January 25, 2025 – High Pressure and Training at the Pass

The end of January was approaching, and with it was more high pressure and sunshine. Shaun had the weekend off, so I headed up with Carson for a day of patrolling, training and turns. We arrived at the area early, and unloaded our gear for the day. After our morning meeting, I headed out to help Patrol 1 open the hill, and the weather was quite nice.

Patrol 1 crew ready for opening
Ian at opening at the top of EPA

At the top of EPA, the sun was out and the clouds on the east side made for a cool setting since we typically don’t have clouds building on the east side of the mountain in the middle of winter. After taking a lap to open a run, I headed back up and hung out at the saddle closure for a few minutes with Stefan before heading back down to get Carson at the base.

Stephan at the saddle closure
Danny at the top of EPA

When I got to the patrol room, Carson was ready to go and we headed out to catch the EPA chair back up to the top. The morning sun was really nice, so I snapped some more pictures with my 50mm 1.8 Canon RF lens before we headed down. One of the patrollers even took a picture of Carson and I up top.

Althea in the brilliant sunshine
Carson ready for a lap on the frontside
Matt & Carson at the top of EPA

Carson and I took a lap down Rosary, which was skiing nice in the morning sun. We stopped at the big corner and I snapped a picture of him looking out over Lakeview Peak, and it reminded me of a few pictures I’ve taken from that spot in past years, including in the fall when we’ve come up to cut and ski.

A quick pause at the big corner

After a couple more runs, we headed over to Peak 2 and caught up with the sled candidates for some toboggan training on Waldo. The crew was advancing quickly after a couple of days of training, and started the morning by running loaded Cascade 100’s down the nicely groomed run.

Sled training on Waldo
Dan ready for a sled ride

We staged across from June’s Run to discuss the nuances of managing the sled while in the handles and the tail rope, and after a bit more discussion, it was time to head down.

Candidates staging at the top of Waldo
Loaded sled practice on Waldo
Cruising down Waldo
Asa managing the tail rope

I fired off several shots as we worked our way down the run, as well as evaluated how the candidates were doing both in the handles and on the tail rope. When we got to the bottom of the Peak 2 chair, we gave everyone some feedback, and then loaded the sleds to head back up the lift and do it again.

Mark and company cruising down Waldo

I snapped a few more pictures on the second lap, including a few of Joe giving some training advice to the candidates. Well, at least what came out of his mouth was advice – his body language was quite hilarious :).

Joe providing some sled advice
Harwood providing instruction

After the brief discussion, we headed down, and I fired off several more shots.

Agustin just past the Waldo headwall
Cruising down for a second lap
Asa and Agustin on lap 2

By the time we were done with a second lap, it was time for me to head in to get a quick bite of lunch with Carson, and I was greeted by Joe and Dan F. who were on the grill outside the patrol room cooking up a batch of burgers. I was hungry and they definitely hit the spot!

Joe and Dan on the grill
Cooking up some tasty burgers for lunch

Once lunch was over, I headed out to sit bump for an hour, and then rejoined Carson to take a few runs before getting ready for sweep. From the top of EPA, Diamond was looming large in the mid-day sun.

Diamond Peak from the top of EPA

I also took advantage of the photo op for my beverage of choice for the day, which was enjoyed after sweep at the end of the day of course. However, given the sunshine, I opted to take it up in my pack to the top of EPA, which made for a good photos of the tasty Pelican Brewing Pilsner.

A tasty Pelican Pilsner

After hitting a couple of front side runs, Carson and I decided to spin a few laps on Twilight, and I grabbed a few photos of him skiing on both Rough Cut as well as West Rough Cut.

Carson skiing Rough Cut
Heading down West Rough Cut

Eventually, the afternoon wore on and it was time to head to the top of Peak 2 for sweep. When I got to the top, I noticed patrollers were staging near the unloading ramp, so I climbed up on the opposing side from the lift and snapped a picture from the higher vantage point with Maiden Peak in the background.

Closing crew at the top of EPA

Before we shoved off for sweep, I wanted to get a picture of the group, and Hutch thought it would be funny to grab my board and do a picture with it over his head like I normally do, which I admit was quite funny. Look at all those clowns :).

Closing crew
Looking up Northern after closing

Peak 2 sweep went off without a hitch, and I walked back up to EPA after riding the Peak 2 chair, and met Carson at the top. We swept Good Time Charlie together, before heading down for lower mountain sweep and then to the patrol room for the evening meeting.

Carson skiing Good Time
Late afternoon turns on Charlie

The evening meeting was short and sweet, and soon I was enjoying that Pelican Pilsner, as well as chips and salsa and some good laughter with friends in the patrol room after another great day on the hill. All things considered, it was a great way to close out January and look forward to a hopefully snow filled February!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *