We skied a lot today at Bridger Bowl. Not as much as many other people, but far more than we would have done at Spirit Mountain in Duluth. The sore thighs I was developing in the afternoon are no longer bothersome, but getting motivated to do anything is "bothersome".
I should answer my brother's email, I should practice singing, I should write some more meaningful blog entries, I should… Maybe I should go to bed, but 8:00 just seems too early.
One of the minor interesting things is mentally adjusting clocks. I reset my watch to Mountain Standard Time, but I didn't reset our car clock. I reset my iPod to MST but not my computer. Then my iPod's alarm goes off an hour early in the morning. It's back on Central Standard Time!!!
Ah ha! I synchronized my iPod with my Mac and that changed the iPod time again. So now I've set the Mac to automatically adjust the time to its location.
I suppose I should reset my camera clock also, but will the exact time matter on the photos?
Tomorrow is our last big day of skiing. I hope I have enough energy for the half-hour drive back to Bozeman. And enough energy to write emails, to sing, and to write a meaningful blog or two.
Showing posts with label Bridger Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bridger Bowl. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Avalanche!
We are now in Bozeman MT while skiing at Bridger Bowl as part of the annual Ski Hut trip.
This morning I had a lesson and my wife chose to stay in town. After the lesson I stopped at a mid=slope chalet for coffee and then went up for another run. I was so tired that I decided to ski back down to the base, have lunch, and then maybe go out again. This was about 11:30.
Some people in our group said that they had seen an avalanche from the lift and heard that people were in the area. Later Scott Neustel, owner of Ski Hut, came in looking distressed. He was on a nearby ridge when it happened and his group was told to stay put for a bit.
He had managed to take a picture of the avalanche and passed his camera around. Imagine the tree tops reaching to the bottom of an "e" in this text; the top of the avalanche cloud reached to the top of the "e". Some people said the snow was moving at 70-75 mph.
As of 4:43 MST, no one had been reported missing, but stories are circulating about close calls. The authorities are still checking by helicopter and snowmobile.
Anybody taking the lift to the high country is required to take a working transponder. But authorities never can be sure that somebody didn't take another route up.
When I drove back down, almost every turn out had people stopped and looking up at the mountains. I don't know what they could see other than a helicopter circling around.
This morning I had a lesson and my wife chose to stay in town. After the lesson I stopped at a mid=slope chalet for coffee and then went up for another run. I was so tired that I decided to ski back down to the base, have lunch, and then maybe go out again. This was about 11:30.
Some people in our group said that they had seen an avalanche from the lift and heard that people were in the area. Later Scott Neustel, owner of Ski Hut, came in looking distressed. He was on a nearby ridge when it happened and his group was told to stay put for a bit.
He had managed to take a picture of the avalanche and passed his camera around. Imagine the tree tops reaching to the bottom of an "e" in this text; the top of the avalanche cloud reached to the top of the "e". Some people said the snow was moving at 70-75 mph.
As of 4:43 MST, no one had been reported missing, but stories are circulating about close calls. The authorities are still checking by helicopter and snowmobile.
Anybody taking the lift to the high country is required to take a working transponder. But authorities never can be sure that somebody didn't take another route up.
When I drove back down, almost every turn out had people stopped and looking up at the mountains. I don't know what they could see other than a helicopter circling around.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Temperature: It's all relative!
When we went skiing today at Bridger Bowl, many people were complaining that it was cold. I think it was in the low twenties; I hardly noticed. As of 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the snow report said it was 20 at the base and 15 mid-mountain. Since the slopes are east-facing, I would imagine that the temperature dropped quite a bit as the sun sank over the mountains.
My gosh! Temperatures in the 20s at Spirit Mountain in Duluth would be a warm winter day.
My gosh! Temperatures in the 20s at Spirit Mountain in Duluth would be a warm winter day.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Our ski vacation is more than half over:(
The first two days at Bridger Bowl, a nonprofit community ski area, outside Bozeman , Montana, stretched our midwestern ski legs. And I didn't do any harm to my bum knee. See "Pain relieves pain?"
