bean bag effect.
So the sensation under foot (ski) was very nice indeed. Unfortunately it wasn't matched by the visibility which was appalling. Overall sensation was like skiing through a bean bag with your eyes closed.
Not entirely conducive to relaxing, last day, wind down skiing. I broke for lunch at 1:30pm, keeping an eye on the accumulation because I didn't want to get snowed in and miss my flight.
Lunch was great, I dined at the Fork Lift restaurant which is one of the more posh restaurants in the Snowbird centre...although you wouldn't get that from the name.
I thought what the hell it's me last day....let's splash out. Most the other restaurants were closed so there wasn't a whole lot of options. But lunch was great, and not overly expensive, given it was silver service, and I even had a glass of chardonnay.
It had stopped snowing when I returned to the slopes after lunch. But the visibility was still terrible on top, and the warm temperatures on the bottom meant the snow lower down was very, very heavy and sticky. Elephant snot we call it. A very mixed bag of conditions.
So I called it a day at 3:45pm and returned to the Inn to shower, change, repack my ski gear, and await the shuttle departure at 4:45pm.
Sorry no pics today 'cos me iphone decided it was out of memory, and I'd packed me vid cam. The weather was horrendous anyway.
All in all a fantastic trip. Snowbird is awesome and the perfect epilog to the skiing extravaganza.
Would love to come back sometime, especially if I could get the timing right and hit it with some POW.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Day 23 Snowbird - Boogying in the bumps
Another late start today. Hit the tram at 10am. It dawned another blue bird day but I got engrossed watching Eddie Murphy - Coming to America on TV while I was stretching. You know you're getting skied out when re-runs of 25 year old movies take precedence to hitting the slopes.
I have to say though, this condo is damned luxurious. It's almost a shame to leave it.
The day warmed up and was hot hot hot. The snow that had melted down low yesterday had frozen overnight, so the lower slopes were glass. Even the groomed ones. Surprisingly I seemed to enjoy skidding around on the lower groomed runs doing little short flick flick turns with no hope of holding an edge. It was an achievement just to remain upright. One thing about slick snow, it's extremely easy to turn the skis, so I was enjoying that aspect. And the back was feeling better today, so I could actually get a bit of angulation happening without feeling like I should book a session with the chiropractor.
Stopped off for hot chocolate with whipped cream at Creekside Restaurant at the bottom of the Gadzoom Express. The girl must've misunderstood me 'cos she gave me whipped cream with hot chocolate. Out on the deck a lady enquired why I was having dessert at 11am.
Found a deck chair and stretched out, relaxed for 30 minutes or so. An absolutely stunning day...it's a hard life in the mountains. :-)
Skidded around on the hard snow for a few more runs and then broke for lunch around 1pm. Checked my emails and found I had an email from Bankwest credit card fraud section. Apparently they'd noticed a couple of suspicious transactions on my credit card and they needed me to call them. So called BW for a chat and we ended up putting a hold on my card because the transactions were not me. So someone, somewhere has phished my card. I've been pretty careful where I've been using it....Symo did warn me. My guess is that it was probably at Denver airport.
Anyway it appears someone has been spending up large at Walmart in Carterville (where ever the f*** that is) on my dime. From what BW says, Walmart will cop it because they didn't verify the card. The sooner the US gets with the program and ditches signing for PINs the better.
I have to say I'm most impressed with BW's attention in spotting the potentially fraudulent transactions, putting a hold on the card, and promptly alerting me. Given I'm only in the US for another 24 hours and my ATM card is still good, I should be OK, but the BW rep said he would keep the card active (but on hold) and if I need to use it in an emergency I can call them and they will release the hold for the time it takes for me to pay for whatever. Pretty dialled in I reckon.
That problem solved, I mysteriously had a burst of late afternoon energy, and skied a couple of the steep shady faces off Cirque Traverse in Peruvian Gulch beneath the tram. The snow was fabulous...still. I followed some local chicks down one chute (showing off) and it got seriously narrow. Luckily I was able to cut out and ski a much more open face.
The turns really were feeling good...way more flexibility in the torso than I've had for the past week or so.
Deciding I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb I took a run down the shirt front bumps - ie black diamond bumps beneath Peruvian Express. A run called Silver Fox. The bumps were big, steep and crusty...slushy snow just starting to harden as the sun descended in the afternoon sky.
It wasn't so much boogying in the bumps as doing the zimmer frame shuffle in the bumps, but I really enjoyed it. It's very satisfying to be able to navigate such a challenging bump run in total control and with style if not athleticism. To any of the Niseko crew that may read this, I was squashing the bug all the way down.
I was feeling so exuberant I jumped on Peruvian Express at 3:55pm for one last run. Hit the steep shady slopes again, gave the bumps a miss in favour of a groomed cool down and pulled into the base area at 4:20pm.
A day that started in ho hum fashion turning into a classic.
I have to say though, this condo is damned luxurious. It's almost a shame to leave it.
The day warmed up and was hot hot hot. The snow that had melted down low yesterday had frozen overnight, so the lower slopes were glass. Even the groomed ones. Surprisingly I seemed to enjoy skidding around on the lower groomed runs doing little short flick flick turns with no hope of holding an edge. It was an achievement just to remain upright. One thing about slick snow, it's extremely easy to turn the skis, so I was enjoying that aspect. And the back was feeling better today, so I could actually get a bit of angulation happening without feeling like I should book a session with the chiropractor.
Stopped off for hot chocolate with whipped cream at Creekside Restaurant at the bottom of the Gadzoom Express. The girl must've misunderstood me 'cos she gave me whipped cream with hot chocolate. Out on the deck a lady enquired why I was having dessert at 11am.
Found a deck chair and stretched out, relaxed for 30 minutes or so. An absolutely stunning day...it's a hard life in the mountains. :-)
 |
| Gad Valley |
Anyway it appears someone has been spending up large at Walmart in Carterville (where ever the f*** that is) on my dime. From what BW says, Walmart will cop it because they didn't verify the card. The sooner the US gets with the program and ditches signing for PINs the better.
I have to say I'm most impressed with BW's attention in spotting the potentially fraudulent transactions, putting a hold on the card, and promptly alerting me. Given I'm only in the US for another 24 hours and my ATM card is still good, I should be OK, but the BW rep said he would keep the card active (but on hold) and if I need to use it in an emergency I can call them and they will release the hold for the time it takes for me to pay for whatever. Pretty dialled in I reckon.
That problem solved, I mysteriously had a burst of late afternoon energy, and skied a couple of the steep shady faces off Cirque Traverse in Peruvian Gulch beneath the tram. The snow was fabulous...still. I followed some local chicks down one chute (showing off) and it got seriously narrow. Luckily I was able to cut out and ski a much more open face.
The turns really were feeling good...way more flexibility in the torso than I've had for the past week or so.
 |
| The open face in the middle, narrow chute to left |
Deciding I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb I took a run down the shirt front bumps - ie black diamond bumps beneath Peruvian Express. A run called Silver Fox. The bumps were big, steep and crusty...slushy snow just starting to harden as the sun descended in the afternoon sky.
It wasn't so much boogying in the bumps as doing the zimmer frame shuffle in the bumps, but I really enjoyed it. It's very satisfying to be able to navigate such a challenging bump run in total control and with style if not athleticism. To any of the Niseko crew that may read this, I was squashing the bug all the way down.
I was feeling so exuberant I jumped on Peruvian Express at 3:55pm for one last run. Hit the steep shady slopes again, gave the bumps a miss in favour of a groomed cool down and pulled into the base area at 4:20pm.
A day that started in ho hum fashion turning into a classic.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Day 22 Snowbird - The Aerial Flyer
I made it to the Peruvian Express by 9:45am. No excuses just found it a bit hard to get motivated. The day was kinda overcast, flat light, and I've done a lot of skiing. Before leaving on this trip I wasn't sure if the body would hold up for 20 odd days skiing but it's done pretty well. Today was my 18th day on snow.
The tram was closed again, although it didn't feel very windy. Fifty metres up the hill we heard an unmistakeable noise. The sleeping giant was being awoken from its slumber. They were firing up the Aerial Flyer.
The tag line for today could have been Double Black Diamond, or Off Piste Heaven, or Chuting up in Snowbird, because I skied off piste double black faces and chutes all day. It was a very full day. But the Aerial Flyer was pretty special.
So we'll skip the first three or four runs down the steep walls of Baldy's Bowl, the next bowl over from Peruvian Bowl, kinda like having two Mt Hutts side by side. I had started the day off content to do ski instructor type turns on the groomed, flat light, sore body and all that. My turns took me down to Creekside at the far right of the area because I hadn't yet been there. I rode the Gadzoom High Speed Quad into Gad Valley (Breckenridge could learn a few things from Snowbird) with a very nice local girl who responded to my praise of her ski resort by saying I should ride Little Cloud Lift to the top because there would be great soft snow on the shady faces of Baldys Bowl. I did and there was.
The snow was sublime. It was like skiing the Towers at Mt Hutt a few days after a storm when the snow has packed down but is still soft and you just sink into it. Ego snow.
Snowbird has some really amazing terrain, and the best thing about it....no bumps. There are bumps but there's a ton of smooth, steep off piste terrain. Something we couldn't seem to find at any of the other places we visited.
So that was the first three or four runs that I wasn't gonna tell you about. After those three of four, or five or six runs I headed to the bottom to take a fun ride on the tram.
And what an experience it was.
The Snowbird tram has a capacity of 125 skiers. It is massive.
One of the most striking things about it is that it travels above the resort. The towers are so high you're looking down on the resort the whole time. It's like being in a helicopter. The tram runs above Peruvian Gulch. As you're gliding to the top you can look across at the Peruvian Gulch ridge line and watch people dropping off the ridge into the chutes below. When the tram blasts past the towers it dips and sways gently like a cruise liner ploughing through a swell.
The most striking thing about riding the tram however, is the din from 125 skiers all talking at the same time...as only Americans can.
In addition to being a pretty spectacular way to access the top of the mountain the tram opens up some amazing terrain along the walls of Peruvian Gulch.
It took me a while to pluck up the courage to drop into one of the chutes off Cirque Traverse (the ridge above Peruvian Gulch) but once in, the snow was superb and the slope comfortably steep. It was such an adrenalin rush, I rode the tram back up and skied it again.
As you can probably tell from the pics it didn't stay grey and overcast for too long. Turned out to be a very nice day. Overall I'm very impressed with Snowbird. It's got it all, amazing terrain, terrific snow given the drought conditions, and a functional no frills base area. Terrain and snow wise it would be my pick of all the resorts we've visited.
The tram was closed again, although it didn't feel very windy. Fifty metres up the hill we heard an unmistakeable noise. The sleeping giant was being awoken from its slumber. They were firing up the Aerial Flyer.
The tag line for today could have been Double Black Diamond, or Off Piste Heaven, or Chuting up in Snowbird, because I skied off piste double black faces and chutes all day. It was a very full day. But the Aerial Flyer was pretty special.
 |
| Alta customs and immigration at top of Mineral Basin |
So we'll skip the first three or four runs down the steep walls of Baldy's Bowl, the next bowl over from Peruvian Bowl, kinda like having two Mt Hutts side by side. I had started the day off content to do ski instructor type turns on the groomed, flat light, sore body and all that. My turns took me down to Creekside at the far right of the area because I hadn't yet been there. I rode the Gadzoom High Speed Quad into Gad Valley (Breckenridge could learn a few things from Snowbird) with a very nice local girl who responded to my praise of her ski resort by saying I should ride Little Cloud Lift to the top because there would be great soft snow on the shady faces of Baldys Bowl. I did and there was.
 |
| Baldys Bowl. Nice pitch, awesome snow. |
 |
| Baldys Bowl |
The snow was sublime. It was like skiing the Towers at Mt Hutt a few days after a storm when the snow has packed down but is still soft and you just sink into it. Ego snow.
 |
| Hamilton Cliffs in Mineral Basin |
 |
| Satisfied got down Hamilton in one piece. |
Snowbird has some really amazing terrain, and the best thing about it....no bumps. There are bumps but there's a ton of smooth, steep off piste terrain. Something we couldn't seem to find at any of the other places we visited.
So that was the first three or four runs that I wasn't gonna tell you about. After those three of four, or five or six runs I headed to the bottom to take a fun ride on the tram.
And what an experience it was.
The Snowbird tram has a capacity of 125 skiers. It is massive.
One of the most striking things about it is that it travels above the resort. The towers are so high you're looking down on the resort the whole time. It's like being in a helicopter. The tram runs above Peruvian Gulch. As you're gliding to the top you can look across at the Peruvian Gulch ridge line and watch people dropping off the ridge into the chutes below. When the tram blasts past the towers it dips and sways gently like a cruise liner ploughing through a swell.
The most striking thing about riding the tram however, is the din from 125 skiers all talking at the same time...as only Americans can.
In addition to being a pretty spectacular way to access the top of the mountain the tram opens up some amazing terrain along the walls of Peruvian Gulch.
It took me a while to pluck up the courage to drop into one of the chutes off Cirque Traverse (the ridge above Peruvian Gulch) but once in, the snow was superb and the slope comfortably steep. It was such an adrenalin rush, I rode the tram back up and skied it again.
 |
| Middle Cirque accessed from the tram. I skied this baby twice. |
 |
| Looking down from Baldys Bowl. |
As you can probably tell from the pics it didn't stay grey and overcast for too long. Turned out to be a very nice day. Overall I'm very impressed with Snowbird. It's got it all, amazing terrain, terrific snow given the drought conditions, and a functional no frills base area. Terrain and snow wise it would be my pick of all the resorts we've visited.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Day 21 Snowbird - Mount Hutt on steroids
The pull down bed provided a remarkably comfortable sleep. I awoke just before 8am fully intending to get to the tram by 9am. An hour to cook and eat pancakes, roll, stretch, get into the ski kit and walk the 100m to the lift should be plenty of time yeah?
Trouble is the pancakes took way longer than expected to cook. The stupid electric element just wouldn't heat up. I so prefer cooking with gas, it's instant heat. I had the element on medium but out of frustration I turned it up to high. In the meantime I burnt 3 rounds of toast because I was getting so distracted by the pancakes and the element that refused to heat up. Eventually I put me specs on and it all became clear. I'd turned the element down to low, not up to high. :-)
The mystery of the reluctant element solved I finally tucked into my pancakes and peanut butter on toast. No coffee though, I'd forgotten to get it at the supermarket so had to settle for mountain dew.
I got to the tram at 9:45am, not acceptable by Mason standards but what can you do. The tram wasn't running... too windy, so I boarded the nearest high speed quad, Peruvian Express, and headed up. My chairlift buddy was a very friendly snowboarder chap who told me this was the windiest day of the season and every other time he'd ridden Snowbird there'd been at least a foot of fresh powder....spewing.
We crested the ridge that towers above the 'village' and entered a massive bowl called Peruvian Gulch, which was quite reminiscent of Mt Hutt...only bigger (naturally this is America), and with lots of trees. The wind picked up and the chair was getting buffeted around quite a bit...the similarities with Mount Hutt continued. This particular chair terminated at the base of a cliff about 30m from the top of the bowl. I got off the chair and slid past a hole in the cliff face...a tunnel with a magic carpet that people were entering and being whisked away into the darkness. I'll have to check that out I thought, but first things first, warm up run. The wind was blowing snow around and it became immediately evident that there were some fabulous pockets of wind drifted powder.
