Transition Time

"Tween" season. That time when the occasional feel of summer in the air has started the mind wandering towards warm weather pursuits.

Amigoette and I live a schizophrenic life of winter and summer playgrounds. Winter is spent living in Seattle and skiing on the slopes of Crystal Mountain. Summers are spent in Lyle (yes, I know, you've never heard of it) windsurfing the strong winds of the Columbia Gorge. During the short transition periods, May and October, we pay our dues by catching up on chores neglected during play seasons, clean and stow one set of gear as we prepare and organize the other. And, spend time with friends and family we won't be close to till next winter. It was a good year to have weekdays off to play. I feel lucky both to have been able to retire early and have houses in two wonderful playgrounds. But, it's been a lot of hard work, and as Thomas Jefferson said, "The harder I work, the more luck I have". Knowing that as we plan the future, life could throw a wrench into it at any moment, we try to make the most of every day.

As "regular" ski season ends, I switch into transition mode preparing for our move to the summer playground. With Crystal now open only weekends it becomes harder to time the weather and chores to get into the mountains. Unfortunately this year there's been a list of obligations that can be accomplished only on weekends, compounding the difficulty of going skiing. Therefore, I've had to pull the plug on the season and call it over for me.

Season Summary
The season opened with a resounding WOW! My first turns of the year were light, knee-deep untracked powder down Green Valley Bowl. Thinking we were set for a great season, the next week standardized a weather pattern that plagued us the rest of the winter. One day's big dump was often followed by rain, ice, or wind. Snow that one day sucked the big one would be turned into the next day's powderfest. Or vice versa. And wind. I've never seen a year so affected by wind. My face was snow-blasted off many days, and the upper lifts suffered wind closure more than I've ever seen. For as wild as the weather patterns were, they were predicted with accuracy – at least a day or two out. The NWAC forecasts were usually right on, and with the help of morning telemetry checks, I missed all the wind closure days. It was definitely a year made better by not working and having 7 ski day opportunities a week.

Even choosing the best days to ski, December wasn't good. After the big start, I didn't rate the snow conditions above a D+ till after christmas. But with some fast groomer skiing and a good gang of friends, we still had fun. The last week of December kicked the snowfall into La Ninã dump mode, and we never looked back. With the weird alternating weather systems it took some forecast watching and early morning checks to hit the best days. One stretch I got up at 5am ten days in a row to make the go/no-go decision and found 4 days with wet snow/rain turned ice; 3 days of snowy wind hold; and 3 days with great pow. I took the 3 powder days. As the snowpack grew to an official designation of Huge, we got to ski many runs and areas only skiable with an extra deep snowpack. Blasting wind, ice where it'd gotten sun days before, or thick fog gave us incentive to move around and explore. I've got a number of great new aspects added to the list of future stashes. Two areas that deserve special mention are Bear Pits and Employee Housing. Both runs were cleared of trees by avalanches in the spring of 2011. The Bear Pits slide opened up many new and improved lines on an old favorite. Employee Housing, now cleared of trees, is one of the best runs on the mountain when the snow is good. It stayed a secret for about one day.

The forecast was easy to read this year and most of the weekday crowd was good at it. Sizing up the upcoming weather, it was often a day of rain, next – drop the temps and freeze it solid, bring in a stormy, snowy day with huge 2 foot dumps but 80mph winds, calm things down for a day, raise the snow level and bring on the "white" rain. Everyone knew which day to go (calm day after a snowy day of wind hold) and the normally light weekday crowds would all concentrated on one day. Untracked pow didn't last long on those days, but you'd take the main aspects for a couple runs and then sneak off to your favorite hidden stashes. Mid-season, CD quit working and added himself to the weekday crowd. It was great to have another Amigo in the mix on those powder days.

And that was best part of the year, skiing with friends. On days the snow was "less than optimal", we could egg each other on for another run down an icy groomer or through a cold, blasting wind. When the snow was good, nothing beats skiing close to your buddies, in and out of billowing powder or flying slush. 

