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Sunny Day at Squaw Valley

Saturday was amazing at Squaw Valley. I've never seen the Sierra with so much snow. It was sunny, warm and the kids had a blast exploring a new mountain and trying to find new stashes of trails in the trees. Mission accomplished!

The Gang

A recent picture of the family at Snowbird. 

In order from left to right: Rebecca, Sam, Meg, Andrew, Dave, Lars, Ramon, me

There are few things more satisfying to me than getting as much of the family together as possible and getting in some runs.  Sam (4) is skiing hard blue runs and is dipping his toes on the blacks.  Meg (7) is parallel skiing.  Good stuff.

Merry Christmas!!

Got some turns in at Snowbird with the family on Christmas Eve.  Loved every second..

The Big Jump

Finally got the kids up to Snowbird on Saturday.   They did laps half of the day on this jump.   It's good to get the season finally rolling.  The storms have been rolling in with good frequency and the skiing is fantastic.

Thanksgiving Day Bust

I was asked today what our family was doing over Thanksgiving.  We had planned on skiing all three days but there's no snow.  I guess we'll have to watch the BYU/Utah football game.

Alta's website: "With the weather we have been having, Alta has decided not to open before Thursday, November 29th. We will continue with snowmaking(!) and on Monday afternoon, November 26th we will issue an another update. Pray for Snow!"

Amen brother!! Amen.

Puting the Season to Bed

Looks like it's about time to put the ski season to bed.   Temperatures in the Salt Lake Valley are in the 60's and headed for the 70's, the Utah Avalanche Center has issued its last update, resorts are showing signs that they are going to close, my grass is green and garbage cans are full of yard work, my kids soccer team is back at it, and I am in the middle of training for an upcoming marathon.  This has been a fantastic year, bring on summer.

Sam Skiing Baldy Express at Snowbird

This is a short video of Sam (3 years old) and some friends skiing the Claim Jumper run off of Baldy Express at Snowbird on 3-24-07.  I love how he just books down the run in this video.

Snowbird Tunnel

The snowbird tunnel was a little bit of an enigma to me this year.  I never thought it was a good idea and still think the whole thing is a bit fantastic.  However, I love the new Peruvian lift and the fact that you can get to Mineral Basin so quickly now without riding the Snowbird Tram or the Little Cloud lift.   Kids love doing laps in the tunnel (down to Mineral Express, ski the top of Chips and back into the tunnel) and its conveyor belt.  It has also helped me practice my ski pole golf swing on the chunks of ice sitting on the side of the conveyor.  Although  I hope this is the end of ski tunnels in Utah (probably not), I'm ok with how this one turned out.

Deer Valley 30,000 Vertical Feet Before Lunch

My father has been telling me all year how he has been getting in 30,000 feet of skiing before noon almost every day he has skied this year.  He is a retired 70+ year old university professor, an NCAA skiing champ, and a season pass holder at Deer Valley.  I finally got to go up with him this past week at Deer Valley and it was amazing.  First let me say that Deer Valley is fantastic.  The resort does everything right.  It has grooming down to a science, its restaurants are world class, and the mountain and lifts are fantastic. We were the milkmen on the lift right as the resort opened and immediately stated bombing down the corduroy on the upper mountain.   By 10:30 after doing about 20 nonstop runs, I was getting tired. By Noon, I was ready for some of that famous Deer Valley Chili.  After lunch we took it easy, did some sightseeing, enjoyed the weather, and went home early.

My father has always been my idol.  He is a gentleman, a great father and grandfather, and was wildly successful in his career.  He skis in that amazing old style Stein Ericksen form and can still rip it.  I hope the same thing can be said about me when I am in my 70’s.   

American Skiing Company is Selling Sunday River and Sugarloaf

It sounds like the American Skiing Co. is trying to sell Sunday River and Sugarloaf according to this article in the Salt Lake based Deseret News.  What an amazing year - the founder resigns, all of its properties but one are sold, and litigation at the Canyons continues.  And I thought my last year in the workplace was rough!