Usual Mt Bachelor Delivery – Epic Pow

 

Mt Bachelor  can be a fickle old friend, especially in mid-winter. We prefer her sunnier, warmer Spring persona, when a deep base and corn snow make for unreal May conditions. In deep winter, like a night out with Courtney Love, anything can happen. And this February’s President weekend, it pretty much did. Blizzards, wind blasts, sunshine, we had it all. Every 20 minutes. Not even the serious windchill and low temperatures kept the holiday crowds down, but apart from Saturday morning, it was bearable. As was the snow. 6-10 inches Friday night, at least another 6 during Saturday, and temperatures that would chill the bones of your average Eskimo. Despite the hoards, it was a superb powder day, with cold temperatures delivering primo quality pow.

Sunday was even better. The sun made an unexpected winter appearance, the Northwest chair opened early, and the Summit opened mid-morning. The choices of knee-deep untracked lines increased  throughout the day as rapidly as Spring gas prices. We cruised the West Bowls and trees in deep, deep snow. After lunch we circumnavigated the cone a couple of times, dropping off the back, and finding amazing powder settled in the volcano-shaped gulleys. And we traversed the crater bowl through crazy wind blasted ice, cornice debris and blasted sludge before emerging into untracked pitches above the Northwest Chair.

All they need at Bachelor is to put in some 6-pack chairs and ditch the stupid variable priced lift ticket system (really!!). Then it’d be close to perfect, crazy weather and all.

7400m, 7700m vert

Season Totals: 38 days, 303,200m vert, 16 powder days

A Soggy Silver Mountain weekend

A warmish, dampish weather front extended over the Pacific Northwest, leaving weekend ski options in any direction from Richland as compelling as a Republican candidate’s debate. Still, a somewhat soggy weekend in the mountains is better than a dank, dark weekend at home, so we cut our loses and headed to Silver Mountain, which was as enticing as anywhere weather-wise.

Saturday was foggy, skiing in a cloud. The savior was warm weather that softened everywhere, even making some of the off-groomed worthy of sampling. Sunday was pretty solid everywhere in the morning, in classic thaw-freeze style. But then it started snowing. Heavily. By 3pm, a modicum of sweetness was being restored to Silver, with a 2 inch coating of soft, creamy goodness. We left reluctantly, a lap of North Face Glades making it hard to take the gondola down.

Not a great weekend, but sure better than staying in the Tricities 😉

6400m, 6900m vert

Season Totals: 36 days, 288,100m vert, 14 powder days

Fun in the sun at Big White

A high pressure system was moving into the Pacific Northwest, essentially putting an end to our power-chasing week. So we decided to look for the best deal we could find between Revelstoke and the USA border, as snow conditions were good enough everywhere to hang out for 3 days in the sun. The bargain gods dictated we ended up at Big White, so here’s our trip report …

Trip report format from Snowheads

Date: 1st-4th Feb 2012

Our mob: Jan, the Walrus and me

Website : http://www.bigwhite.com/

Basics : In BC’s Okanagan Valley, 45 minutes from Kelowna, Big White is a highly developed, good-sized ski hill. The village is a bit sprawly, but we always find it a pleasant place to be. And there’s some darn decent skiing to be had.

The skiing: Big White’s skiing is more Flintstones than South Park, more Twilight than True Blood. The rounded peaks, tree-lined gullies and gentle creek lines make for extensive, cruisy riding, with an abundance of terrain choices. The Ridge Rocket area groomers are a delight to warm up on before moving to the trees off the Powder Chair, the steeps off the Cliff Chair, or the timid groomers and fun bumps off the Bullet Chair. Snow and weather permitting, the terrain served by the Gem Lake Chair is where I spend most of my time. Pick off the runs left-to-right (or for conservatives, right-to-left), poke around in the trees on the edge of the tree-cut lines, and your legs will be trashed well before the lift schedule drives you back towards the village.

The local’s rule-of-thumb for snow conditions seems to be roughly along the lines of – 1m base is open (just), 1.5m base makes venturing off groomed possible, and 1.8m+ base means all round exploration is the order of the day. We arrived after a 20cm storm and with a base of 1.85m, so our odds were good. Thursday was a sublime day, cold, sunny and powdery boot-deep remnants available to be mined all day long by the mid-week ‘crowds’ (ie deserted) . The weather stayed cold and clear for the next two days, the snow held up like the New York Giant’s defense, and we shredded the mountain with the vigor of Buffy at a vampire party. 3 great days indeed.

Off-piste : The runs off the Cliff chair are genuinely steep, albeit short. They were in fabulous conditions while we were there. Many laps required. Options exist elsewhere for ducking into trees and between runs, and exploration usually brings rewards. Rip Sun Ripe Bowl and mine the almost constant wind-blown pow piles, and then carve rolling groomers or long bump runs all the way to the base of Gem Lake. If you’re not having fun by then, check your pulse.

The resort: Dominated by some older and many new condos, and  a couple of hotels, Big White is a genuinely pleasant place to be. Nearly all the accommodations are slope-side or very close. The main village is small but has a respectable number of restaurants and bars, and a decent little supermarket. Snowshoe Sam’s is the main apres/drinking hole, attracting a mixed ‘ski bum meets resort worker meets moderately affluent vacationers’ crowd. They often have live bands, and a good selection of local micro brews always makes me happy 😉

Food : On hill is pretty basic. The lodges at the base of Ridge Rocket and Gem Lake serve decent soups, sandwiches, and even an Aussie-style meat pie or two – my indulgence! As you can ski through the village, other lunch time options exist in the village restaurants. We only sample them at night, and while there’s nothing that will shiver your culinary timbers, there’s tasty food that won’t empty your wallet either. Fight your way past the caniform guard at the Swiss Bear, and hearty lamb shanks, pork chops and stews reward your bravery. The food at Sante’s is as reliable as Manchester United’s annual Premiership challenge, and housed in a much more pleasant environment that a Salford football stadium. And if you’re just drinking, Snowshoe Sam’s has pub food that would well impress the average Salford resident.

