boardoholic
02-11-2009, 01:00 PM
With the freshies that fell starting last Fri as well as the series of storms inbound over the next 10+ days (Yippee!!! Finally, eh?), I think Sierra@Tahoe is long overdue for a thread for this season's first-hand conditions updates. :D
I went yesterday w/ 3 other guys (2 who I had ridden w/ only once before back in Dec & 1 who I had ridden w/ a few times last season). Let me also say that I've been going to Sierra for years (I learned there about 12 seasons ago) and yesterday was one of the best days I've had at that resort! The reasons are three-fold: (1) great coverage & conditions, (2) skill level of fellow riders, and (3) hitting up terrain I was never able to explore on past trips.
Great Conditions & Coverage:
There was plenty of fresh snow everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! True, much of it was tracked-out, but there were stashes here & there. On the trails, the machine-groomed pow was fast & fun! But it actually paled in comparison to runs that were ungroomed along w/ all the off-piste goodies! Depending upon what part of the mtn we were riding, I could roost about 8" of fresh or slash up to maybe 18"-22" where the wind or terrain features caused a heaping of pow to collect. The danger of barely-covered obstacles was still something you had to be very aware of. Remember, look before you leap! :p The bottom line though...excellent coverage. I can't wait for impending pukage over the next couple weeks!
Skill Level of Fellow Riders & Never-Before-Ridden (for me, at least) Terrain:
I am really grateful that I finally got to ride w/ a group of people that absolutely LOVE to freeride (like me). In my review of Sierra that I posted a couple years ago, I mentioned that most skiers/riders stay on the trails/runs. Since almost all of my past trips have been w/ these casual type of enthusiasts, I rarely had the chance to ride the trees & boulders along Grand View. And never did I have the opportunity to hit up any of the double-black bowls. Thanks to fellas I rode with, that all ended yesterday! :cool:
Winter is Back!!!
These next 2 weeks are going to help turn the season around. I know folks have been down that we've had such long stretches of ZERO precip & record-high temps. Thanks to all of you who wash your cars every few days, went on picnics, hung laundry out to dry or sacrificed virgins. :p But I think we should all thank Punxsutawney Phil for allowing us to have our winter playgrounds back in full effect! So get out there & get your slide on!
I went yesterday w/ 3 other guys (2 who I had ridden w/ only once before back in Dec & 1 who I had ridden w/ a few times last season). Let me also say that I've been going to Sierra for years (I learned there about 12 seasons ago) and yesterday was one of the best days I've had at that resort! The reasons are three-fold: (1) great coverage & conditions, (2) skill level of fellow riders, and (3) hitting up terrain I was never able to explore on past trips.
Great Conditions & Coverage:
There was plenty of fresh snow everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! True, much of it was tracked-out, but there were stashes here & there. On the trails, the machine-groomed pow was fast & fun! But it actually paled in comparison to runs that were ungroomed along w/ all the off-piste goodies! Depending upon what part of the mtn we were riding, I could roost about 8" of fresh or slash up to maybe 18"-22" where the wind or terrain features caused a heaping of pow to collect. The danger of barely-covered obstacles was still something you had to be very aware of. Remember, look before you leap! :p The bottom line though...excellent coverage. I can't wait for impending pukage over the next couple weeks!
Skill Level of Fellow Riders & Never-Before-Ridden (for me, at least) Terrain:
I am really grateful that I finally got to ride w/ a group of people that absolutely LOVE to freeride (like me). In my review of Sierra that I posted a couple years ago, I mentioned that most skiers/riders stay on the trails/runs. Since almost all of my past trips have been w/ these casual type of enthusiasts, I rarely had the chance to ride the trees & boulders along Grand View. And never did I have the opportunity to hit up any of the double-black bowls. Thanks to fellas I rode with, that all ended yesterday! :cool:
Winter is Back!!!
These next 2 weeks are going to help turn the season around. I know folks have been down that we've had such long stretches of ZERO precip & record-high temps. Thanks to all of you who wash your cars every few days, went on picnics, hung laundry out to dry or sacrificed virgins. :p But I think we should all thank Punxsutawney Phil for allowing us to have our winter playgrounds back in full effect! So get out there & get your slide on!