Snow Sports and/or Surfing

Studded snow tires!

And this is why Mammoth is always a gamble. I hope the weather settles down for you!

 

So yesterday was a complete wash, but I got one of the best massages I've ever had. Today looked iffy, with most lifts showing weather hold at 8am. At 8:30 a few opened so I made my way over, and loaded onto Chair 2 around 9am. After a couple skidded turns to get my bearings I locked into my first carve in almost 3 years with Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song" in my ears, and all felt right with the world. A couple runs later a few high speed carves in soft wind-deposited snow to the sounds of The Cult "She Sells Sanctuary" were pure bliss. No clue how many runs I ended with, but got in 4 hours of uninterrupted riding with minimal lines. Pretty stout winds, but enough sun to soften the snow up by mid morning, and most lifts other than 12 and the top were open. Only bummer were Chair 12 never opening (my favorite chair in the Spring), and the last hour my surgerized knee was pretty lit up from being a shock absorber. Over all though, today was a great season.

 

This makes me very happy! Good on ya!

 

Thanks, brutha.

 

Well, after being reinvigorated by my recent trip, and my wife's trip the week before, we re-upped with IKON just before prices went up. Hopefully that doesn't prove to be a foolhardy financial move, but I just hate the thought of not having a pass and shelling out the criminal prices for lift tickets. Einstein's definition of insanity be damned.

 

I had already renewed, but at the last minute my wife decided to come along. She did 6 days this year, which is better than break even, but the 4 days in a row at Copper was maybe a day too long for her. But if you figure she’d still do at least one day at Bear and a couple more on a Mammoth trip, regardless of how the weather is, the rest is just insurance against a big El Niño when she’ll want to be out every weekend.

She will be on travel for some training the last full week of May. If Snowbird is still spinning, I think I will go.

 

I found the Storm Skiing podcast this week. I’m a little bit surprised by how much I enjoy interviews with ski resort executives. One crazy fact I learned: 7 of the guys hired to run Bear Mountain after the sale in 1988 went on to senior exec jobs at big time spots, including Aspen and Jackson Hole. Interesting that what feels like such a backwater spot had such an impact.

crazy fact: A-basin gets 600,000 visits per season. Summit & Bear combined get 900,000, on 1/3 the acreage and less than half the season. And the A-basin locals are moaning about the crowds.

 

A Basin's terrain is a weeeee bit more challenging! I wouldn't call it family friendly.

 

Fair point. I think 250,000 people are still trying to make their way down Summit Run.

The other fun fact—switching from Epic to Ikon reduced A-basins visit count but increased revenue. I’d been trying to figure out why Vail hadn’t scooped up Mtn High—it’s a ripe target IMO. It turns out that they’re too stingy.

https://coloradosun.com/2022/04/19/colorado-independent-ski-resorts-thriving/

 

I saw this on Facebook and remembered the Sims snowboard on here.

 

Chair 5 is open but you have to traverse to get there. The top was perfect from 9:30-10:00. It’s 10:40 and I think the snow has one more run in it.

 

Pulled the trigger on a new Maurice Cole Red Dingo. Heading out to Ventura tomorrow and see how she rides.

 

That looks fun! 7’6”?

 

Yes it is a 7’6.

 

That'll float ya! My Stewart 949 is 7'8" x 23 x 3 - so even more floaty for my aging, 210 lb self. 23" is too wide for my skinny hips while sitting on it!

Surf forecast looks tolerable for Ventura. Not like the 7-15 mph wind predicted here tomorrow.

What fin config do you plan to use?

 

Maybe a quad or maybe a thruster. That is why I got it, for its versatility. Just might play it by ear.

 

I run my 949 as a 2 +1 with a 6.5" center fin and two small side fins. Solid!

 

Wow, you can buy boards at Jack in the Box?
Who knew?
Does it come with fries?

 

Surfed my usual spot this morning. 2-3' but cloudy and lumpy. I hit the water around 10 am and I was alone. On a holiday weekend. In Southern California. Not one other surfer.

The surf was iffy - but I still managed to grab about 5 in under an hour. One was good. That's OK. It was still a great workout. The water temp is pretty nice now - about 64° I would guess. I got out when it got crowded (2 other surfers showed up, about 100 yards or more away from me).

Rode one all the way to the beach, changed out of my wetsuit and the sun came out. So I just hung out and soaked up some rays for about 45 mins. The wind calmed, but the waves were still disorganized and a bit sloppy.

Great morning out there enjoying solitude in one of the most crowded areas of the nation.

Here's my crowded beach. That's my stuff in the photo.


And the selfie in the other direction:

 

You can buy a board at JBX, it’s on a secret menu at the one on I-5 and Stockdale Hwy in Buttonwillow. No fries though.

 

Another trip to my usual spot. Super crowded today - I counted 7 other surfers in a 200 yard stretch.

I had a pretty good session with 8 waves ridden in just over an hour. 4 really good rides with open face all the way in.

Although the best wave I "caught" got away from me. There were dolphins cruising the lineup as a nice 3' set wave came. I turned to go and there were two in the wave. I caught it (left), but in my exuberance to ride it with dolphins, I got my weight too far onto my toes and fell off.

Water temp a highly tolerable 67°

 

Interview with Mtn. High’s CEO. Talking about replacing the double chair in the beginner area with a six pack that goes to the top of Conquest with a mid-way unload for beginners.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...rnal-and-podcast/id1483400860?i=1000566223743

 

Better wait until they see if the ski area gets burned to the ground.

 

I finished the podcast on the drive home. I learned that, according to the owner of Mt High, there are 120,000 Ikon Pass holders in Southern California .

 

Now being in landlocked Phoenix is started doing something I made fun of when I lived in California, SUPing. I could not stand them in the surf but it’s a perfect way for me to beat the heat and get in the water. Lake pleasant is just 25 minutes away with some great spots to cliff jump and check out the local wild burros running around. I guess I’m a SUP guy now.

 

it is 75 here. swells are small, but we had the king tide today and everything was passing over the reef

 

Well kids, the water is in the upper 60s to 70s, and the air temps on the mtb trails is approaching 100° so it's that time of year to surf and not turf.

Here's a picture of Barney Kook after a surf at Trail 1 yesterday. 3-5'

 

Trail 4 today. My meager skills are such that just bobbing around wears me out, never mind actually catching anything. But I got some beach reading in afterwards.

 

On what board were you bobbing?

My daughter will be at surf camp there - Trail 4 - from Monday (7/4) through Friday (7/8). I hope she has fun. She's done surf camp in Laguna before, but never an overnight surf camp.

And paging @Danmtchl, how are you enjoying that Red Dingo?

 

Wavestorm, baby. I’m committed to not taking this sport seriously. I consider not drowning a W.

I’ve camped at the Trail 4 group site many times. The Metrolink is an excellent alarm clock.