Festivus

Posted by Big Al on December 20, 2009 under The Weekly Deal | Be the First to Comment

Last week was the one that literally opened everything up. That storm laid down a deep matt and covered those hidden surprises which made you leave your best skis at home. Now we’ve got a good base with almost the entire mountain open. I’ve heard more than a few people say they’ve never seen this much terrain open before Christmas. We had KT on Monday and then Headwall, Granite (including the Peak) and Solitude. Then we were treated to some memorabilia: Olympic Lady, Newport and Mainline into the weekend then on Sunday, Cornice II was spinning. I rode them all and if the mood strikes I recommend you do the same. It’s fun because you’ll be on these once-vital lifts which now have high-speed four and six packs going over them. It’s a good mountain tour at close range. Plus I happened to find the best snow under Newport, shhh….

For those who were here the whole time, like the college kids home for the holidays and hitchhiking all over town, it was one those powder weeks that happens when weather or conditions make the mountain open piecemeal. I love this. Don’t get me wrong – I like the shotgun starts as much as anyone. The instant festival, when everything is open by 10 or 11, is an incredible thing to be a part of. But it’s also amazing when there’s something new opening every day with stable, untouched snow. The mountain is so big that getting a chair-opening treat in the morning can be followed by an entire day of poking around and finding your favorite snow.

Since it’s the beginning of the season and the ski industry has once-again redefined itself, you might want to think about a new pair of boards. There are some really interesting shapes out there – to me the best are the ones with normal camber for most of the ski then a huge rockered tip. Motivation to learn the new rides for me was easy because I was definitely buying a pair this year. I even got to the point of swinging into Granite Chief to get fired up before hitting the gym.

The way to do it is to go to the Gold Coast Demo Center when you get serious about buying. They have the most unbelievable selection of skis: 56 models, nine brands and 20 women-specific skis. I had been looking at ski shop walls for the last month and there is stuff in the Squaw Demo Center that I had never seen before – there was even a ski that everyone in the shops was talking about but none of them had. And for a little dough all of these skis are yours…for a day. You can get onto a pair of boards, ride Gold Coast, ski down and be back in the shop picking another pair in under 15 minutes. If you like the ones you’re on, just roll past Gold Coast to Siberia and test them on a steeper, more mountain-y (!) area. The other bonus of a demo center on the snow is that the folks working there know every ski better than anyone in any shop. These guys have skied on everything in the fleet (hopefully, for their sake!). Manager Roy Hage has been working in shops since 1986 so he knows his way around a binding. He’s also really good at asking questions to help you pick the next one. I found my Ultimate Ski there – you probably can, too….

UPCOMING:

Do you like Torchlight Parades? Me too…

Check out Squaw’s incredibly huge list of Holiday Events.

Dec 26th from 4pm – 7pm, test the best wine you’ve ever had at Uncorked with Canihan Family Cellars. I don’t know too much about grapes but these are truly the best I’ve ever had. Anyhoo.

Also on Dec 26th is Jubbing for Jacksons – I don’t know what it is but I like the name of it

Next Wednesday, 12/29, there’s a fundraiser for Granite Chief’s Scholarship Fund which helps kids who are big on skills but low on bills.

© 2009 Alex West, all copy and photos