I started on a blue called Chip's Run but got drawn into a black called Primrose Path, a natural half pipe that was loaded with wind drifted snow. Not sure why it's rated black, it was awesome. The snow was so soft, the next best thing to actual powder.
I rode Peruvian Express again, the howling wind, appeared to be getting stronger. Mt Hutt probably would be closed under similar conditions. Exiting Peruvian I lined up the magic carpet for a run through the tunnel. The tunnel, about 100m long, cuts through the mountain and comes out the other side in a bowl called Mineral Basin. In contrast to the blustery conditions of Peruvian Gulch, Mineral was completely calm.
More stunning scenery and terrific snow. I got a couple of runs in Mineral Basin before the wind got up. Somehow it went from calm to gale in 15 minutes. They kept the Mineral Express running to allow people to get back to the other side. By the time I got to the other side the wind was raging like Mt Hutt on steroids. I took a couple of runs on lower lifts but visibility was getting pretty tough, horizontal blowing snow will do that. By 1:30pm they'd closed the whole mountain. Apparently a first for Snowbird this season.
All in all I didn't get a whole lot of skiing in today. But what skiing I got was pretty good. Snowbird is an amazing mountain with a ton of wicked terrain, and the snow condition is as good as anywhere. Compared to other places we've been the runs are quite narrow, and quite crowded given Snowbird's close proximity to Salt Lake City. Didn't see too many decent skiers....none in fact. Lots of kids on stunt skis blasting around out of control.
Wasn't that bothered about early finish. Hit the gym for a workout, then hot tub. Soaking in the hot tub surrounded by the mountains was pretty special.
Bought some groceries and gonna have a cook up at home tonight. Will definately hit the tram by 9am tomorrow.
Trouble is the pancakes took way longer than expected to cook. The stupid electric element just wouldn't heat up. I so prefer cooking with gas, it's instant heat. I had the element on medium but out of frustration I turned it up to high. In the meantime I burnt 3 rounds of toast because I was getting so distracted by the pancakes and the element that refused to heat up. Eventually I put me specs on and it all became clear. I'd turned the element down to low, not up to high. :-)
The mystery of the reluctant element solved I finally tucked into my pancakes and peanut butter on toast. No coffee though, I'd forgotten to get it at the supermarket so had to settle for mountain dew.
I got to the tram at 9:45am, not acceptable by Mason standards but what can you do. The tram wasn't running... too windy, so I boarded the nearest high speed quad, Peruvian Express, and headed up. My chairlift buddy was a very friendly snowboarder chap who told me this was the windiest day of the season and every other time he'd ridden Snowbird there'd been at least a foot of fresh powder....spewing.
 |
| Peruvian Express quad and the Cliffs complex beyond. Not sure how it got it's name. |
We crested the ridge that towers above the 'village' and entered a massive bowl called Peruvian Gulch, which was quite reminiscent of Mt Hutt...only bigger (naturally this is America), and with lots of trees. The wind picked up and the chair was getting buffeted around quite a bit...the similarities with Mount Hutt continued. This particular chair terminated at the base of a cliff about 30m from the top of the bowl. I got off the chair and slid past a hole in the cliff face...a tunnel with a magic carpet that people were entering and being whisked away into the darkness. I'll have to check that out I thought, but first things first, warm up run. The wind was blowing snow around and it became immediately evident that there were some fabulous pockets of wind drifted powder.
I started on a blue called Chip's Run but got drawn into a black called Primrose Path, a natural half pipe that was loaded with wind drifted snow. Not sure why it's rated black, it was awesome. The snow was so soft, the next best thing to actual powder.
I rode Peruvian Express again, the howling wind, appeared to be getting stronger. Mt Hutt probably would be closed under similar conditions. Exiting Peruvian I lined up the magic carpet for a run through the tunnel. The tunnel, about 100m long, cuts through the mountain and comes out the other side in a bowl called Mineral Basin. In contrast to the blustery conditions of Peruvian Gulch, Mineral was completely calm.
 |
| Mineral Basin |
All in all I didn't get a whole lot of skiing in today. But what skiing I got was pretty good. Snowbird is an amazing mountain with a ton of wicked terrain, and the snow condition is as good as anywhere. Compared to other places we've been the runs are quite narrow, and quite crowded given Snowbird's close proximity to Salt Lake City. Didn't see too many decent skiers....none in fact. Lots of kids on stunt skis blasting around out of control.
 |
| Snowbird base area the Inn is right foreground. |
Bought some groceries and gonna have a cook up at home tonight. Will definately hit the tram by 9am tomorrow.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Day 20 Snowbird - The bird is the word
Another down day today. Slept in until 9:00am. Had a surprisingly good sleep given the Airport Inn is one of the noisiest hotels I've ever stayed in. Being located right next to SLC International Airport there were planes coming and going all night.
Breakfasted at the hotel and caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport to catch the Alta Shuttle to Snowbird...comprendez?
The ride out of town was unique. It's not every day you find yourself bombing along a six lane freeway in the outer suburbs of a major city with towering mountain ranges on three sides.
The conversation of my fellow shuttleites was a little on the gloomy side...much more snow in previous years, the snow should be thick on the ground in the valley this time of year, global warming etc.
It was a beautiful and warm day. A great day to be taking a ride into the mountains.
Snowbird is only 26 miles from down town SLC, so it only took 40 odd minutes to get there. Unlike Telluride where once we left the plains and hit the snow we seemed to drive for miles before reaching the resort, with Snowbird it's a sudden steep climb just before the resort, so one minute there's very little snow and the next minute you're surrounded by it.
Snowbird is another fascinating place and entirely different from all the other resorts we've visited. It comprises two distinct ski areas (Snowbird and Alta) that are interconnected but that don't share the same lift pass. If I wish to ski across to Alta I have to pay a $32 upgrade on my lift pass.
The resorts are owned and operated by two different companies.
When approaching from SLC you hit Snowbird first, Alta is only another 500m up the road. For all intents and purposes they appear to be the one resort.
The Bird is a purpose build resort. There is no town as such. There are resort complexes sprinkled along the extremely narrow valley floor. I'm staying in a complex called The Inn. It's a seven story apartment building equipped with a gym and outdoor heated pool, and hot tubs. The Snowbird base area complex is situated a short walk from the Inn.
The Snowbird Centre is a multi story building that contains several restaurants, ski shops, resort offices, the aerial tram (yes SB has an aerial tram), and a decent sized supermarket.
The Snowbird company owns and operates everything. I was given a guest card which allows me to book up all my purchases to my room. But I keep forgetting to use it and so far have been paying with my credit card.
The whole operation is really slick. I popped into the supermarket to get some breakfast supplies, and the nice young checkout girl asked me if I would like her to call a shuttle to take me back to my apartment. I said thanks but I think I can manage the 5 minute walk with my groceries. Basically they've got shuttles on demand for guests.
And now to my apartment. It's awesome. I'm on the 3rd floor but I took the elevator down from reception. There's a massive balcony that opens out onto the panoramic mountain vista. It's got a well equipped kitchen, fire place, powder room...that's right powder room, and a wall bed. I have to pull the wall bed out, it doesn't have a remote, but you can't have everything I guess.
The weather was very warm today, and it got quite windy in the afternoon. That warm norwester type wind, so I expect the snow will be spring conditions down low tomorrow. The plan is to hit the tram early-ish...I haven't ridden a tram since Kitzbuhel in 1984, so that's gonna be another little piece of novelty.
Mason called to have a chat and tell me their flight out of Denver had been cancelled so they're overnighting in Denver.
Breakfasted at the hotel and caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport to catch the Alta Shuttle to Snowbird...comprendez?
The ride out of town was unique. It's not every day you find yourself bombing along a six lane freeway in the outer suburbs of a major city with towering mountain ranges on three sides.
