It hadn’t snowed for the better part of a week, so I wasn’t expecting much when I left my house early Sunday morning and headed south on Interstate 5. After meeting fellow patrollers at LCC, we set out towards the pass. Conditions opening the mountain were less than desirable, at least on the front of the mountain, which had refrozen solid after melting the day before. The groomers were quite nice however, as were the runs on Peak 2. After bouncing around the mountain, it appeared the snow on Escalator and Destiny was in the best shape, and the position of the sun made for some nice shots with the camera as Todd and Simon skied by me….
After spending some time on the backside, we made a few runs on RTS, but the conditions on the top of the run pretty much dictated survival turns that weren’t really enjoyable. Being Super Bowl Sunday, it was pretty slow on the mountain and there weren’t too many incidents, and before long it was time for lunch. The snow finally started to corn around 1:00pm, at which time the runs on the south face of the mountain started to become enjoyable. I made a few runs on Timbur, High Lead, & Success after riding the chair up with Todd and John…
At 2:00, I sat bump at the top of EPA. While killing time and waiting for a call to come over the radio, I pulled out my camera and shot a few pictures. Here’s one of Odell Lake from atop the ski area…
A few minutes later, I decided to shoot a few shots of people riding the chair with the Salt Creek Canyon in the background. I had to wait a few minutes before I got this shot of fellow patrollers Raleigh Taylor and Steve Northrop…
After bump, I made three or four more runs on the front side in perfect corn snow before heading back to Peak 2 for sweep. After Peak 2 sweep, Patrol swept off the frontside of the mountain, calling the end to a nice day. Word came in that the Super Bowl was turning into a good game, so we headed out after a quick evening meeting to try to catch the last few minutes of the game at home. All in all, it was a nice sunny day on the mountain, but I don’t think anyone would be upset if some more powder was in the forecast. Here’s a parting shot of Simon on Escalator…