We spent almost of our time using one of the lower lifts. The drill was two runs, coffee, a few more runs, lunch, a few more runs, another break, a few more runs, and drinks. We ventured to a higher lift once, but for a variety of reasons we returned to the lower lift. My wife does prefer skiing the green (easy) runs. I timed a couple of these lower runs at about 15-20 minutes round trip, depending on the lift slow downs. At Spirit Mountain in Duluth a round trip is about seven to ten minutes. I also made a fast timed run, less than two-and-a-half minutes from top to bottom. We generally do about four to five minutes together. So, even though we aren't getting much in challenging skiing, we are getting in more than normal.
The weather has been nice, just below freezing, little wind, and a mix of clouds and sun. Yesterday was interesting in that I could see blue sky to my right as I rode up the lift, but it was never overhead. The mountains squeezed the clouds together as they moved through the valley. We also had different layers of clouds.
There was enough sun to burn my cheeks, despite a couple applications of sunscreen.
Today was a different story. When I checked the Bridger Bowl snow report at eight o'clock this morning there was already five inches of new snow, and none outside our hotel in the valley.
On our first run we skied mostly the narrow band of groomed snow. But as the morning wore on and the snow continued we had a few inches of fresh snow. Although we mostly use the extend one leg, retract the other method of turning, when we get in difficulty we try just pointing our feet (rotation). It doesn't work. We had to work more conscientiously to extend the outside leg and retract the inside leg. We got better at it as the snow deepened.
We stopped at a mid-mountain lodge for lunch and I decided that I would try the lift near it that had a couple of "blue runs", (more difficult or for moderately skilled skiers). My wife declined and chatted with some other people while I ventured out.
To my surprise, the lift hut had a big black diamond sign saying "Expert skiers only". I asked the lift operator about it and he said the slopes weren't for beginners. So, up I went. As I went up, the slope didn't look so bad, and the lesser skilled skiers seemed to be doing all right.
At the top I got a small indication of what was ahead. It was quite a drop from the end of the lift to the starting area. I went over to the edge and looked down. There was lots and lots of skied powder, maybe twelve inches deep. Hoo boy! Worse, I could make out the contours of the snow only a few feet away. How am I going to negotiate this? I did know that the start of the run was "black" (most difficult), but I didn't envision it as this difficult. Stupid midwestern skier of groomed runs.
I started to slide down diagonally and then stopped. Repeat. Repeat again. I have to turn sometime. I started a turn and immediately pitched forward and one ski came off. Boy, was the snow deep! The one ski was out of reach above me. I was lucky that it wasn't completely buried, the heel binding was showing. I don't know how long it took me to get my skis back on. I had to make sure that both my boots and skis were clear of snow.
I repeated my diagonal descent in the opposite direction. Again there came a point that I should make a turn. This time I made a single turn, pointed my skis slightly uphill and stopped. Catch my breath, repeat in the opposite direction. Eventually I could link two turns before stopping. Remember, I have narrow "bare" spots bordered by big mounds of snow. Zip on the troughs, crash into the mounds. Then I linked three. Sometimes I linked five turns.
But I was really getting out of breath. I was just below 7,000 feet and had my poor sunburned face covered with a Gator. This face wraparound combined with goggles does impede breathing. I pulled it off and stuck it in my pocket.
I was now in the Blue area but still could only link a few turns before stopping. Ah, there is the chalet. Which way do I go? On a diagonal to another path? Or straight down to a gap in the fence? Straight down looks easier. Straight on my face I went. I don't remember if a ski came off or not, but I was up and ready to go again in a short time.
I made it into the gap with a few turns, took off my skis, joined the others, and sat a long time drinking water and letting my legs rest. Hey, Arch! My knee was less of a problem than my thighs and calves.
Finally I was ready to go but we would call it quits for the day. Down we went on the Green (easier) run to the main chalet. I did make a point of skiing in the powder, but now it was only three to four inches deep.
Tomorrow will be sunny with no new snow. Should I check the grooming report tomorrow to see if that "experts only" run was groomed tonight?