The conversation of my fellow shuttleites was a little on the gloomy side...much more snow in previous years, the snow should be thick on the ground in the valley this time of year, global warming etc.
It was a beautiful and warm day. A great day to be taking a ride into the mountains.
Snowbird is only 26 miles from down town SLC, so it only took 40 odd minutes to get there. Unlike Telluride where once we left the plains and hit the snow we seemed to drive for miles before reaching the resort, with Snowbird it's a sudden steep climb just before the resort, so one minute there's very little snow and the next minute you're surrounded by it.
Snowbird is another fascinating place and entirely different from all the other resorts we've visited. It comprises two distinct ski areas (Snowbird and Alta) that are interconnected but that don't share the same lift pass. If I wish to ski across to Alta I have to pay a $32 upgrade on my lift pass.
The resorts are owned and operated by two different companies.
 |
| Snowbird from my balcony |
When approaching from SLC you hit Snowbird first, Alta is only another 500m up the road. For all intents and purposes they appear to be the one resort.
The Bird is a purpose build resort. There is no town as such. There are resort complexes sprinkled along the extremely narrow valley floor. I'm staying in a complex called The Inn. It's a seven story apartment building equipped with a gym and outdoor heated pool, and hot tubs. The Snowbird base area complex is situated a short walk from the Inn.
The Snowbird Centre is a multi story building that contains several restaurants, ski shops, resort offices, the aerial tram (yes SB has an aerial tram), and a decent sized supermarket.
The Snowbird company owns and operates everything. I was given a guest card which allows me to book up all my purchases to my room. But I keep forgetting to use it and so far have been paying with my credit card.
 |
| The Bird from inside my apartment |
 |
| The Bird is the word |
The whole operation is really slick. I popped into the supermarket to get some breakfast supplies, and the nice young checkout girl asked me if I would like her to call a shuttle to take me back to my apartment. I said thanks but I think I can manage the 5 minute walk with my groceries. Basically they've got shuttles on demand for guests.
And now to my apartment. It's awesome. I'm on the 3rd floor but I took the elevator down from reception. There's a massive balcony that opens out onto the panoramic mountain vista. It's got a well equipped kitchen, fire place, powder room...that's right powder room, and a wall bed. I have to pull the wall bed out, it doesn't have a remote, but you can't have everything I guess.
The weather was very warm today, and it got quite windy in the afternoon. That warm norwester type wind, so I expect the snow will be spring conditions down low tomorrow. The plan is to hit the tram early-ish...I haven't ridden a tram since Kitzbuhel in 1984, so that's gonna be another little piece of novelty.
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| That's the other side of the valley behind me |
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| Looking towards Snowbird from the same place as above. See how narrow the valley is. |
Mason called to have a chat and tell me their flight out of Denver had been cancelled so they're overnighting in Denver.
Day 19 Aspen - Stuck in Aspen and all that jazz
I was up early on Aspen departure day. Mason and Claire dropped me off at Aspen airport at 7:50am well ahead of the 9:20am departure time.
It was snowing lightly as has been the norm for the past few days, but I'd checked the Aspen airport channel before leaving and all flights were on time.
And there were three planes on the ground. Joanie Valentine had assured me last night that as long as the planes were on the ground they would be able to get them away even if the weather was dodgy. Landing in bad weather was the problem. So I felt confident as I sipped my coffee.
At 8:15am we were informed the 9:20 flight had been delayed until 10:00am due to a snow storm over Denver airport. No big drama I would still have time to make my connecting flight in Denver.
At 9:50am the delay was bumped out to 10:30am. Starting to get worried now because that would make it extremely tight for the connecting flight. Ground staff assured me that the connecting flight out of Denver to Salt Lake City was delayed also and I should be fine. And in any case there was a 3.30pm Denver to SLC flight in the event I missed my connecting flight.
Finally at 10:30 the flight was cleared to go, however a minor maintenance issue would delay departure until 10:45. At 10:45 another announcement informed us that the maintenance issue was taking longer than expected and there would be a further delay of 1 1/2 hours. Expected departure 12:30pm.
I called a United customer service number and was told I'd missed my original connecting flight, and the 3.30pm flight was full but they could get me on a 6:55pm flight. Not much good to me, the ball game was due to tip off at 7pm.
I resigned myself to getting into SLC around 8:30pm and missing the ball game.
Eventually the maintenance issue was resolved, we were allowed to board and were away by 12:40pm. The flight was brief...35 minutes, so I was into Denver by 1:15pm. Raced to the United customer service desk, and the very nice man confirmed me on the 6:55pm flight and also gave me a standby boarding pass for the 3:30pm flight. He said it was full, but you never know your luck and he had put me near the top of the standby list. It appeared there were quite a few people wanting to get on the 3:30 flight.
I grabbed a coffee and sandwich and headed over to gate B92 to wait for boarding. Eventually the boarding announcement was made, the gate attendant said there was one spare seat and they would see if there were any other no shows after final boarding.
Finally all confirmed passengers had boarded and there were about 10 people hovering hopefully around the gate. The standby competition.
The attendant announced that there was one empty seat only and would Mark Power please come to the gate. I could not believe my luck. It was like winning lotto. I could feel the daggers in my back as I collected my boarding pass, thanked the attendant profusely and bounded down the air bridge.
The flight was fabulous. The descent into Salt Lake City was particularly impressive. SLC is nestled in the foothills of some pretty spectacular mountains, so as you lose altitude you're glancing across at jagged peaks that you feel like you could touch.
Got the shuttle to the hotel, dumped my stuff, quick change and legged it a couple hundred metres down the road to the light rail station. Bought a ticket for $2.50 which got me to the station right outside the arena.
The teams were still going through their warm up drills as I settled into my seat. The seat was awesome. Five rows back directly behind the Utah Jazz bench. The atmosphere was amazing. It was a great game although the Jazz trailed for most the game and ended up losing by 10 points. The size, speed and agility of the players was impressive.
I really enjoyed the game and was stoked that I got there in the end.
I caught the light rail after the game and was back at the hotel by 10:00pm.
Gonna have a bit of a lie in tomorrow, breakfast in the hotel and then back to the airport to catch the shuttle to Snowbird at 11am.
It was snowing lightly as has been the norm for the past few days, but I'd checked the Aspen airport channel before leaving and all flights were on time.
And there were three planes on the ground. Joanie Valentine had assured me last night that as long as the planes were on the ground they would be able to get them away even if the weather was dodgy. Landing in bad weather was the problem. So I felt confident as I sipped my coffee.
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| Limelight L-R: Harry, Andrew, Jamie, Joan, Mason, Claire, Me |
At 8:15am we were informed the 9:20 flight had been delayed until 10:00am due to a snow storm over Denver airport. No big drama I would still have time to make my connecting flight in Denver.
At 9:50am the delay was bumped out to 10:30am. Starting to get worried now because that would make it extremely tight for the connecting flight. Ground staff assured me that the connecting flight out of Denver to Salt Lake City was delayed also and I should be fine. And in any case there was a 3.30pm Denver to SLC flight in the event I missed my connecting flight.
Finally at 10:30 the flight was cleared to go, however a minor maintenance issue would delay departure until 10:45. At 10:45 another announcement informed us that the maintenance issue was taking longer than expected and there would be a further delay of 1 1/2 hours. Expected departure 12:30pm.
I called a United customer service number and was told I'd missed my original connecting flight, and the 3.30pm flight was full but they could get me on a 6:55pm flight. Not much good to me, the ball game was due to tip off at 7pm.
I resigned myself to getting into SLC around 8:30pm and missing the ball game.
