2010 Ski Season: Day 23-Sierra-at-Tahoe

Location: Sierra-at-Tahoe
Date: 4/18/2010
Conditions: Spring



Morning was nice, afternoon got pretty slopping under 50 degrees plus temps.

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2010 Ski Season: Day 9-Sierra at Tahoe

Location: Sierra at Tahoe
Date: 1/24/2010
Conditions: Blower Pow

Today we got a chance to try out Jodi's new skis: Dynastar Exclusive Legend Eden 152. She liked them from their first turns. It didn't hurt that the mountain was blanketed in 6ft of new snow.

We started out in the West Bowl on some groomers. I couldn't help but explore the powder-laden trees along the sides of the runs. We found some of the best snow on the mountain in the trees between Dogwood and Upper Sleigh Ride.


View Track 6 in a larger map

After it got crowded in the West Bowl we headed over to Grandview. Preacher's Passion had amazing snow. Pillows all over the place!

After that, we hit Jackrabbit for more awesome pow. It was complete blower and I mowed it down.

We hit the backside a little as Jodi got more adventorous and started hitting the trees on her own.

I think Sierra was the best place to ski that day, perfect snow, not too busy, and plenty of untracked to whet your pow appetite.

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2010 Ski Season: Day 7-SIerra at Tahoe

Location: Sierra at Tahoe
Date: 1/11/2010
Conditions: Machine groomed

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2009 Ski Season: Day 18

Scene of the Crime: Fun Box @ Sierra
Originally uploaded by Micael -

Location: Sierra-at-Tahoe
Date: 3-21-2009
Conditions: hardpack, groomed, trace fresh snow


Saturday, we headed up to Sierra-at-Tahoe for another day of fun on the slopes. This trip brings my current season total to 18 days, just two shy of my goal, and marks the most ski days in a single season to date. The conditions were okay most of the day. On the plus side, it started snowing as soon as we got on the mountain. It turned out that the storm hit Sierra the hardest, according to On The Snow, the mountain got 35 inches in the past 48 hours. Hows that for Spring skiing?

This latest dump means the rest of the season should be fantastic. We are already ahead of the total snowfall from last year and well on the way to 500 inches for the season.

Runs of the day included Castle which is always fun and a few trips into the progression parks off of Easy Rider and the backside. The first time through, I hit the fun box straight on and dropped straight off. The next time, not so much.

D: waits his turn and drops in to the park
D: Jumps on the fun box
D: Decides now would be a good time to start trying some new tricks in the park
D: Tries a left turn on the box, envisioning a sweet drop off sideways and a smooth landing
D: Finds the fun box is really a freakin' slip-and-slide, skis go out from under him, hits the ground like a ton o bricks
Skier on the lift: YARDSALE!
D: Slides ten feet down the hardpack on his left side
D: Gets up, tries to climb back to his stuff, avoiding 3 new riders who have no idea he is down right below the feature

I'm still hurting a bit today on my left ribcage.

Note to self: go straight on the fun box, especially when it has just started snowing.

After that, I got a few more runs in before I had to call it quits. Still, I am happy to get some time in the park and to take my lumps. Still in my sites: rails.

Then again, maybe I have been watching to many videos.

Hey, at least I did better than this guy:

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2009 Ski Season: Day 9

Great Expectations
Originally uploaded by dmourati

Location: Sierra-at-Tahoe
Conditions: Powder

A storm dropped 10+ inches of fresh at Sierra. We were watching the weather reports carefully and knew the storm was coming so we signed up for the Sunday trip to coincide with the best snow conditions.

It was an awesome powder day all over the mountain. West bowl was a bit crowded in the morning due to a race being held at Sierra. We did a few laps on West bowl, then headed to the front side for some more action. Castle was rocking and the Gates looked very promising. We headed to the backside to explore a bit.

Jodi and I were cruising along in a progressive terrain park when I spotted some tracks off to the left hand side leading to the powder. I shouted to her that we would meet at the bottom and I followed the tracks to the promised land. We're talking 2+ feet of untracked snow as far as the eye could see. Some of it was pretty flat but it was still fun to ski the powpow. I had a few wipeouts from going too fast and hitting snow drifts. Tired, I kept skiing all along in the powder. I eventually came to the lift but I realized it was NOT RUNNING. Shit, I thought, I had better find the other lift. I kept skiing along, following the trail out when I came to a clearing with a ton of tracks heading to my right. Then, I spotted two snowmobiles heading right for me. One snowmobile came right up to me. The driver had on a Sierra Tahoe jacket on. I removed my goggles to talk to him.

D: "Hey, am I at least going in the right direction?"
Snowmobiler: "This entire area is closed."
D: "Shit, really? I was in the terrain park on the back side and I saw some tracks going off to the side."
Snowmobiler: "There's always going to be tracks."
D: "Where's the other lift?
Snowmobiler: "They closed both backside lifts."
D: "Oh no."
Snowmobiler: "I knew some people would wander back here, so I've just been hanging out here."
D: "I have to tell you, that was some of the best skiing I've had all season."
Snowmobiler: "Yea, I bet."
D: "How do I get out of here."
Snowmobiler: "Well, I can offer you a tow."
throws me a line off the back of the snowmobile
Snowmobiler: "Best thing to do is to put your ski poles through the loop and hang on."
D: rides up the mountain, towed by a snowmobile, smiling ear to ear
Snowmobiler: "Have fun."
D: Thanks for the lift!

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