Hotel: We started looking Monday evening for somewhere to stay on the hill (for a Wednesday arrival), using Owner Direct. There were many last-minute bargains, but we settled on a 2 bed/bath slope-side condo in Winter Ridge, for the exorbitant (not!) fee of C$495 for 3 nights, This was a complete bargain. A really nice condo, great kitchen, spacious and comfortable living area, views over the ski runs, and as ski in-out as it gets, Last minute bargains are fine things 😉

Costs: Apart from our bargain condo, we got 25% off lift tickets with our Mission Ridge season pass, making it $C150 for 3 days skiing. All other costs are respectable. It’s not a high-end joint.

Conclusion: When the snow base is deep, which is most of the time, it’s hard not to have fun at Big White. Especially when the sun shines.

10.500m, 11,000m, 10,300m vert

Season Totals: 34 days, 274,80m vert, 14 powder days

Powdery Indulgence at Revelstoke

Trip report format from Snowheads. Read on …

Date: Jan 29-1st Feb 2012

Our mob: Jan, the walrus and me

Website : http://www.revelstokemountainresort.com/

Basics : Huddled in the Kootenay Mountains at the foot of Rogers Pass. A remote rail and logging town, surrounded on all sides by very snowy mountains.

The skiing: The headline ‘most vertical in North America’ is certainly true, but it betrays Revelstoke’s greatest assets. The steep, unrelenting fall line skiing, glades as good as anywhere, and especially on the top half of the mountain, copious fluffy snow, all make a great package for powder hounds. Our midweek visit in late January was ridiculously quiet. Powder days with no lines, and untracked pleasure available well into the afternoon. It snowed pretty much all the 3 days we were there. The freezing level oscillated like the Dow Jones, with rain-snow mix at village level, and perfect BC pow a few thousand feet higher. Some runs were simply unbelievably good. Snorkel Glades nearly lived up to their name. Jalapeno was one to treat carefully, and the hike out to North Bowl rewarded knee-deep fresh lines well into the afternoon. Add 1500m vertical top-to-lunch black diamond runs, some groomed, some not, and our Jello-like legs needed much replenishment each evening.

Off-piste : Extensive. Epic. More tree skiing than anywhere I think I’ve ever been. Watch out for cliff bands lurking beneath the freshies. Follow locals, Be careful.

The resort: Upmarket digs are available at the base of the gondola. But there’s not much else there. About 5km away the town is still a pretty much unadulterated BC country town, with only a few concessions to tourists. It’s not exactly crazy, but there’s plenty of choice for apres and food. And there’s now a bus from town to the ski hill, which is a bonus.

Food : I love the Woolsey Creek Bistro for its eclectic, tasty dishes. Frisbee Ridge Sushi has food much better than its name, and the Idiot Bar is a good hang our for pub food. Drink Mt Begbie beer, brewed in town. It’s not bad at all.

Hotel: If you want luxury, stay at the ski hill base. In town there’s a fairly uninspiring bunch of motels. We’ve stayed in the Alpine Inn, Sandman, Days Inn and this time the Gateway Inn. All acceptable, and walking distance to town. Like a Lucinda Williams gig, don’t expect too much.

Costs: A room for two and 2 day tickets at the Gateway was C$260 per night. Not a bargain, but half the price of staying at the base.

Conclusion: Remote, a little wild and rustic, but well worth the effort to get there. Magnificent terrain and snow.

Stats: 9500m, 10,400m vert

Season Totals: 31 days, 243,00m vert, 13 powder days

Starting the journey north – Mission Ridge and Apex

A week off work, no plans, and snow looking likely in BC. What else is there to do, armed with a truck and internet connection, than try to track down the pow on a road trip?

We met up Friday night in Wenatchee, and with super conditions promised at Mission Ridge the next day, we headed up early to indulge. And the conditions were super. Great coverage, soft wind-blown chalk all over the north facing runs, and even a few fresh marshmallow turns under Bomber Cliffs. It was cold though, and took us a hard ski morning to get warm. Just as we were contemplating one last run before  lunch,  the Liberator chair closed due to high winds.

Bummer. Time for lunch.

We cruised a little in the afternoon, but brutal winds and a broken Chair 1 made the return on effort marginal. So we packed up, and headed to Canada. Next destination, Apex Mountain Resort.

Apex is a killer little ski hill. Ribbons of steep runs plunge off a long ridge line, served by a fast quad chair where lift lines are as rare as cougar sightings. Below the steeps lurk rolling groomers that beg for high-speed carving turns. The base was as good as I’ve ever seen it here, with the inevitable rocks and logs few and far between. This made the seriously steep, tree-lined runs like Pee Shooter and 22 absolutely superb skiing. Precipitous runs cut through narrow tree bands with great snow was a formula that tempted us back time and time again until, like a Roberto Duran opponent, we surrendered exhausted and battered.

Next stop, Revelstoke.

Mission Ridge 5600m, Apex 8800m vert

Season Totals: 29 days, 222,100m vert, 11 powder days