Eventually the maintenance issue was resolved, we were allowed to board and were away by 12:40pm. The flight was brief...35 minutes, so I was into Denver by 1:15pm. Raced to the United customer service desk, and the very nice man confirmed me on the 6:55pm flight and also gave me a standby boarding pass for the 3:30pm flight. He said it was full, but you never know your luck and he had put me near the top of the standby list. It appeared there were quite a few people wanting to get on the 3:30 flight.
I grabbed a coffee and sandwich and headed over to gate B92 to wait for boarding. Eventually the boarding announcement was made, the gate attendant said there was one spare seat and they would see if there were any other no shows after final boarding.
Finally all confirmed passengers had boarded and there were about 10 people hovering hopefully around the gate. The standby competition.
The attendant announced that there was one empty seat only and would Mark Power please come to the gate. I could not believe my luck. It was like winning lotto. I could feel the daggers in my back as I collected my boarding pass, thanked the attendant profusely and bounded down the air bridge.
The flight was fabulous. The descent into Salt Lake City was particularly impressive. SLC is nestled in the foothills of some pretty spectacular mountains, so as you lose altitude you're glancing across at jagged peaks that you feel like you could touch.
Got the shuttle to the hotel, dumped my stuff, quick change and legged it a couple hundred metres down the road to the light rail station. Bought a ticket for $2.50 which got me to the station right outside the arena.
The teams were still going through their warm up drills as I settled into my seat. The seat was awesome. Five rows back directly behind the Utah Jazz bench. The atmosphere was amazing. It was a great game although the Jazz trailed for most the game and ended up losing by 10 points. The size, speed and agility of the players was impressive.
I really enjoyed the game and was stoked that I got there in the end.
I caught the light rail after the game and was back at the hotel by 10:00pm.
Gonna have a bit of a lie in tomorrow, breakfast in the hotel and then back to the airport to catch the shuttle to Snowbird at 11am.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Day 18 Aspen - Ajax
The plan for the day was to hit Aspen Mountain (Ajax to the locals) in the morning and then head over to Highlands for the afternoon.
Light snowfall greeted us at breakfast as has been par for the course the past couple of days. The snow gods sure know how to flog a dead horse.
Claire decided to have a rest day, and Mason and Jamie took off 8:45am while I went to sort out payment for the condo with Mary the proprietor. That done I legged it into town to pick up my skis from their overnight tune at the base of the Aspen Mountain Gondola.
Since I first started skiing I've always wanted to ski Ajax, having read about it and seen photos in skiing magazines. For some reason people prefer to ski Highlands and Snowmass. In fact Mason wasn't even considering skiing Ajax until I kept on harping on about it. Although he would probably deny this. It seems bizarre that the ski area that rises directly out of the town has such a negative rap. It probably doesn't help that there is no beginner terrain on Ajax.
As I rode the gondola at 9:45am I was immediately overcome with the kind of sensation you experience when you stand outside Buckingham Palace for the first time. Although you've never been there before, there is a familiarity born out of years of seeing images of the place.
The gondola ride itself is a thrilling experience. From the the village it seems a short ride up the steep face towering over Aspen, but once cresting that ridge the mountain stretches out for miles beyond. The gondola ride takes 15 minutes. It is an old school gondola in that the towers are massive, two or three hundred feet high. The longest span between towers is almost a kilometre and carries you to dizzying heights.
I exited the gondola and took off down a blue called Ruby Ridge. The grooming was impeccable, the slopes empty. The skis cut into the snow like a knife into butter. Two runs on Ruby Ridge and I decided I was not going to Highlands....Ajax would require a full day to do it justice.
Feeling like a blast to the bottom I carried on past the bottom of Ruby Ridge down a long winding valley shaped like a natural half pipe that eventually opened out into the wide slopes on the flanks of Aspen Mountain leading to the town and the base of the gondola.
I pulled up my legs feeling like jelly and hunched over my poles to catch my breath.
A few minutes later Mason and Jamie pulled up and echoed my thoughts about spending the entire day at Ajax.
We parked our skis at the base of the gondola and strolled down the steps to a Starbucks for coffee and donuts. Mason shouted.
The snow abated and it started to warm up. The run from top to bottom was so good we lapped it 3 or 4 times non stop...yes that's right non stop. I think the 15 minute gondola ride helped with the recovery.
Jim and I had a late lunch at the restaurant at the top of the gondola while Mason skied down to catch up with Claire.
Light snowfall greeted us at breakfast as has been par for the course the past couple of days. The snow gods sure know how to flog a dead horse.
Claire decided to have a rest day, and Mason and Jamie took off 8:45am while I went to sort out payment for the condo with Mary the proprietor. That done I legged it into town to pick up my skis from their overnight tune at the base of the Aspen Mountain Gondola.
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| Ajax from the steps of Chateau Blanc Condominium |
As I rode the gondola at 9:45am I was immediately overcome with the kind of sensation you experience when you stand outside Buckingham Palace for the first time. Although you've never been there before, there is a familiarity born out of years of seeing images of the place.
The gondola ride itself is a thrilling experience. From the the village it seems a short ride up the steep face towering over Aspen, but once cresting that ridge the mountain stretches out for miles beyond. The gondola ride takes 15 minutes. It is an old school gondola in that the towers are massive, two or three hundred feet high. The longest span between towers is almost a kilometre and carries you to dizzying heights.
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| Looking down to Aspen with gondola tower in foreground |
I exited the gondola and took off down a blue called Ruby Ridge. The grooming was impeccable, the slopes empty. The skis cut into the snow like a knife into butter. Two runs on Ruby Ridge and I decided I was not going to Highlands....Ajax would require a full day to do it justice.
Feeling like a blast to the bottom I carried on past the bottom of Ruby Ridge down a long winding valley shaped like a natural half pipe that eventually opened out into the wide slopes on the flanks of Aspen Mountain leading to the town and the base of the gondola.
I pulled up my legs feeling like jelly and hunched over my poles to catch my breath.
A few minutes later Mason and Jamie pulled up and echoed my thoughts about spending the entire day at Ajax.
We parked our skis at the base of the gondola and strolled down the steps to a Starbucks for coffee and donuts. Mason shouted.
The snow abated and it started to warm up. The run from top to bottom was so good we lapped it 3 or 4 times non stop...yes that's right non stop. I think the 15 minute gondola ride helped with the recovery.
Jim and I had a late lunch at the restaurant at the top of the gondola while Mason skied down to catch up with Claire.
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| Apsen Highlands from the resaurant at the top of Ajax |
The post lunch funk set in...the legs never feel quite the same after lunch for some reason, and the snow was hardening up and getting scratched off. We did a few more top to bottom runs, more cruisy, lower intensity and called it a day at 3.30pm.
Highlight of the evening was a catchup with an old friend from the Mount Hutt days. Joan Valentine taught skiing with us at Mount Hutt. She's now domiciled in Aspen with her husband Andrew (a bit of a legend on the NZ race scene in the 90's) and son Harry. We met them at a restaurant called Lime Light and had a most enjoyable evening catching up on developments in one another's lives, and reminiscing about fun times we'd shared together.
Got home late for this trip...10pm, finished off packing in preparation for departure for Salt Lake City tomorrow.
It's been an awesome time with the kids.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Day 17 Aspen - Cardrona on steroids
Once again the snow gods chose to toy with us. It was snowing quite heavily during breakfast, and continued to do so as we drove through Aspen doing the school drop offs. Jamie to Aspen Highlands and Mason, Claire and myself to Snowmass.
Aspen ski resort is spread across four separate ski areas...Aspen Mountain (referred to as Ajax by the locals) is the closest to the town. In fact it towers above the town, the gondola is a couple of blocks from our condo. There is no beginner terrain at all on Aspen Mountain; Aspen Highlands on the edge of town provides a more balanced variety of terrain; Snowmass about 10km out of town is mostly green and blue terrain, with a few black runs thrown in; and finally Buttermilk, close to Highlands is small and flat, comprising mostly terrain parks for snowboarders and stunt skiers.
