2010 Ski Season: Day 24-Squaw

Location: Squaw Valley
Date: 5/8/2010
Conditions: Firm, sugar, hot-butter-mush




Day 24 started out on the Funitel as usual. We hit Gold Coast Express then over to Shirley Lake. Conditions were really good, nicely groomed, good coverage. It was windy though. We took the chance to get on Granite Chief and it was much nicer over there.

After a while on the Shirley side we hit Headwall Express. Boy, that was super windy. I had my best run of the day off of Headwall and into Siberia Bowl. Noone had hit that face and I jumped into the bowl through some marker poles and got some good turns.

We headed off the mountain by 3:30 or so to make candles. Yup, candles.

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2010 Ski Season: Day 15-Squaw

Location: Squaw
Date: 2/28/2010
Conditions: Pow pow



I have probably skied 20 days at Squaw but this was my first verified powder day. With 18" overnight and snow falling most of the day, conditions were primo. Step 1, funitel. Then over to Gold Coast. Hit the Shirley Lake/Solitude area, then over to Red Dog and Squaw Creek.

Lunch was at Squaw Creek, great food, hidden gem.

We hit a few blacks near Red Dog and then cruised back town by around 4 PM. Great mountain, great snow, great day.

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Squaw Valley Tram Face

For the first time in history, the legendary Tram Face will be officially open for pro riders since the resort was opened in 1949. The competition face is clear visible from the resort and the cable car system. Squaw Valley USA, host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, is one of Americas largest and high tech resorts attracting over 600,000 visitors every year.

Weather could still rule out a shot, but you better believe the competitors are licking their chops for a shot at this technical piece of skiing and riding.

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2009 Ski Season: Day 14

Location: Squaw Valley
Conditions: Groomed, moguls, bluebird
Date: 2/21


Saturday, we hit Squaw on the Bay Area Ski Bus for the first day of a two day trip. My Volkl Mantra 184's needed some tuning so I dropped them off at the base ski shop for some welds, wax, and edge. I took the funitel to Gold Coast and hit up the demo shop for some boards for the day.

I was going to get the 2009 Manras in a 191 if they had them. I talked to the demo shop guy about what to chose for the day:

Demetri: Hey, my skis are at the base getting repaired and I need to demo something for today.

Shop Guy: Sounds like a great idea

D: Do you have the Mantras?

SG: Yup, sure

D: What size?

SG: 170, 177, 184

D: No 191s?

SG: nope

D: I actually have the Mantras, is there anything else I should try?

SG: Head Mojos, they are the Mantra killer

D: Seriously considers punching the shop guy in the face for dissing his Mantras. Okay, I'll give them a shot. We'll see. I'll take the 187s.

I liked the skis. They were heavy pigs though. I found myself tightening down the boot buckles to get a bit more control over the monsters. I liked the 187 length. The Mojos were great in anything tracked up.

We hit the whole mountain that day. We started out on taking Red Dog over to Squaw Creek for a few laps. We did Shirley Lake, Granite Chief, Gold Coast Express and a few rides on the funitel. Conditions were pretty good all around the mountain with lots of moguls especially in Siberia Bowl.

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2009 Ski Season: Day 8

Squaw Valley

Conditions: groomed, thin, icy, soft

We started out the day on the Funitel and then took Gold Coast Express over to Shirley Lake. The snow was pretty firm over there so we headed to Red Dog and Squaw Creek areas. Much nicer over there. We met an on-mountain photographer who took a few snaps of us in front of Lake Tahoe. In the afernoon, we did more Shirley Lake, and laps on the Funitel. By the end of the day, the Mountain Run was pretty beat up. There were a lot of icy spots. Still, it was a great day, great weather, decent snow conditions, and no crowds.

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2008 Ski Season: Day 15

Location: Squaw Valley
Conditions: Spring

Ahh, another beautiful day at Squaw Valley. Hooked up with Eric from another ski trip to Squaw and hit the runs and lifts that were open. Shirley Lake, Granite Chief, and KT-22. The conditions were pretty crazy, hot slushy snow. The drinks at the end of the day more than made up for it.

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2008 Ski Season: Day 11

Location: Squaw Valley
Conditions: groomed, soft, variable

In the morning, I headed over to Emigrant lift to try to get into the Funnel. It was roped off and the conditions were pretty bad. I took Shirley Bowl a few times then headed to Granite Chief.

I had a lesson scheduled for 12:00 noon. We lucked out and got Thomas Gardtman, a world class skier and coach. He was amazing. The two hour lesson was an attempt to teach us to carve. Thomas would get so low and put so much pressure on his skis, he would come out of turns with more speed than going in.

I tried to follow his tracks for the whole day and failed miserably. He is simply too fast. It was a ton of fun though and i learned so much from him.

Check out hotskiing.com for details.

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