Moving On
It was a great winter, but the seasons move on. Temperatures this week will be near 80 in the Gorge. Soon I'll be wishing for all the wind we had over the winter to be funneling up the Columbia River and through the Gorge as the weather pursuit changes from cold precipitation to blasting wind and head-high moving moguls of water.

This year's "Now for Something Completely Different"
Each year, Amigoette and I do something completely different from the ski/windsurf routine. From rafting the Middle Fork of the Salmon river for a week to riding roller coasters at Disney World/Universal Studios, we try something new. This year it's Tucson. We had some free airfare to use and…. that's where we ended up. Someplace neither of us has been. Gonna be kinda a geek trip with Kartchner Caverns, Mt Lemmon Observatory, and UA Mirror Lab (they grind huge telescope mirrors). And some hiking early in the morning before the temps hit 100. 

Nice to meet many blog readers on the hill this winter, even take a few runs with some of you. I hope you all had a good season. I also hope you found the blog interesting, useful, or at least distracting – and I'll look forward to seeing you next winter. In the meantime, check out the summer section for the occasional windsurfing and non-skiing update.

Till the snow flies,

Kkz

Video - Last runs of the season on Powder Bowl and Bear Pits

Sloppy Fun

Why is spring skiing fun? It's sweaty hot, sloppy soft, sun-burningly sunny…. Yup, those are the reasons. Don't know why I wore a coat for the ride up – it came off after one run. From then on, it was a continual dressing down. Soft carvable groomers from the get-go, and it just got softer as the day progressed. 4-5 inches of new snow during the week added a smooth layer of buttery glop (glop in the good sense – for the morning) as we skied smoothish, soft lines down the Frontside in the already baking morning sun.

As the day developed, morning runs of soft new over a firm base changed to over-your-boot-top slop. With perfect timing, more skier-groomed lines changed from firm ruts to slush-bump fun. Run of the day was Rex Chairline, aka Showtime. Soft bumps on top, smooth fast steepness in the middle, huge deep troughs t'wards the bottom. Busiest run on the Frontside and everyone was diggin' it. And digging trenches in the soft snow. Lot of whoops skiing down – lots of whoops from the chair. Hence the name Showtime. I was surprised by the lack of consolidation today. Just too much heat. Venture off the few consolidated lines and I could push my pole 2 feet into the glop. This will get better as the snow goes through some more freeze/thaw cycles.

Fun in the SunSpring skiing: funky snow, changing conditions, limited runs. The crowd today knew what they were getting into, and they got into it. Everyone on the hill was pumped up and in the spirit. Hawaii shirts, leopard skin outfits, tutus, whoops and hollers, and picture takers galore. Going down it was flinging'-slush-with-your-buds fun.

Conflict of Interest
Amigoette and I went to the summer playground this week to check things out. Stirred up the summer emotions of warm weather, windy days, and clear desert nights. I want to windsurf, I want to ski, no….  Awwwwwwww

 The Gorge Goes Green

Kkz

If you renewed your pass online, take note. Crystal's pass system isn't working. About 30-50% of the people getting on the Gondy today had renewed season passes that wouldn't work. It seems that people that didn't get their passes renewed at Guest Services had passes that would not open the gates. The lift op was collecting these passes and Guest Services was reprinting them for pickup at the end of the day. However, some just weren't authorized even though they charged your account. And even when you went in to pick up your "repaired" pass, they hadn't actually fixed some of them. Give your pass a check in the morning before you wait in line and ensure it works. Crystal should fire the kid in his basement that is programming their ticket system.

Forecast
GO TOMORROW!

