The New Yawka in Arizona Thread.

Last Saturday was great but Monday was even better. We got a full 17 inches between Sunday night and Monday afternoon. It was super duper hero snow. I think it was the best in bounds day I have had in years. After the 31 inches this past week the base is still very thin but things are improving. The days following Monday were extremely cold.

Tuesday morning. Frigid. We were the coldest place in the United States for two days in a row. HA! Arizona.



The next two days I made attempts to tour but I was plagued by equipment failure both times. I was seriously angry on the second day as I was left behind to keep the bench warm. :( Oh well, first world problems and it's all being resolved and I should be ready to play by the next cycle. It looks like we might get a good Christmas present, too far out to tell but I'm optimistic.

Yesterday was the grand opening of Snowbowls new chairlift, The Humphrey's quad chair.



So shiny and new.





The terrain is mostly beginner terrain and low level intermediate skiing, it's great for family's and the Phoenix crowd, the more of them spending $ the better for everyone as we can look forward to new improvements like more glading and new lifts.



One more from today, Day 16 for the season. Passing the torch.

RA, enjoying the fruits of the large El Nino! Good for you, my friend.  And there is nothing I enjoy more than passing the torch to my girls. Let me know when you're back on the right coast and want to ski Platty.  

It's interesting how you guys can get 4 feet of snow in a week and have a thin base. If that were to happen here we'd be 100% open skiing with chubs.

They have higher standards out there.  We never get enough natural snow for full coverage, so we make the most of the little snow we get and accept some damage to our skis.  There is a reason that they make millions of new skis each year.  A few extra tune-ups is well worth getting to ski something other than groomers on occasion.  I actually was able to ski trees at Mountain Creek last year, even though we got under 4 feet of snow all year.

snoloco wrote

  We never get enough natural snow for full coverage, so we make the most of the little snow we get and accept some damage to our skis.  

Not sure who we is, but that doesn't apply to the majority of places

skimore wrote

snoloco wrote

  We never get enough natural snow for full coverage, so we make the most of the little snow we get and accept some damage to our skis.  

Not sure who we is, but that doesn't apply to the majority of places

No doubt. I was like

I don't know about you, but whenever I ski glades, no matter what mountain, I bottom out at least once, which often means a trip to the tuning shop.

snoloco wrote

I don't know about you, but whenever I ski glades, no matter what mountain, I bottom out at least once, which often means a trip to the tuning shop.

Stop skiing on the same scraped off shit someone else already did

snoloco wrote

I don't know about you, but whenever I ski glades, no matter what mountain, I bottom out at least once, which often means a trip to the tuning shop.

i always buy used skis off ebay. it makes the glades more enjoyable not having to worry about the inevitable rock or stump you are going to uncover.

snoloco wrote

They have higher standards out there.

I thought the land was pointier and needed more snow.

Harvey wrote

snoloco wrote

They have higher standards out there.

I thought the land was pointier and needed more snow.

You really shouldn't need to point that out

kids these days

common core MY ASS!

snoloco wrote

I don't know about you, but whenever I ski glades, no matter what mountain, I bottom out at least once, which often means a trip to the tuning shop.

Says the kid who has stated emphatically and often that he doesn't like to ski in the woods, or powder!

Yes, even when the coverage is "good", a trip into the woods and other natural cover areas comes at the expense of both sweat and Ptex....and occasionally a base weld....but skis can be tuned and repaired and, personally, if all there was to ski were groomers all day, every day, I wouldn't bother owning any.

I got down to Sedona today to go riding. I'm really trying to illustrate why I love living here so much, we are literally 45 driving minutes from 6 or 7 different climate zones. One day you are skiing powder and the next, you are wearing shorts and riding bikes in one of the most beautiful places you can imagine.

Me rolling into a short steep-ish line.


My buddy Kachina Ryan and his rez mutts Buckley and Scrappy out on the Mescal trail.


I was really digging this ocotillo.


Buckley is 14 years old and still kills it, rez mutts are some of the best dogs. I only took this picture because this sign is so ridiculous.

I have some thoughts on the whole east vs. west base depths and differences but I don't have time right now. I'll be back!

You got me sold..
That's a good looking pooch..

Fantastic shots RA.  My wife and I were riding in Sedona 2 yrs ago.  We are definitely planning a trip back to AZ soon.  We rode 3 days... Saw tons of cool stuff, but obviously only scratched the surface.

The climate diversity down their is pretty similar in my area.  Currently, we have 3ft of snow in the yard, but if you go 30 miles southwest (dropping 3k in elev) into an area we call the Scablands, you can still ride pretty comfortably.

I often say that the only other place I could live in now is Washington, that and maybe southern Colorado in the San Juans.

On snow depths, Harv is right, we have piles of rocks and downed trees. If there is a grassy slope or a cleaned gladed area it would ski just fine with 30 or so inches of settled base but we have so much beetle kill and dead and downed trees they sometimes create barriers 10 feet tall. The new owner is keen on getting our glade skiing back to where we want it and he even went out this past summer and thinned out a new run that's on the trail map. I skied in there during the last cycle and it was killer. Skiing in unmaintained glades though with a 30 or so inch base is just asking for a broken leg here. It's not a matter of if but when. I guess you could make some very gingerly turns stopping every few and make it through but that's not really skiing imo. As a rule, out west here a lot isn't in play until we have a base of around 75 inches. At 90+ you start to see the big boy lines come into shape.

We do have wind transport. So even when the base is at now there can be areas of very deep wind deposited snow which we have right now in an area called the Cirque. I'm hoping to get back there this weekend, we are getting snow today and throughout this week but it's cold and light. I don't think we are going to get large quantities but the alpine could be very good in a few days.

As far as base damage and skiing goes......I don't worry about that. That's more of an east coast thing and it makes sense if you are skiing on a lot of groomed icy surfaces with carving/race skis. If you are into back country skiing/alpinism there are only two kinds of skis, your rock skis and the ones still wrapped in plastic leaning on your wall!

Thanks for the positive feedback on this thread everyone. I'll keep em coming!

raisingarizona wrote

On snow depths, Harv is right, we have piles of rocks and downed trees. If there is a grassy slope or a cleaned gladed area it would ski just fine with 30 or so inches of settled base but we have so much beetle kill and dead and downed trees they sometimes create barriers 10 feet tall.

Reminds me a bit of some places in the Adirondacks. A couple times last year early season felt a bit like skiing through a minefield.



Keep the pics coming RA! Had no clue there was such good skiing in Arizona.

Ya, without what? 6 feet of snow that area looks too sketchy!

What happened there jjp24? That looks like a slide path deposition zone.