In forty-seven years here at Snowmass, and other winter locales from coast to coast, I’ve been enmeshed in a number of winter storms. Driving through a Kansas blizzard. Suffering through snow/thaw/freeze/snow cycles in Connecticut. Surviving endless dumps in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Sierra Cement at Mammoth Mountain; Cascade Concrete at Crystal Mountain. And not a few days of frog snow (“Knee-Deep, Knee-Deep”) in the Elk Mountains of Central Colorado.
I remember vividly a President’s Day weekend about 25 years ago. A weekend full of snow. Avalanches setting off in the front yard, much less the back country. “Back then”, snow prediction weren’t nearly as precise for specific areas of the mountains. A group of hut skiers had taken off from Ashcroft in fair weather, but became trapped when 3 feet fell up there. The local papers and radio shows, as well as the national media, were filled with the rescue and ultimate recovery efforts.
I’ve learned, as a powder skier, that there can be such a thing as too much snow. Too much, because the back country becomes treacherous, even the in-bounds off-piste closed by a cautious ski patrol. Too much, because every slope, every specific gradient, has a snow depth which will create a “no-go” situation. The friction of the snow against ankles, calves, even thighs, may be too much to overcome the power of gravity pulling the snow rider downhill. Engineers try to counter this with fancier equipment, softer tips, wider boards and all. But in the end, the laws of physics win out.
Today was one of those days. This was a true epic event, with non-stop snow from 3 AM Thursday thru 4 PM Friday. It’s eased off a bit as I write this (8 PM Friday), but during those 30 hours, we were getting an inch an hour from top to bottom. The front yard of our house, snow free on Wednesday, is now off-limits. We can’t see the front door from the street. And I had to snow blow the driveway five times – three yesterday, two today – just to keep up with the deluge.
On the mountain, the best illustration of the depth and speed of the snowfall: all of the black diamond runs I hit yesterday were closed today, due to avalanche concerns. And we’re not even talking the true expert off-track areas; those were closed both days. Powderhorn, and the entire lower Campground area: closed. Garett Gulch, and all the steep drops leading into it from Sheer Bliss: closed. KT Gully, and all of the lower Dikes: closed. Longshot: closed.
What was open, was difficult enough to manage. Remaining upright, fighting for visibility, dealing with excess snow if I was unlucky enough to face plant, walking across flats, everything took longer and seemed more taxing.
But the turns themselves, they were worth it. I spent the day waiting for lifts to open. First High Alpine, where I took a slow motion jaunt through Reidar’s trees. This slope is so steep that the sun does not start shining on it until the middle of January. But navigating the tress off to the left was a snap; I seemed to be walking downhill, with all the time I needed to plan my turns to avoid the tightly spaced conifers.
Then, the Burn opened up, and I spent the rest of the day having fun skiing in molasses on the top half, then in snow fields deep enough to swallow half my poles. First the open runs, then the tree patches between the runs. By 1 PM, I had well and truly bonked. My legs simply refused to work any more, and what had been effortful fun became a death march for the final 1500’ vertical drop.
Sometime this weekend, the Cirque and Hanging Valley/Wall will open up, and when they do, we’ll have the Main Course for this Epic Storm. These areas lie to the east of sharp ridges, over which westerlies deposit wind blown snow into the east facing gullies and chutes, sometimes filling them to twice the depth of the western side. Hopefully, all the powder junkies will gravitate to Highlands, where the Bowl and Deep Temerity beckon, leaving me with a few wide open first track runs to enjoy mid day, if and when things finally open up. That is, if it ever stops snowing.