Soaking It In

Another in the series of awesome spring days greeted us this morning. KkzMorning clouds quickly dissipated by the time the mountain opened, leaving only clear blue skies. Clear blue skies, that like the four previous days, quickly changed back to clouds at 2 o'clock. As Amigoette and I anticipate the transition and move to the Gorge for the summer, aka Playground #2, coming next month, we skied today with abandon as if it might be our last of the season. I also took Michelle's reminder to soak in the views and not take our time in the mountains for granted. The result was steep bomber runs of perfect soft slushy bumps, visual 360s to marvel at the terrain and environment we get to play in, and animated chair/Gondy rides with old friends, friends not recently seen, and new acquaintances.

Amigoette and I consider ourselves lucky in getting to spend 5 months skiing at Crystal, playground number one, and 5 months in playground number two, the Columbia Gorge. That means we cram a lot of our responsibilities into 4 weeks between each playground in the spring and fall. With the huge snowpacks (and Gondola) that have extended the ski season, that means we unfortunately miss some spring skiing season as we transition from skiing to windsurfing. Junk to PowderYesterday we took a ski day off and had a garage sale. Some people might agonize over missing a ski day; I look at it as cleaning my basement and making enough money to buy next year's season pass. Turning junk into powder skiing – almost alchemy.

Taking a picture of taking a picture of taking a picture of a freakin' volcanoWe arrived on the mountain early enough to be the only ones in the Gondy line and get an hour's worth of icy groomers before the mobs arrived at 10:00. Once the mobs were on the hill, the groomer runs were full, but the lift lines stayed near zero. First to soften was the lower mountain, and Valley-Sluiceway-Kelly's Gap-Lower E-Gondy started the excitement. Soon, the Frontside went off, then Powder Bowl John's Chute and Bear Pits. Round and round, fast and steep, we alternated the Frontside with Chair Six round trips. Throw in some spins to capture the view to memory (beyond even the best photo) and another top to bottom run – life was great. Ran into Bruce, who we haven't skied with for years, and his friend Dave – more fun. Later, as the clouds moved in, our energy ran out and we called it a day.

With Crystal open only 2-3 days a week, it will be very weather dependent if I get to ski again. Last year, it seemed like all the weekend days before our departure south were rainy. Although hoping for better this year, we skied today like it might be the last. Great to the end.

Kkz 

Forecast
Looks like precipitation is coming monday through thursday. With Crystal closed till friday, hard to call this far out. Actually, some rain wouldn't hurt the snow, as it will smooth out the slop and flatten some of the huge bumps that developed in the slush-cup snow this week. New snow might be worse, as it may just add a layer of slop on top of what has finally consolidated into a go-anywhere snowpack. I think the bottom line will be: warm and sunny – Go; cold and hard (or raining) – Stay home.

Amigoette on Sunnyside

Corny

You know it's gonna be a good day when you walk out the door and can see all the way to Mt. Baker under clear blue sky. Mt. BakerIt was a nice daylight-saving morning – light when you leave home and, other than the sun in your eyes, a beautiful drive to the mountains. Sunny and warming fast, the coats came off at 9:00 after one run. It took till 10:00 to soften, but the hard freeze overnight provided some much needed consolidation.

The snow is in full spring mode. Warm = Good, Cold = Bad. It was very icy on the groomers and unskiable glop off-piste till the Game On signal when the heat hit at 10. Taking advantage of the deep snowpack and soft snow, we skied the C-6 Chairline keeping just left of the don't-hit-the-chair rope line. Over and over. Some corn snow is actually developing on this line. Until it went over the edge and the underlying consolidation softened, and it became too easy to break through into deep slop.

Brain DamageOn to Powder Bowl. The chutes skier's left were in awesome shape, and if you stuck to the skied-out lines, Bear Pits iced the cake. Again, over and over. The Frontside is a Jekyll and Hyde of unconsolidated deep slop and perfect slushy corn on the skied-out lines. Showtime was the place to be. Fast laps of soft steep snow – we went into to the blur-zone of fall-line fun. Best visual of the day – side by side with CD down Big Chute in Bear Pits. Peripheral vision keeping track of your bud, the deep snowpack providing enough room for two at a time, and soft corn snow absorbing our energy as we made huge dropping turns side by side.

