December 24, 2006

Christmas came early. The ski report for yesterday said that over 5 feet of snow fell in the previous three days. Today’s report said 33 inches in the last 24 hours. While there might be some overlap between the two values, I don’t think it matters much if we got 6 feet, 7 feet, or 8 feet of snow this week at the ski resort.

Anchorage got plenty of snow, too. Our cul de sac is full of snow. The plows and machines have created a pile that is at least 20 feet tall and covers most of the 100 foot diameter circle at the end of our street. We only have about a lane’s width to squeeze through. Hopefully they will truck it away soon. We might have had another foot in the past couple of days.

So back to the ski resort. We arrived a little late on Saturday. The conditions looked exciting as we went up the lifts. The visibility was surprisingly good, even though it was snowing. The cloud deck appeared to be at a higher elevation. Snowflakes can reduce visibility, but having your head in the clouds is the worst. As we rode up the upper mountain lift, we noticed that people were passing through a gate to the North Face run. North Face wasn’t expected to open for another week. We skied down to the gate and a patroller was making sure that no one was entering alone. Everyone had to have a partner. We chatted politely with patroller and asked how long the run had been open. “Only about 20 minutes”, he replied. “I guess we don’t have a choice, now do we?”, I asked. He pointed through the gate and told us that the main run was off limits to us and that we were required to ski North Face. We passed through the gap in the ropes and immediately headed off the steep wall. I was surprised to find a few bare spots in the first couple of turns, but then things got soft and deep. We headed through our favorite route down the steep terrain.

Then it happened. I had a bit of speed as I made a turn and hit a deep pocket of barely tracked snow. The snow was probably mid-thigh in depth with my skis deeply submerged. As my body displaced the snow, it built up in front of me, spraying up in my face like the water displaced by the bow of a boat. This is what the ski world calls a ‘face shot’. I have had snow spray up on my chest before, but this was the first time I have ever experienced snow spraying in my face while moving forward down steep terrain. It momentarily took my breath away. I let out a howl of joy.

We skied all afternoon in soft, deep snow. When the visibility started to deteriorate, we headed down to the lower mountain and made some wonderful runs. The day ended with tired legs. We headed back to the truck. Being ‘locals’ we had parked in the upper upper lot. Our last run was strategically planned to traverse across the lower part of the mountain and ski right to the truck. Unfortunately, we weren’t headed down hill enough and we headed into a totally untracked and unpacked field of snow. The thigh deep snow brought us to a stop even though we were still headed slightly downhill. The snow was only thigh deep because we were standing on top of very wide skis. As we walked forward, our skis sunk deeper. We couldn’t even lift our skis up. We were practically stuck. Kris found her way to another set of tracks and was able to make some progress. I fought with my skis for a few more minutes before sliding in behind her. The last thing you ever want to do in snow that deep is lose your skis. We would have sunk easily neck deep, if not deeper without the flotation of our wide skis. After a few terrifying moments, we made our way back to the truck.

We headed down early this morning. We didn’t know that the snow would be deep, but it had been snowing pretty good in Girdwood when we left yesterday. We just knew that we had early reservations at one of our favorite restaurants so we wanted to start our ski day early. We were well on our way to arriving before the lifts opened when we read the ski report. It is hard to tell what to expect when they report 33 inches in the last 24 hours. Did we ski on 25 of it yesterday and we only have 8 today? Or is it the other way around? It was closer to the latter.

A line at the lower lift was already formed when we arrive. It got longer after we took a restroom stop and then strapped up our powder cords and put on our skis. Powder cords are a simple concept. They are about 6 foot long pieces of brightly colored ribbon. They are attached to the skis and then gently tucked in to the boot. In this way, if you pop out of a binding in deep snow, the ribbon stretches out provided a flag to help you find the ski. The downside is that it takes a bit more effort to get set up. We saw several people digging for a missing ski this weekend so it is an effort well worth the extra time. It is a frequent occurrence, especially in deep snow, that people will loose a ski that won’t be found until spring.

So the line was pretty long and we were pretty far back when the lift finally opened. As we rode up, we saw some of the first people coming down our favorite runs, skiing in super deep snow. I started paying close attention, even counting heads. I began to realize that one of the less popular runs was not getting much attention. It is good to be a local. It was a flat run to the good part and when I arrived, I knew we were in for a treat. Less than half a dozen tracks headed down the wide slope below me. The tracks looked like deep scars in the perfect white surface. Kris caught up and we dropped over the edge. Every turn was a smack in the face of cold snow. I learned that I don’t need to see at all times since the face shots were momentarily interrupting my visibility. I adjusted my breathing so that I could inhale air instead of snow.

As we rode up the lift again, I told Kris that it might have been then best run of the season. I was wrong. We stayed on the lower mountain for the first run because the chair for the upper mountain wasn’t running. We set a plan for our second run and as we skied down, the upper mountain lift started running. I pulled into line rather than continuing with the plan. Kris followed. I had no idea if we were going to be waiting a few minutes or a few hours, but we were only about ten places back in line. Someone explained that we were waiting for a bad chair to get down the mountain and be removed. We soon heard that it was chair number thirty and the chairs were already in the twenties. When chair thirty arrived at the bottom, they stopped the lift, disconnected the chair, and slid it into the storage area. The crowd let out a cheer and made fun of chair thirty. “Bad chair”, someone yelled.

Heading up the mountain and looking at all the available untracked terrain made it overwhelming. Which run did we want. Whatever we chose, it was going to be awesome, but only once. We selected a run that is steep and normally very bumpy. It took some effort to get there. The snow was seriously deep. Kris fell on the first pitch and struggled to get up. I contemplated leaving her under the standard rule that there are no friends on powder days. Luckily she got up quickly and I had a problem, coming to a stop at the bottom of a flat area, leaving me practically walking to our destination. Kris caught up, we caught our breath, and we dropped off a steep pitch that is normally covered with moguls. One person was ahead of us and that left plenty of untracked snow for us. Every turn sprayed us in the face. I looked back a few times as Kris was letting out these frightening screeches that turned out to be screeches of pure joy.

The visibility was fair, but everything was smooth and white. I skied off a huge dropoff. I knew where I was once I started dropping, but it was too late to stop. The deep snow made it feel like an elevator ride, dropping me the 20 or so feet almost straight down. Kris and the group behind us stopped at the top. I assured them it was no big deal and they followed.

We had to take a much steeper line than our usual routes. Flat areas resulted in complete stopping. I was only slightly familiar with my route and saw a line that looked interesting. I came to a stop at the top of what is probably a huge rock. I looked over the edge and realized where I was. This was essentially a cliff, another 20 foot drop, but the deep snow changed things. I was stuck anyway so I just took the plunge. The snow let me down gently. Kris followed behind me as if she hadn’t even given it a second thought. It turns out she had no idea what she had just skied off.

A bit further down, I suggested that we could drop off the wall into one of Kris’ favorite gullies. She didn’t object, but I was uncertain. I headed off the main trail into the deep snow. I quickly reached the point of no return. I headed over yet a third virtual cliff, covered with deep fluffy snow. Kris blindly followed me down the elevator into the gully. We even tried that one again on a later run with a little more entry speed. What a ride!

It doesn’t take long for things to get skied up. The snow transitions from smooth fresh, to soft cut up that provides plenty of options for strategic turns in the remaining deep stuff, to moguls. The technique must change a little as well. We have become very adaptable skiers. The deep stuff was awesome, but the cut-up and the bumps made it a really complete day of skiing.

Late in the day, I began to bank a little karma. We were riding one of the lower mountain lifts because a fog bank had rolled into the mountain and turned everything from mid mountain up into pea soup. As we rode the lift, I noticed someone struggling to get up in the middle of a field of relatively lightly tracked snow. I laughed at another turtle on its back, knowing full well how difficult it is to get up when the snow is soft and deep. When we got off the lift and prepared to descend several minutes later, I noticed that the person was still there. Worse, still, I noticed that it was a relatively small person. No one was coming to the rescue and the person was essentially flailing pointlessly. I told Kris that I had to go on a rescue mission. Kris agreed to follow along. I traversed the bumpy field of soft snow and stopped just below this young girl. I asked if she was alright and she indicated that she was stuck. She had lost both skis and her feet were buried in the deep snow. I positioned her skis, helped her step into them, and helped her stand back up. I was rewarded instantly with a nice powdery run down from this isolated point. I noticed she was still struggling as we rode up the lift the next time, but we watched to be sure she made it all the way down the brutal slope. Well brutal for a beginner, Kris and I were just slamming our way through the stuff.

I also found a two way radio and turned it in to a lift operator. Hopefully it will find its way back to its owner. I think karma still owes me one for this one, not that I am keeping score.

Dinner was awesome and now we are just relaxing our tired muscles, watching “It’s a Wonderful Life”. From where I am sitting, the title is quite appropriate. It is a wonderful holiday season here in Alaska. Merry Christmas!