Snowbird May 18-19 2019...with a little Alta

May 18......🤔

The start was a bit of a shit show.

Peruvian was delayed until 9:00, but third chair made it worth the wait.  Mineral Basin and Little Cloud opened around 10:00.  Mucho powder.  A little heavy in spots.  After a few runs in Mineral I hit the Cirque.

I looked at this for a bit before I dropped over the cornice...



....but there was no passing on first tracks into the steep main chute from the Cirque into the top of Great Scott.  Not often you get that on a classic Snowbird test piece.  Hucked and stuck a good size drop for good measure on the way out.  It’s been a good morning for me.  The hoots and hollers on the mountain are non-stop.

Tunnel to Mineral Basin is pretty cool.



Seek and ye shall find......at 12:30.



Sun thought about making an appearance.

I’m glad I got back to ski Snowbird.  Even though a relatively small percentage of terrain is open, what’s available skied huge.  Everywhere you turn or look, no matter where you are on the mountain, there’s another great line.  Spent the afternoon skiing off the Cirque Traverse, mostly.  Snowbird is without a doubt the most consistently steep mountain I’ve ever skied.

Pics never do justice, but these spots on the Gad side were STEEP.  Even found an untracked line at 2:30.





Even got to ski some aspens (I think).

JTG4eva! wrote

May 18......🤔

Nice to have a separate TR, but however you tried to do the pics that were in the other thread didn't work.  Glad I saw them before the disappeared.

Deep powder at just the right time . . . lucky!

Fixed it!

Another good day today, interesting.  The freeze overnight left many aspects firm and chunky (read: unpleasant).  Groomers were great, but that’s not what you come here for, right?  North facing aspects weren’t all firm chunks, and untracked areas (yes, they still existed out the Baldy Traverse) were an ok supportable crust. Didn’t ski a lot today, but what I got in was good.

I went the lift ticket route, and last run I scooted around the corner on the Baldy Traverse into Alta, then skinned up to Main Baldy Chute.  It held great snow.  Still some powder at the edges, and slightly firm cut up powder down the gut.  The coverage is incredible.  Hard to fathom Alta being closed with the amount of snow out there.



As usual, pic don’t do justice, it doesn’t really show the cornice at the entrance.


Snowbird gets another superlative, as that is the most aesthetically pleasing chute I’ve ever skied.  That’s a run to end the season on!

A little more Superior/Wasatch porn....

JTG4eva! wrote

Fixed it!

Another good day today, interesting.  The freeze overnight left many aspects firm and chunky (read: unpleasant).  Groomers were great, but that’s not what you come here for, right?  North facing aspects weren’t all firm chunks, and untracked areas (yes, they still existed out the Baldy Traverse) were an ok supportable crust. Didn’t ski a lot today, but what I got in was good.

. . .

Thanks for the pics!  Late season skiing in LCC is always fun, one way or another.

Score! Way to go JTG!

This winter just won’t stop. It’s dumping snow up at our area right now.

I always wonder what the balance sheet looks like for ski areas that stay open as long as conditions allow, e.g. Snowbird, Mammoth, or Killington. Which percentage of their customers are pass holders vs. people who pay for day tickets. How much the late-season factor persuades people to make it their home mountain, etc. I assume that this question been covered here; however, I couldn't find the thread.

Congratulations on the mid-May score.

The coverage you pictured here, as well as what I've seen around the rest of the social media posts from across the western US right now, is just unbelievable.  Friggin mid MAY!?!?  Guess it's going to be a late start to summer out there!

ADmiKe wrote

The coverage you pictured here, as well as what I've seen around the rest of the social media posts from across the western US right now, is just unbelievable.  Friggin mid MAY!?!?  Guess it's going to be a late start to summer out there!

Meanwhile back in Myrtle Beach...

Thanks for posting JT. I really appreciate this. I'm down here by the beach daydreaming about what you're actually doing, lol!