Jump BagCrystal has added a new toy for the natural-terrain challenged. A huge kicker and airbag are now part of the jib park area. Five dollars for two jumps. Just looking at the kicker made my L3-L4 vertebraes hurt. 

One forty-five: clouds that had been approaching from all directions for an hour, started dumping snow. Four more runs – Hawaii shirts, sunglasses, snowing hard… what a hoot. A last run, top to bottom, brought back the sun to end a perfect day.

Kkz

Forecast
It sounds like a repeat on saturday and sunday. Sunday will be the transition day, as the afternoon clouds will stick around for a few days. (Won't matter as Crystal closes for weekdays.) The snow is great, the weather is great, go get it this weekend and finish off the "regular season" in style.

Hot

The last few days have finished the shift into spring snow conditions. Icy mornings turn into hot afternoons. Even at 38 degrees on top this morning, the mountain was completely frozen glop or frozen groomers. Even the north-facing aspects are feeling the heat and all but one were icy. We checked off the northfacers one by one, skiing crunchy leftovers from monday. An ominous lenticular cloudFlyin' Floyd's (and likely Northway Chute) had escaped the heat and was chalky goodness and a needed adrenaline rush. Middle and lower Northway were slushy fun bumps, and we declared the game begun.

Since it was now soft, we poked at the Frontside down Greg's Gulch. The rest of the ski community has not been doing their job, and only one line was skier groomed enough to be doable. Not good, but doable. And not repeatable as the next level of heat sent anything not skier packed into unmanageable slop. Powder Bowl was perfect, however. Steepest line through the trees and off the nose was awesome. The mandatory air over the heat-exposed rocks just added to the fun. Bear Pits was nasty, Luckyshot bumps fun, but the quickly-becoming-sticky snow traversing to Forest Queen wore us out after 3 round trips.

All the deep snow of March has yet to fully consolidate. The window of opportunity was 11:00 to 12:30 today. Earlier, icy. Later, sticky. It took some creative thinking to hit the right runs just as they softened and link them together to minimize the flat, sticky run outs. Icy aspects from the morning, once succumbing to the heat, were the runs of the afternoon. Banana Chute and Lower E were great mid day. Paradise Chutes was a nice afternoon delight, but the flats to the NW chair were now terrible. Years of skiing Crystal and correlating conditions to weather (not old, knowledgeable, yeah) paid off. It was unfortunate to see people that didn't know the mountain as well heading off into icy lumps, stuck on sticky unskiable flats, or doing headers in deep grabby glop.

By 2:00, the sticky snow had taken its toll on us. Fifty degrees! It was hot. Even though we'd dumped clothes 3 times, we were hot. Steep skier-packed bumps were easy and fun. Groomed trails a tentative sticky mess. Our final plan linked all the steep fall lines still not sloppy, had minimal flats, and finished off our bodies for the day.

Kkz

Assignments

If you ski/board, you should support the Crystal Mountain ski patrol. They work hard all year to get the mountain open, keep us safe, and come to the rescue if it all goes bad. Although paid by Crystal, donations go into their education fund and help support continued learning that patrollers otherwise pay for with their own time and money. There is a donation box in the patrol room where you can make your donation.

You should be using the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center, NWAC, telemetry data and forecasts to pick the best days to ski. I've avoided many wind closures and nasty snow days this year based on their forecasts and data. Give them some support with a donation.

Forecast
Not good news. Clouds and lowering temperatures will not be kind to any of the snow at Crystal. A few light snowfalls will not make a dent in covering the frozenness that will ensue. It's spring; sun and heat equals good, cool and cloudy is bad. Cool through friday, the sun and warmth return for a dry weekend. Get ready for saturday and sunday.