We spent almost of our time using one of the lower lifts. The drill was two runs, coffee, a few more runs, lunch, a few more runs, another break, a few more runs, and drinks. We ventured to a higher lift once, but for a variety of reasons we returned to the lower lift. My wife does prefer skiing the green (easy) runs. I timed a couple of these lower runs at about 15-20 minutes round trip, depending on the lift slow downs. At Spirit Mountain in Duluth a round trip is about seven to ten minutes. I also made a fast timed run, less than two-and-a-half minutes from top to bottom. We generally do about four to five minutes together. So, even though we aren't getting much in challenging skiing, we are getting in more than normal.
The weather has been nice, just below freezing, little wind, and a mix of clouds and sun. Yesterday was interesting in that I could see blue sky to my right as I rode up the lift, but it was never overhead. The mountains squeezed the clouds together as they moved through the valley. We also had different layers of clouds.
There was enough sun to burn my cheeks, despite a couple applications of sunscreen.
Today was a different story. When I checked the Bridger Bowl snow report at eight o'clock this morning there was already five inches of new snow, and none outside our hotel in the valley.
On our first run we skied mostly the narrow band of groomed snow. But as the morning wore on and the snow continued we had a few inches of fresh snow. Although we mostly use the extend one leg, retract the other method of turning, when we get in difficulty we try just pointing our feet (rotation). It doesn't work. We had to work more conscientiously to extend the outside leg and retract the inside leg. We got better at it as the snow deepened.
We stopped at a mid-mountain lodge for lunch and I decided that I would try the lift near it that had a couple of "blue runs", (more difficult or for moderately skilled skiers). My wife declined and chatted with some other people while I ventured out.
To my surprise, the lift hut had a big black diamond sign saying "Expert skiers only". I asked the lift operator about it and he said the slopes weren't for beginners. So, up I went. As I went up, the slope didn't look so bad, and the lesser skilled skiers seemed to be doing all right.
At the top I got a small indication of what was ahead. It was quite a drop from the end of the lift to the starting area. I went over to the edge and looked down. There was lots and lots of skied powder, maybe twelve inches deep. Hoo boy! Worse, I could make out the contours of the snow only a few feet away. How am I going to negotiate this? I did know that the start of the run was "black" (most difficult), but I didn't envision it as this difficult. Stupid midwestern skier of groomed runs.
I started to slide down diagonally and then stopped. Repeat. Repeat again. I have to turn sometime. I started a turn and immediately pitched forward and one ski came off. Boy, was the snow deep! The one ski was out of reach above me. I was lucky that it wasn't completely buried, the heel binding was showing. I don't know how long it took me to get my skis back on. I had to make sure that both my boots and skis were clear of snow.
I repeated my diagonal descent in the opposite direction. Again there came a point that I should make a turn. This time I made a single turn, pointed my skis slightly uphill and stopped. Catch my breath, repeat in the opposite direction. Eventually I could link two turns before stopping. Remember, I have narrow "bare" spots bordered by big mounds of snow. Zip on the troughs, crash into the mounds. Then I linked three. Sometimes I linked five turns.
But I was really getting out of breath. I was just below 7,000 feet and had my poor sunburned face covered with a Gator. This face wraparound combined with goggles does impede breathing. I pulled it off and stuck it in my pocket.
I was now in the Blue area but still could only link a few turns before stopping. Ah, there is the chalet. Which way do I go? On a diagonal to another path? Or straight down to a gap in the fence? Straight down looks easier. Straight on my face I went. I don't remember if a ski came off or not, but I was up and ready to go again in a short time.
I made it into the gap with a few turns, took off my skis, joined the others, and sat a long time drinking water and letting my legs rest. Hey, Arch! My knee was less of a problem than my thighs and calves.
Finally I was ready to go but we would call it quits for the day. Down we went on the Green (easier) run to the main chalet. I did make a point of skiing in the powder, but now it was only three to four inches deep.
Tomorrow will be sunny with no new snow. Should I check the grooming report tomorrow to see if that "experts only" run was groomed tonight?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)