last week in lake tahoe

Tahoe’s Junuary ran late this year, and through half of February. Then things got real good real fast. Kirkwood got close to (or more than, not sure) 15 feet in the last 2 weeks of February. We’ll just look at 2/23-3/1, skipping the comp stuff which will end up in that thread.

Sounds for wed/thurs
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6xWD7Tf6FM4

Video at bottom

Wednesday 2/23 at Spurkwood Backcountry Resort
why that looks like a bluebird powder day, doesn’t it

it is. it is a bluebird powder day

Ottime goes HYOOODGE while patrol gazes in awe

then, he proceeds to go even Hyuger


i like to call this ‘hot tub in white room’.

FranklezZ FallZ

surely, Hyoujest

Let’s take another lap, shall we

Oh Yeah!

My turn

anticipation

Thursday 2/24 – Various locations along Hwy 88
as Ottime cuts across the top of a slope in one of our favorite zones, a small wind slab rips out 20 feet above as expected

while i was taking a pic of the double in the background, Ottime sneaks into the frame (moron the double later)

then we headed to the back nine

last time i was here, this was clearly a log

Powdork’s impression of Fiddler on the Rock

and out through the uprights (really there are uprights there)

Do these skis make me look fat?

Speaking of bacon, Ottime finds this phat looking line

Looking good and tight

or not

now you’re just showing off your skis

we get it already!

Then we took a break while Ottime skied with his God son (I now realize this is really just code for having beers at Bub’s) ) and I filmed the qualifiers (also code for having beers) ) We hooked back up at 1:00 to head up the road to another secrefied locale
Ottime (in completely different gear from head to toe) drops into the gulch

I follow (can you tell whose using my old camera, and whose using my new one)

Ottime finds another feature

And I dub thee Imperial Stormtrooper

that was fun, i want to do it again

Ottime’s turn

ruh-roh, which way did he go

this should ‘splain it

don’t worry, they’re down there somewhere

Friday
Friday was kind of a bust. Tried to go to Kirkwood but got turned around at the road closure. Checked the web cam to see Grand View was closed at Sierra, then headed off to Gunbarrel, the last open lift in the basin just about. Hiked up a ways and got one good but very scary run in a sketchy snow pack. It should be in the POV

Saturday
Hooked up with Dark Star for a day at the ‘wood. Started with a skin up to Danberg which was surprisingly the worst snow of the day.
It sure was pretty though

afterward we hit the frenzied confines of the resort. it was all tracked out and sucky

turns out, the powder snow was real good

Dark Star meets Keyhole (Tremanns)

Sunday and Monday were spent covering the comp at Kirkwood

Tuesday – More Carson mini golf (Now, with 25% newer holes)
After dropping the youngest off at school, I met FranklezZ and two others at Carson Pass. Since the others didn’t have skinning gear we decided to make it a day of bootpacking. While waiting for the two to break trail, it was balls deep, FranklezZ and I back filled the post-holes to make it better the next time around. it actually worked pretty damn well.
Stairway to heaven

Which I guess would make this heaven

Chris drops in off the top

FranklezZ FollowZ

repeat after me 1,000 times
Hands ForwarD
Hands ForwarD
Hands ForwarD
It’s really the only rule (not kidding either, i always do a sort of ‘keep my hands forward’ prayer (non denominational of course) whenever i stand above something sketch)

Chris off the spine (and onto the tree below)

more pillowy goodness below

Frankle Rock

that’s when things went awry. i’ve eyed this double for a long time. it’s been near the top of my list mostly because i see it so often on the way to the wood. i thought the top hit would just be a little 5′ hop to check, but it turns out it would like 10′ if i could get to the edge. i couldn’t so it was gonna have to be 15′, and then the extra speed needed to clear the rocks on the take off made it almost 20′ and with too much speed to check it on landing. Trying to check, my hands got back, initiating the inevitable spin backwards with my head hitting the top of the lower cliff band before i bounced over onto the rocks and snow below. Luckily I came out mostly unscathed although we’ll see how the knee skis today. For now, the line has moved from the ‘To Do’ list to the ‘To Do Right’ list or perhaps even the ‘To Do Upright’ list.

The video


RIP Ryan (Hawks)

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