The one lift pass services all ski areas, but they are not interconnected by lifts. A free shuttle bus provides transportation between the areas.
By the time we'd parked the jeep at Snowmass and walked the short distance to the gondola the snowfall had eased dramatically and blue sky was beginning to peek through the clouds.
We did a couple of warm up runs together and then I peeled off to do my own thing while Mason gave Claire a lesson. The snow was spectacular. Once again a soft layer of perhaps 2 to 3 cms coated the groomed runs.
I found my way to a very secluded part of the mountain where only one other person had been down before me and had a wonderful 'powder' run. The snow was deep enough to leave tracks but that's about it. But it was fun.
Snowmass is a fun area. It's largely ego terrain. Wide, rolling slopes with easy gradients and fun rollers. The blues are really greens, and the greens are totally flat. We decided that the colour coding had been done as such to make the guests feel good about themselves. There weren't too many great skiers around. Snowmass I decided is Cardrona on steroids.
After lunch I caught up with Mason and we took a couple of runs and did some filming. It was bright and sunny and hot when we knocked it on the head at 3.15pm.
Our customary apres ski stroll through the village lead us to Mezzaluna for dinner. Once again I was most surprised at the menu prices. It's fair to say that the cost of drinking and dining out in Perth is more expensive than anywhere that we've been in the US, including Aspen.
The plan for tomorrow is to hit Ajax early for the morning and then catch the shuttle across to Highlands. My last day with the kids so we better make it a good one.
Aspen ski resort is spread across four separate ski areas...Aspen Mountain (referred to as Ajax by the locals) is the closest to the town. In fact it towers above the town, the gondola is a couple of blocks from our condo. There is no beginner terrain at all on Aspen Mountain; Aspen Highlands on the edge of town provides a more balanced variety of terrain; Snowmass about 10km out of town is mostly green and blue terrain, with a few black runs thrown in; and finally Buttermilk, close to Highlands is small and flat, comprising mostly terrain parks for snowboarders and stunt skiers.
The one lift pass services all ski areas, but they are not interconnected by lifts. A free shuttle bus provides transportation between the areas.
By the time we'd parked the jeep at Snowmass and walked the short distance to the gondola the snowfall had eased dramatically and blue sky was beginning to peek through the clouds.
We did a couple of warm up runs together and then I peeled off to do my own thing while Mason gave Claire a lesson. The snow was spectacular. Once again a soft layer of perhaps 2 to 3 cms coated the groomed runs.
I found my way to a very secluded part of the mountain where only one other person had been down before me and had a wonderful 'powder' run. The snow was deep enough to leave tracks but that's about it. But it was fun.
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| On top of Snowmass |
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| Elk Camp restaurant halfway up Snowmass |
Our customary apres ski stroll through the village lead us to Mezzaluna for dinner. Once again I was most surprised at the menu prices. It's fair to say that the cost of drinking and dining out in Perth is more expensive than anywhere that we've been in the US, including Aspen.
The plan for tomorrow is to hit Ajax early for the morning and then catch the shuttle across to Highlands. My last day with the kids so we better make it a good one.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Day 16 - Superbowl Sunday
The day dawned clear, calm and sunny in Telluride. Gazing up to Coonskin from our condo the trails looked pristine and perfectly groomed. An awesome day of skiing beckoned.
You probably won't believe this folks but the mood around camp was one of disinterest. A vote was taken and it was decided to forego the last day at Telluride in favour of a leisurely drive to Aspen.
To be honest I didn't mind one way or the other. As good as the skiing looked we had pretty much experienced everything Telluride had to offer given the conditions, and my body would certainly welcome the break. It also meant we would get to Aspen in time to catch the Superbowl which I was very keen to do.
So we packed up the jeep and did one last loop through downtown Telluride to get coffee and donuts for the drive, take some parting pix and bid Telluride farewell. It was an absolutely stunning day.
We made good time, pulling into Glenwood Springs around 1pm. A brief interlude at the Glenwood Springs hot pools seemed like a novel suggestion, so we parked the Jeep, grabbed our boardies and headed in. The hot pools at Glenwood Springs are fed from underground geothermal springs. The complex is massive and comprises 2 olympic sized pools (possibly larger) and 1 smaller pool. The waist deep pools are different temperatures.
Suffice to say there was an interesting cross section of humanity at Glenwood Springs this afternoon. Apart from a couple of extremely attractive Czechoslovakian girls who were hanging around Jamie and me until Mason came over and scared them off, the scenery was no match for the San Miguel mountains of Telluride. The springs themselves, whilst a pleasant enough place paled in comparison to Hamner Springs in New Zealand.
Revitalised from our hot pool interlude we struck out on the final 60km leg to Aspen. We arrived in Aspen at 3.30pm and found our way to Chateau Blanc with no fuss courtesy of the google maps girl.
Chateau Blanc is extremely well appointed. Arguably the best accommodation of the trip. It's within walking distance to Aspen village and the gondola. It's spacious, luxurious and well equipped, and right in the heart of Aspen. And at only $110 each per night is extremely reasonable.
We quickly unloaded the Jeep and strolled into town to find a suitable bar to watch the Superbowl. Red Onion seemed to fit the bill so we ordered some drinks and food, and settled in to watch the game.
The menu was pleasantly surprising. Being Aspen we weren't sure what to expect, however prices were on a par with Telluride, and well below Perth.
The game was highly entertaining, a close affair with the Patriots snatching the lead with minutes to spare, and the Sea Hawks desperately trying to win it back. The game went down to one final play on the Sea Hawks line with 20 seconds on the clock. In the end the Patriots made a gallant intercept to secure the win. The atmosphere in the crowded bar was electric.
The game concluded around 8pm, Superbowls are a drawn out affair, and we headed home feeling well fed and watered and ready for a gruelling day on the slopes tomorrow.
You probably won't believe this folks but the mood around camp was one of disinterest. A vote was taken and it was decided to forego the last day at Telluride in favour of a leisurely drive to Aspen.
To be honest I didn't mind one way or the other. As good as the skiing looked we had pretty much experienced everything Telluride had to offer given the conditions, and my body would certainly welcome the break. It also meant we would get to Aspen in time to catch the Superbowl which I was very keen to do.
So we packed up the jeep and did one last loop through downtown Telluride to get coffee and donuts for the drive, take some parting pix and bid Telluride farewell. It was an absolutely stunning day.
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| Hmm skiing looks pretty good |
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| Did I mention stunning day |
Driving out of town in the light of day we were able to appreciate the magnificent scenery that had been hidden when we'd driven in under the cover of darkness 5 days earlier. We stopped at a scenic lookout to take some panoramic shots. By this time the team had tired of scenic selfies.
Unfortunately the pics don't quite capture the imposing nature of the mountain ranges surrounding Telluride.
We made good time, pulling into Glenwood Springs around 1pm. A brief interlude at the Glenwood Springs hot pools seemed like a novel suggestion, so we parked the Jeep, grabbed our boardies and headed in. The hot pools at Glenwood Springs are fed from underground geothermal springs. The complex is massive and comprises 2 olympic sized pools (possibly larger) and 1 smaller pool. The waist deep pools are different temperatures.
Suffice to say there was an interesting cross section of humanity at Glenwood Springs this afternoon. Apart from a couple of extremely attractive Czechoslovakian girls who were hanging around Jamie and me until Mason came over and scared them off, the scenery was no match for the San Miguel mountains of Telluride. The springs themselves, whilst a pleasant enough place paled in comparison to Hamner Springs in New Zealand.
Revitalised from our hot pool interlude we struck out on the final 60km leg to Aspen. We arrived in Aspen at 3.30pm and found our way to Chateau Blanc with no fuss courtesy of the google maps girl.
