Deep Thoughts: New Years 2004
Wow, what a storm to ring in the New Year! I hit Alpine today and it was blower. Only had Roundhouse open as avalanche danger was high, winds were howling, and it was dumping. 2 feet of new snow this morning, 2 more today, 2-3 called for tonight.....this is awesome!
Here is a run down of today:
Tahoe: insanely deep snow, gapers & other thoughts:
wow....let's say that again...wow....i woke up this morning @ 5am (was unable to really sleep last night, like a little kid before xmas) and let my lab Shasta out the front door....where he totally disappeared....vanished....into 3 feet of snow....so spent an hour digging the subbie out, and made my way down the hill to wild cherries for some coffee, then on to 89 and straight to Alpine. thankfully, besides the crazy deep snow and blowing drifts and general white out conditions, no probs on the drive to Alpine this AM....always helps to be on the road @ 7am before the GAPERS (more on this later..) clog the roads and create mayhem...so, Alpine, after getting hammered overnight with 2+ feet, is a snowy wonderland when i pull into the lot....pop into patrol and find out that Summit, Scott, Alpine Bowl..all these chairs off-line today...no way in hell they are gonna get the upper mountain open, as its still pounding snow...So Roundhouse it is....am about 10th in line when it starts spinning shortly after 9 (hey, why wait an extra 30 mins in a howling storm for turns on Roundhouse??!! Hats off to those jokers that were ahead of me...) and the winds are howling, snow blowing sideways, chair swinging....ahhh, storm skiing.i make first tracks down sympathy, peril and gunnars and some other little knolls and gullies off Roundhouse for an hour or so....then over to Yellow (whoo hoo ) and more fresh turns and some nice little small cliff bands and pepper to huck my meat off.Snow was blower in some spots, knee deep, and in others it was the classic Sierra windbuff sour cream where you don't so much sink as surf on top of the snow....fun.They start to put Roundhouse on wind hold and its blowing harder and snowing more, when I decide to call it about 11:30...need to get home and do some "work" today, ya know...have to dig the subbie out again and am off towards home.....when the GAPERS start to swarm....89 is a circus, cars spun out everywhere, people pulling over IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FACKING ROAD to put chains on, causing people to swerve to avoid hitting (and killing) them....so i finally make it back to Northwoods, which is a steep road up to my house in Truckee/Tahoe Donner. Oh boy....the minute I get on Northwoods, I spot a 6 car chain reaction pile up....everyone stopped, exchanging insurance, yaking on their cell phones, generally GAPING all over the damn road..so I run the gauntlet past this craziness when what do I spy yet 1/4 mile further up? The giant Cadillac Escelade spinning out of control on the road, doing 2 full 360s and coming to a thud in the snow bank on the other side of the road Holly shit...i somehow avoid this guy and continue on up the road, heart pounding, when..(I swear I am not making this up)..... I come up behind a mini van (with no chains on...of course) in my lane, and I start thinking "hmmm, must be the blowing snow playing tricks on me, cause that thing looks like its coming at me in reverse, not going up the hill" OH SHIT...the mini van is sliding backwards down the hill RIGHT AT ME...so once again I swerve to avoid the carnage....quick reflexes, the subbie and the nokian tires all combined to save the day.....so now I just pull over into the post box area once I turn off Northwoods and just start laughing like a mad man....this is fackin' crazy.Whoo, glad to be home safe and sound. It's 2:30 and hasn't stopped snowing, calling for another 2-3 feet tonight. See ya @ Alpine tomorrow (and Sat and Sun and Mon and Tues...)
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And from Kirkwood:
OVER FOUR FEET SO FAR... STILL SNOWING!
10:00 on Thursday morning…This one’s deep. It’s been snowing for days; a foot here, fourteen inches there. Not really big news for Kirkwood, you might be thinking. True. But last night the snow gods checked in, and it looks like they are here to stay for a while. They dropped a couple of feet overnight, and that’s at the valley floor. We've gotten close to three at the top; the wind has pushed it around some, leaving drifts in excess of five feet in spots. Dry and deep, it's basically bottomless and presents a prime opportunity to break out the ol' snorkel. Copious snowfall aside, the most notable factor of this particular pile of powder is the density. The moisture content is 9%... dry and cold, just the way we like our champagne. Can’t really think of a more appropriate way to ring in the New Year… Here’s to health, happiness and champagne powder for all our friends! We’re hunkered down right now, riding it out. Can’t turn the lifts… too much wind, avalanche hazard and no visibility. Can’t open the road for the same reasons. So whether you’re in or out, nothing to do but wait. And dream. Because when this thing breaks, it’s on. These are the days that legends are made of. We’re about four feet into this storm; weatherman says we may have as much to go. We say bring it on… this is what we live for. We are in the midst of a classic Kirkwood storm, which means we are on the cusp of legendary Kirkwood powder days… guaranteed to be extraordinary. Start planning now for when this storm breaks. You’ll treasure the memories of how you spent New Year’s 2005 forever.
posted by Rob H @ 4:29 PM
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