What beach? I just got back from a week at the beach. I hate the beach. If my fam wants to get tropical weather I’d rather be on a sail boat trimming sails and navigating. Instead I was being dragged around to one tourist stop after another getting my pocket picked.

Beach....I like the beach!  We’ll be up on Cape Cod next weekend, and it will be ALMOST as good as skiing powder in May.  Almost....

Happy to do the trip reports and share my experiences.  I like being able to live vicariously through others when I can’t be skiing, too!

I had a good time skiing this year, one of my best, and I think I got some decent terrain in, and It’s nice to be able to share it here.  God knows my wife doesn’t wanna hear it!

PeeTex wrote

What beach? I just got back from a week at the beach. I hate the beach. If my fam wants to get tropical weather I’d rather be on a sail boat trimming sails and navigating. Instead I was being dragged around to one tourist stop after another getting my pocket picked.

I agree with PeeTex. The beach is overrated.

I also agree with JTG, I like seeing pictures with snow and rad skiing terrain all year.

One of you rich dudes should go to Chile or New Zealand this year.

JTG4eva! wrote

May 18......🤔

The start was a bit of a shit show.

Peruvian was delayed until 9:00, but third chair made it worth the wait.  Mineral Basin and Little Cloud opened around 10:00.  Mucho powder.  A little heavy in spots.  . . .

Based on the pics for Friday, 5/24, by Guru Dave, the line for Peruvian wasn't quite as long as last Saturday.  Also didn't open until around 9:00 while Mineral opened at 11:15.  The total went over 700 inches for the season, base depth is listed on the website as 116 inches, and the 48-hour total was 13 inches with 4 more on Friday night.  Pretty clear that it was cold snow, deep powder conditions until the lifts closed at 2:30.

Can get a $50 day ticket if can show a season pass from another mountain at a ticket window.  Started May 1.  I remember getting a discounted lift ticket at Alta in April with my Massanutten season pass a while back.  Probably before the MCP came on the scene.

Yep love the Ocean beaches we will be on the Cape mid June for 2 weeks again , then in Maine for 2 weeks in Sept on the beach on the Gold Coast

After a Great early summer trip to the Cape its time to shove off for Our annual Fall Two weeks on the Gold Coast of Maine starting next weekend

This year staying on the Ocean again in Ogunquit at a new spot we've not stayed at before .  Will do the beaches there and  Kennebunkport, Goose Rocks , Fortunes Rocks , Biddeford Pool and York Beach  .play  golf , kayaking in the Ogunquit River and Rachel Carson Estuary and swimming and long beach walks and lobster . Will start off Labor day weekend at our daughters place for a long weekend near Concord Ma. Then hit Maine and return to her place on our final weekend to play in a benefit tournament

Sounds fun, warp! Have a great time.

Weird post I made in this thread, considering this:

JTG4eva! wrote

Yes, there is weird tension in your need to confront my contributions at every turn.  It’s super creepy, actually.

Far from being fully lightened up, you are a bully.  A troll, really.  You create a toxic atmosphere here for the most part.  You really should stop and ask yourself why, time and again, people take offense from your crap and call you out on what you are.

It's almost as if JTG is completely wrong about my posts!

MC2 5678F589 wrote

Weird post.....

Warp, enjoy.  

MC, nothing weird about you wishing him a great time.  As to the rest of your post in this thread (or any thread, really)....we’ll, disturbing, even frightening, come to mind before weird.  It does betray your nature though.  You are one helluva strange dude.

As for the Cape, our next opportunity may be Columbus Day.  With wetsuits the ability to surf is a given.......but, even more so with the proliferation of shark sitings and related beach closures this summer from Head of the Meadow down to Nauset, my wife freaks out if we go in the water in the fall.  Not enough other shark bait splashing in the surf I guess, and no lifeguards to assist if a shark mistakes us for a seal.  Of course, as the water starts to cool the Great Whites start to head south for warmer waters....but my wife won’t want to listen to that!

I was talking about my post like 3 posts above the one you seem to think I'm talking about.