Chateau Blanc is extremely well appointed. Arguably the best accommodation of the trip. It's within walking distance to Aspen village and the gondola. It's spacious, luxurious and well equipped, and right in the heart of Aspen. And at only $110 each per night is extremely reasonable.
We quickly unloaded the Jeep and strolled into town to find a suitable bar to watch the Superbowl. Red Onion seemed to fit the bill so we ordered some drinks and food, and settled in to watch the game.
The menu was pleasantly surprising. Being Aspen we weren't sure what to expect, however prices were on a par with Telluride, and well below Perth.
The game was highly entertaining, a close affair with the Patriots snatching the lead with minutes to spare, and the Sea Hawks desperately trying to win it back. The game went down to one final play on the Sea Hawks line with 20 seconds on the clock. In the end the Patriots made a gallant intercept to secure the win. The atmosphere in the crowded bar was electric.
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| Claire and Mason gripped in Superbowl fever at Red Onion |
The game concluded around 8pm, Superbowls are a drawn out affair, and we headed home feeling well fed and watered and ready for a gruelling day on the slopes tomorrow.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Telluride Day 15 - Smoking the front side
I cooked pancakes for breakfast again. It was snowing lightly in the village as we ate breakfast so there was some hope of powder on the mountain.
Upon reaching the top it became apparent that there'd only been about 3 or 4 cms of new snow. Not enough to get excited about but it made the world of difference to the surface texture.
Exited Chair 7 at the top of Coonskin and took a run down Village Bypass, an easy groomed green. The snow was soft, the skis bit in effortlessly, it felt great. Didn't matter that the light was flat and freezing rain was clagging up the goggles making it near impossible to see the trail ahead. Skiing by feel, the only way to go.
It snowed off and on, light and hard, most of the day, but no major accumulation. However the softer snow made a world of difference to the aches and pains - the anti inflam I took last night also helped. The skiing felt awesome today. I even hit a couple of bump runs and finished the day with laps on the front side runs, Coonskin and Milk Run. Both very steep black runs beneath the village gondola.
Jim wasn't having a great day, freezing rain messing with his equipment so he retired early. And Mason shot off to sort out his boots....having different sized feet creates problems. I skied on until 3.45pm. There's a bit of a trend emerging here. :-)
Jim and I hit the hot tub after skiing. The Double Diamond hot tub is out the front of the condo in a little area separated from the ski slope by clear perspex. So felt a bit like being in a fish bowl as we soaked our aching joints while folks exercised their dogs and kicked footballs a stones throw from us.
Tomboy Tavern (named after one of Tellurides gold mines we've subsequently learned) was the venue for dinner. We enjoyed it so much the other night we decided to spend our last night in town there, and it didn't disappoint. The food was spectacular and the night time gondola ride to and from the restaurant is stunning.
Upon reaching the top it became apparent that there'd only been about 3 or 4 cms of new snow. Not enough to get excited about but it made the world of difference to the surface texture.
Exited Chair 7 at the top of Coonskin and took a run down Village Bypass, an easy groomed green. The snow was soft, the skis bit in effortlessly, it felt great. Didn't matter that the light was flat and freezing rain was clagging up the goggles making it near impossible to see the trail ahead. Skiing by feel, the only way to go.
It snowed off and on, light and hard, most of the day, but no major accumulation. However the softer snow made a world of difference to the aches and pains - the anti inflam I took last night also helped. The skiing felt awesome today. I even hit a couple of bump runs and finished the day with laps on the front side runs, Coonskin and Milk Run. Both very steep black runs beneath the village gondola.
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| Riding Chair 7 |
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| Jamie trying to dry out in front of Gorrono's fire |
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| Chairs on terrace at Gorrono |
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| Claire in a decidely more wintery looking downtown Telluride |
Tomboy Tavern (named after one of Tellurides gold mines we've subsequently learned) was the venue for dinner. We enjoyed it so much the other night we decided to spend our last night in town there, and it didn't disappoint. The food was spectacular and the night time gondola ride to and from the restaurant is stunning.
We ski Telluride tomorrow and then head off to Aspen in the afternoon. Chateau Blanc is to be our home in Aspen. Close to the gondola and downtown, should be good.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Telluride Day 14 - Snowing....just
I cooked pancakes for breakfast. Chair 7 is literally right outside our door as I think I've mentioned, and with the lifts not starting until 9am it makes for a rather leisurely morning pre ski. Hence the pancakes.
There was talk of an inch or two of fresh snow on top, and as we crested the Coonskin ridge it became apparent that there was indeed some new snow. Unfortunately not in the quantities to go crazy about.
The weather had closed in, it was very cold, snowing lightly and visibility was not that great. I hadn't layered up sufficiently but my Spyder Bromont jacket still did a pretty decent job of keeping the chills at bay.
Mason and Jim weren't so fortunate and headed down after a couple of runs to get some additional layers.
I stuck with it and chanced upon a most enjoyable double blue run called Lookout. The pitch was steep but not overly so, and the slope was coated with a soft layer of fresh snow.
Lookout was so much fun that I lapped it 3 times.
As I've mentioned Telluride is really cool. It's also very different from just about any other ski resort I've ever been to. One of the notable differences is the on mountain dining. Where Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek and Niseko are dotted with large modern or extravagant cafeteria style buildings, Telluride has a number of very small log cabins strategically placed around the mountain.
During my travels today I stopped in at one such place called Giuseppe's for a hot chocolate. The cabin perched atop a ridge was about the size of a bus.
I skied a few more runs and decided to head down to Gorrono for lunch. Gorrono is a massive log cabin with an expansive deck situated below the Village Express lift about halfway up the mountain.
It is the closest Telluride comes to the restaurants you find at other resorts. But it still has its own unique flavour. There's live music on the deck most afternoons, and terraces have been carved out of the snow slope surrounding the deck to create a natural amphitheatre. Chairs line the terraces, and as the afternoon wears on, people swap their skis for a chair on the terrace, grab a drink and enjoy the entertainment.
As I was heading down to Gorrono I bumped into Jamie. Apparently when they went back to the condo to layer up, Mason had fallen asleep on the couch and that was him done for the day.
Lunch at Gorrono was great, they were all out of the stuffed baked potato, so I had the chilli and it was pretty good, although I would've preferred the baked potato.
Jim and I skied a few more runs. The snow kept falling, at times quite heavily but no significant accumulation. We even ventured into some smallish bumps which was fun.
Started to feel a bit achey so pulled the pin at 3pm. Thought about skiing this run on the way down, but decided might wait until tomorrow when hopefully there's softer snow on it.
Caught up with the kids back at the condo, went to a local gym for a workout, and then we headed out to Floradora Saloon for dinner. Dinner was great. Awesome food, typically large servings, and reasonably priced.
Hopefully we will have some pow tomorrow.
I wanted to include a shot of down town Telluride. I snapped this on me iphone while jaywalking hence it's not very good and doesn't do the town justice. But until I snap a better one it will have to do.
There was talk of an inch or two of fresh snow on top, and as we crested the Coonskin ridge it became apparent that there was indeed some new snow. Unfortunately not in the quantities to go crazy about.
The weather had closed in, it was very cold, snowing lightly and visibility was not that great. I hadn't layered up sufficiently but my Spyder Bromont jacket still did a pretty decent job of keeping the chills at bay.
Mason and Jim weren't so fortunate and headed down after a couple of runs to get some additional layers.
I stuck with it and chanced upon a most enjoyable double blue run called Lookout. The pitch was steep but not overly so, and the slope was coated with a soft layer of fresh snow.
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| In the gondola with Telluride town below |
As I've mentioned Telluride is really cool. It's also very different from just about any other ski resort I've ever been to. One of the notable differences is the on mountain dining. Where Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek and Niseko are dotted with large modern or extravagant cafeteria style buildings, Telluride has a number of very small log cabins strategically placed around the mountain.
