Park City
Friday 4 February 2011

Weather

Conditions

Story of the Day

I arrived just before 9am. After a good day at Deer Valley, I was looking forward to another good day at Park City. Although the temperature was higher, there was no sun and gusts of cold wind.

Using First Time to gain altitude, I could see final preparations being made for the Half Pipe competition in the FIS World Cup.

09:11 First Time lift under an overcast sky	09:11 Eagle Superpipe ready for the FIS World Cup

I started the day with a run down Payday from the top of Payday lift. Snow conditions were excellent.

09:17 View from Payday

From the bottom of Payday, I took Crescent lift to the top of the ridge. The disabled skier in the chair ahead of me was very impressive. He got on and off of the lift without the slightest problem.

At the top of the lift, I turned sharp right and took the traverse across the ridge towards King Con ridge. This required some skating.

09:28 Disabled skier on chair in front	09:30 Ski Team is no more
09:30 Ski Team is no more	09:41 Resort Center from King Con Ridge
09:41 Eagle Base from King Con Ridge

The run along King Con ridge and then down Temptation was not particularly challenging but very satisfying. It is no longer possible to ski all the way along the ridge (there is a new "terrain park"); a new run through the trees bypasses the obstacles.

Compared to two days previously, Temptation was in great condition and a few pieces of vegetation on the surface provided a target for turns.

King Consolidated (1200) : King Con Ridge, Liberty, Hot Spot

09:50 King Con lift

Three runs from King Consolidated were shown as groomed. I decided to ski them all, starting with Liberty. A great run.

09:58 Prospector run from King Con lift	09:58 Slalom course on Shamus
09:58 Slalom course on Shamus	10:05 The bottom of King Con with new restrooms

The plan unravelled when I discovered that Shamus was closed for competition. Sitka was the third groomed run..

I decided that I enjoyed Temptation so much that I would do it again. The second run was as good as the first, so I did the same run a third time before taking King Con run down to the bottom of Silverlode lift.

10:38 Prospector run from Silverlode	10:38 Prospector run from Silverlode

From the top of Silverlode I headed down to the signature groomed Prospector run.

10:48 The Snow Hut as the sun comes out	10:48 The Snow Hut as the sun comes out

On the second run from Silverlode, down Parley's Park, the sun came out for the first time.

I was beginning to need a break, so planned to go straight to Mid Mountain. Unfortunately, the route I took to Homerun from the top of Silverlode, missed the turn-off to Mid Mountain, so I had to go to the bottom of Bonanza.

10:54 Prospector run totally deserted	10:54 Silverlode lift

11:15 Good snow cover alongside Bonanza	11:15 Good snow cover alongside Bonanza
11:15 Flat Iron

Although the weather was a lot warmer than two days previously, an early lunch break at Mid Mountain provided a very welcome opportunity to warm-up.

My target after lunch was McKonkeys where the Sunrise was a signature groomed run. It is the top 50m of the run that provides the challenge. For all but the most confident skiers, the steepness is intimidating, especially when the top 10m or so is "wind-groomed" with no surface snow. I waited while four other people plucked up courage to set off then followed them down. Even the turns at the top were comfortable.

11:53 Jupiter Peak in the sunshine	11:53 Sunrise run from McConkey's lift
11:53 Sunrise run from McConkey's lift	11:59 Sunrise run

I enjoyed that run so much that I repeated it. This time, the wind was stronger and snow was blowing across the top of the run.

12:10 The top of Sunrise	12:10 The top of Sunrise
12:10 The top of Sunrise

By the time I headed up McConkeys for the last time for the day, the weather was changing. Heavy grey clouds had returned and the picture of Jupiter Peak looks altogether more menacing. This time, I turned left along Georgeanna Ridge. The views in all directions were spectacular. The run was routine .. at least I didn't stall.

12:16 Heavy clouds behind Jupiter Peak	12:16 Heavy clouds behind Jupiter Peak
12:21 Panorama from the top of McConkey's lift	12:21 Panorama from the top of McConkey's lift
12:21 Panorama from the top of McConkey's lift	12:21 Panorama from the top of McConkey's lift

The long slow ride up Pioneer gave me a lot of time to think. Blueslip Bowl had been groomed and looked pretty benign. By the time I reached the top, I had decided to give it a go.

The first turn was revealing. "Recently groomed" was a relative term. A lot of people had skied the run in the 48 hours since the groomers left. Immediately after the second turn, I hit a rock. So Blueslip was rather more challenging than I expected and I skied carefully down to the bottom, with legs starting to complain.

12:29 Mid Mountain Lodge

12:45 Blueslip Bowl	12:46 Bonanza lift
12:48 Blueslip Bowl	12:48 Blueslip Bowl

By now, I was thinking about calling it a day. My plan called for a cruise down Keystone and Thaynes Canyon and then 1 lift back to the summit to ski down. The Canyon was an easy ski, so I by-passed Thaynes and Motherlode lifts and skied to the bottom of King Consolidated.

This meant one extra run, but my legs seemed OK. At the top of Silverlode, I missed the turn-off to Home Run so ended by having to ski down Assessment for an extra ride up Silverlode. This time I made no mistake and just about made it down to the base before cramp set-in.

All in all a very satisfying day of skiing, including 1 token Double Black run.

Runs

Last updated: 05/02/2011