Snowbird II

Benson and Wally weren't the only ones dropping in on Great Scott today.  Rural Ways sometime skis, too.  Proof.

Snowbird

We were supposed to have nice weather.  Instead, we got wind driven ice chrystals.  There were times when the clouds took away our visibility and the ice seemed to strip the skin from our faces.  Along with that, there was some stiff crud and plenty of exposed rock.  On the other hand, dropping into Great Scott with Benson and Wally can make up for a lot.  Besides, if it were easy, they wouldn't call it Snowbird.

Two Laps in Center Creek

We got one more little burst of snow yesterday afternoon, so we decided to try Center Creek before the sun did too much damage.  The results were mixed.  VSO laid down a pretty nice track in the fresh snow—cold beneath the surface.  But, on the next lap, the sun had warmed the track and turned it a little sloppy.  By the time I got to the top it was feeling like the beginning of a slog fest.  That is the problem with these spring storms.  One day it is winter, and the snow is light and soft; the next day it is summer, and the snow is heavy and sticky.  Two laps was all we got on this day.

The Point

First there was Elk Meadows, but they went bankrupt and the area was derelict for a while.  Now there is Eagle Point:  A little four or five lift alpine ski area abutting the Tushar Mountains about 20 miles east of Beaver, Utah.  I went up there for an hour on Thursday to ski a few laps.

Let's start with the bad:  The resort is split into two different pieces, one on each side of the highway.  There are two lodges, two parking lots, two snack bars, etc, but they are not very well connected, and you can't buy lift tickets on the good side.  So, you have to drive up to the upper lodge, wait in line for your ticket in the rental shop, and then drive all the way back down to the parking lot on the other side.  They run a shuttle bus between the parking lots, but, I mean, that is a lot of fooling around.  Then from the lower side parking lot, you have to walk up the stairs to the lodge, across the deck, and down a little bunny slope before you can get to the main lift.  To get back to your car, you have to ride the bunny chair back to the lodge and do all that in reverse.  In sum, the thing is awkwardly designed and it takes 35 minutes to get yourself together and half-way up the lift.  It sure ain't like Alta, where you can pull up to the bottom of Wildcat and be skiing the steeps in ten minutes.  (Heck, ain't no place like Alta, it's hardly fair comparing.)

Now the good:  The southern half of the resort has pretty danged good terrain.  I mean, for southern Utah, I wasn't expecting much, but there are some nice turns to be had.  It isn't steep like . . . well, like another place I like to go . . . but it is a nice steady fall line, with a few challenging obstacles.  It is not heavily skied, so it stays soft all day.  It has good north facing snow, so there are no bare spots.  It is just very pleasant skiing, and hard not to look like a hero.  (Except for one guy, who stopped next to me and began complaining in a heavy French accent that there was something wrong with the powder, and that he just couldn't seem to turn 'em like he expected to.  "Maybe there is something wrong with my skis," he said.  I looked down at his brand new $2,500 set-up.  "Yeah," I agreed, "maybe it is your skis.")

Indian Creek

This time I made it to Indian Creek.  It was another bark beetle reconnaissance mission.  But, in contrast to the North Fork of North Creek, where we were last week, the beetles in Indian Creek were plentiful.  Many of the ponderosa pines that survived the Twitchell Fire are now infested with Mountain Pine Beetle.  Most of them will die.  It's too bad.  There are some nice looking trees in those stands.

Steve again made sure I had snowmobile transportation.  In addition, he invited several other colleagues.  It was a regular motor-head rendezvous out there.  Fortunately, there were no creek crossings:  I was able to keep the machine upright and on top of the snow.  Am I getting better, or was it just luck?