During my travels today I stopped in at one such place called Giuseppe's for a hot chocolate. The cabin perched atop a ridge was about the size of a bus.
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| Giuseppe's |
It is the closest Telluride comes to the restaurants you find at other resorts. But it still has its own unique flavour. There's live music on the deck most afternoons, and terraces have been carved out of the snow slope surrounding the deck to create a natural amphitheatre. Chairs line the terraces, and as the afternoon wears on, people swap their skis for a chair on the terrace, grab a drink and enjoy the entertainment.
As I was heading down to Gorrono I bumped into Jamie. Apparently when they went back to the condo to layer up, Mason had fallen asleep on the couch and that was him done for the day.
Lunch at Gorrono was great, they were all out of the stuffed baked potato, so I had the chilli and it was pretty good, although I would've preferred the baked potato.
Jim and I skied a few more runs. The snow kept falling, at times quite heavily but no significant accumulation. We even ventured into some smallish bumps which was fun.
Started to feel a bit achey so pulled the pin at 3pm. Thought about skiing this run on the way down, but decided might wait until tomorrow when hopefully there's softer snow on it.
Caught up with the kids back at the condo, went to a local gym for a workout, and then we headed out to Floradora Saloon for dinner. Dinner was great. Awesome food, typically large servings, and reasonably priced.
Hopefully we will have some pow tomorrow.
I wanted to include a shot of down town Telluride. I snapped this on me iphone while jaywalking hence it's not very good and doesn't do the town justice. But until I snap a better one it will have to do.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Telluride Day 13 - Grey and overcast
Not the most ideal day today. It dawned grey and overcast and remained as such the whole day. There is a suggestion of snow tomorrow, and perhaps today's conditions were a precursor to that. Lets hope so.
We hit the hill usual time 9am to find the snow a little harder than it was yesterday and the light very flat. Fairly uneventful day although any day in the mountains is worth a month in the city as they say. So we'll bank it.
The kids retired early but I got my second wind after lunch and skied on until 3.45pm. On the way home I paused at the top of a black run called Bail Out to survey the scene and plan my strategy for the descent. I noted that the slope appeared quite skied off and slick, so care would be necessary.
As I stood there a Latino couple shot past. The woman in particular looked particularly wobbly and sure enough half way down she fell, lost a ski and slid 50m further down the slope. I skied down, picked up the ski and returned it to her. I'd just finished helping her put her ski back on when an elderly gentleman came hurtling past on his back with skis in the air and poles flying. He came to rest at the bottom of the run a few metres from the husband of the Latino woman, who was looking decidedly sheepish having lead his spouse down such a difficult run.
I hiked up the slope about 10m to retrieve the man's poles and brought them to him. Luckily he was OK although a little shaken from his ordeal. The Latino lady thanked me saying I was her guardian angel, and her husband offered me a shot of tequila. I graciously declined and was on my way. As I departed the woman leaned over to her husband and enquired, "Who was that masked man."
We've decided to extend our stay in Telluride by one more day in the hope that we will get some snow over the weekend. I'm keen although the downside is we'll miss the Superbowl because we'll be driving to Aspen on Sunday when it's on.
We hit the hill usual time 9am to find the snow a little harder than it was yesterday and the light very flat. Fairly uneventful day although any day in the mountains is worth a month in the city as they say. So we'll bank it.
The kids retired early but I got my second wind after lunch and skied on until 3.45pm. On the way home I paused at the top of a black run called Bail Out to survey the scene and plan my strategy for the descent. I noted that the slope appeared quite skied off and slick, so care would be necessary.
As I stood there a Latino couple shot past. The woman in particular looked particularly wobbly and sure enough half way down she fell, lost a ski and slid 50m further down the slope. I skied down, picked up the ski and returned it to her. I'd just finished helping her put her ski back on when an elderly gentleman came hurtling past on his back with skis in the air and poles flying. He came to rest at the bottom of the run a few metres from the husband of the Latino woman, who was looking decidedly sheepish having lead his spouse down such a difficult run.
I hiked up the slope about 10m to retrieve the man's poles and brought them to him. Luckily he was OK although a little shaken from his ordeal. The Latino lady thanked me saying I was her guardian angel, and her husband offered me a shot of tequila. I graciously declined and was on my way. As I departed the woman leaned over to her husband and enquired, "Who was that masked man."
We've decided to extend our stay in Telluride by one more day in the hope that we will get some snow over the weekend. I'm keen although the downside is we'll miss the Superbowl because we'll be driving to Aspen on Sunday when it's on.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Telluride Day 12 - Jaw dropping
The day dawned sunny and clear. Another beautiful spring day in January. Excitement was running high. We breakfasted early on the meusli and toast we'd purchased at the super market the night before. Double Diamond condominiums is a short stroll from chair 7, an original fixed 2 seater chair that climbs a steep face called Coon Skin. Short stroll is a slight exaggeration. We step out our front door, walk about 10 paces, clip into our skis and slide 50m to the lift.
As we rode Chair 7 over the ridge into the unloading station the stunning mountain vista that is Telluride opened up in front of us. Words can't do Telluride justice. But I'll give it my best shot. We were surrounded by steep towering peaks, rugged cliff faces, deep ravines and endless trees. Everywhere ski lifts climb up precipitous faces to seemingly impossible locations.
The area is massive but we managed to ride most the lifts. The plan was to familiarise ourselves with the terrain and scope out the good runs in the hope we will get some powder in the next couple of days. Off piste was quite hard snow, so the groomers were the order of the day. Telluride has some spectacularly steep groomed runs so there was no shortage of challenges.
The mountain is riddled with intense skiing opportunities. Even riding the lifts can be daunting. One triple chair called Plunge spans a ravine where for about 10 seconds you're dangling 500 ft above the ground. I was riding with a local, and as we approached this particular location he appeared quite miffed when I asked if we could lower the safety bar.
In contrast to the intensity of the mountain, the staff are all friendly and laid back. We were greeted with a 'Howdy' at the base of each lift, and everywhere all time great rock music is blasting out...Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen...all time great in my opinion. Telluride is a really cool place.
All in all an awesome day of skiing, finally pulling up outside our condo at 4pm.
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| Chair 7 and Coon Skin run viewed from our balcony |
As we rode Chair 7 over the ridge into the unloading station the stunning mountain vista that is Telluride opened up in front of us. Words can't do Telluride justice. But I'll give it my best shot. We were surrounded by steep towering peaks, rugged cliff faces, deep ravines and endless trees. Everywhere ski lifts climb up precipitous faces to seemingly impossible locations.
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| Resolution Bowl chair climbs to 12,580 ft |
The mountain is riddled with intense skiing opportunities. Even riding the lifts can be daunting. One triple chair called Plunge spans a ravine where for about 10 seconds you're dangling 500 ft above the ground. I was riding with a local, and as we approached this particular location he appeared quite miffed when I asked if we could lower the safety bar.
In contrast to the intensity of the mountain, the staff are all friendly and laid back. We were greeted with a 'Howdy' at the base of each lift, and everywhere all time great rock music is blasting out...Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen...all time great in my opinion. Telluride is a really cool place.
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| Downtown Telluride from Coon Skin run. |
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| Mason showing how it's done |
We changed, freshened up and took a stroll into town. On the spur of the moment we decided to ride the gondola to the Mountain Village and have dinner at one of the many restaurants. Telluride is essentially two villages. The original mining town where we are staying. And a much new purpose build ski village in the next valley over. The gondola runs up over the mountain connecting both villages. It operates until midnight every night so we took the gondola to the mountain village, had a delicious dinner in a restaurant called Tomboy Tavern and rode the gondola home again.
As the subject line says, Telluride was jaw dropping in every way.
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| Out and about in Telluride |
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