Snow Sports and/or Surfing

My friend sent me photos of his friends condo at Kirkwood. Obviously one is early season vs currently

 

That's NUTS!!!!

 

Hey.....that's @DangerDirtyD with a wig!!

 

He did give me @DangerDirtyD vibes

 

So first time at AZ Snowbowl today. Website claimed 19” over last 24 hours but there was only 4-5” at the base. Worse, I was told that while it snowed all day yesterday, it became wetter as the day went on so even the fresh stuff was like thawed out frozen mashed potatoes.
Top of the mountain was on wind hold most of the day but once they opened it, it was game on. Snow was 12-16” on the runs I took and much better quality. Nowhere near Utah quality but still soooo good. I took 4-5 more runs up top and called it a day. The gondola to the top top never got open so I’ll try to hit that tomorrow.
All in all, a worthy resort. Definitely better then. IG Bear…at least with current conditions. Lots of tree options, some too tight for this thinker snow. The one crazy thing with NAU here is I’ve never seen (and smelled) more drinking, vamping and toking as I did here. As soon as o parked, the guy next to me was “hot boxing” it.

 

I did my first technical ski races there (SL and GS) when I was a sophomore in HS.

I was confused by gate placement and DQd both days. There was a lot of snow. I don't remember much else. We will call it December 1978, or Jan 1979.

I know - "Cool story, bro!"

 

In other news...

 

WOW!!

 

Mt. High today with @tbarnesarc Amazing coverage - 100% of both areas open. Terrific snow quality. No crowd. Red Trolley on tap. Sunny, Calm. Cool but not cold.
Are you F-Ing kidding me?

8 runs on skis at West - never did the same run twice. 7 runs on snowboard at East (1600 vft per run). So 15 runs - right around 18,600' Should have done one more at East to break 20k.

 

Calm before the storm.. took the kids and wife to get fitted for skis and signed the kids up for lessons on Wednesday. My son was brave enough to ride the lift up for a bunny run and it was quite a chore. My wife and daughter just did some small hill runs since Wednesday will be the 5yr old’s first lesson.

It’s supposed to storm tomorrow so I may go out early before on my own, luckily got the black pass so park upfront and skip lines.

 

Mammoth?

 

Yep, this is from a second story window.

 

https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=htt...FBv-I46BvABUivWZvAj7jAfcc&s=1&mibextid=ncKXMA

 

https://www.powder.com/trending-news/snowboarder-found-tree-well

This snowboarder was toast if the skier didn't come by....

 

Wow! I was literally just talking to someone on the lifts at Mammoth today about the dangers of tree wells when it’s deep like this. I didn’t have a powder pal so was being extra careful out there.

It was really good today, on top of epic conditions both my kids picked up skiing this trip and my wife did awesome getting back on skis. So we are now a ski/snowboard family and it’s gonna be expensive. Ha

My son riding with his classmate we ran into up here.

 

Yeah, I couldn't imagine paying todays prices. When my kids were transitioning to snowboards, their 1/2 day lessons, with a rental and lift ticket were $99 at Mammoth. Even better, my kids were in year round school so we could go mid-week on non-holidays and their "group" lessons were actually "private" 80% of the time.

 

What else is there to say...


OK, I will add my appreciation for @tbarnesarc who can get my daughter to laugh when she's grumpy. Thank you, my friend. And you were a beast on the board today!

Oh and Ruby says thanks for the goggles and helmet too!

 

What happened to Mt. Waterman? Clicky below to find out.

https://www.powder.com/trending-news/waterman-road-collapsing

 

Headed up to N. Fork Big Pine Creek this weekend, for an overnight snowshoe camp at First Lake. The amount of snow still in the Southern Sierras is off the hook! Saw a few skiers, and one other camping group up at Second Lake. More than a few avy runouts (not sure how fresh), and a sketchy steep choke point midway up/down the trail ( at the Wilderness sign). Post-holed 3x up to my waist, in snowshoes!

 

Seasons change...

Time to get in the water. 64° water temp. 2-3' glassy. Low tide this morning, but not too low. Wind should stay light.

Wish me luck!

EPILOGUE:
It wasn't glassy, but I did better than my first day out last year. Caught 4 in the 50 minutes that my arms could tolerate. Rode one to the sand and said, "that's good for today." I'll go back tomorrow.

 

That's 4 more waves than I would've caught. Mammoth is still open ya know...AZ Snowbowl is wrapping it up on Monday. Longest season in their history. I've already got two weeks booked for next season..one in Tahoe, one in Park City. Hope to get back to Summit County as well but we'll "wing" that one when we know a good storm is eminent.

 

4 waves the first time back out is a good day! I've got a few weeks until I can paddle out, and I'll be happy if I catch 1 or 2. Kicking myself for not swimming this spring.

 

I'll take it, given that my hip is a f@cking mess.

 

If I were a better surfer, I would ride my bike more.

What sense does that make? Hear me out.

There was a brief five-year period where I was a competent surfer who could manage 6'2"-6'6" boards and catch a reasonable number of waves each session. Then I stopped surfing for about 4 years. Then about three years ago I got back into it and have mostly struggled.

I am VERY stubborn and determined when it comes to surfing. I want to get back to "autopilot" with surfing so I am not overthinking every wave and every "get up." Hence I will not give up - which means I will keep going out when I have time to do so. Which means I won't be riding my mtb much until / unless I get my competence back.

That is all. You may now return to reading and writing about mt. biking!

 

I was back in Newport last weekend for 5 days. Rented a beach house in a spot that I was once at every day now I’m an Arizona tourist. I kept a few boards when I moved, one in particular 6’6” single fin from the mid 70s. This board would be my go to last weekend. Paddled out Saturday 44th street, a few guys out and some waist hi waves. Mention to the group it was my first surf in three years. Wave comes thru stand up right away, down the line with a few turns and a little float the boat to end the wave. Not a bad start. Surfed about an hour, caught about 6 or 8 waves and stood up on all of them. Tuesday met a buddy at north side HB. My arms hated the paddle but again several good waves and surfed well for being gone 4 years in Arizona now. Keeping that old board with a flat rocker and lots of foam was key to my success.

 

Can I fold a little skateboard content into this thread?

My son has been doing well on my 22 year old setup so I went to a local skate shop and had them build up a couple of boards for us. Biggest rule for him is always wearing a helmet and wrist guards. I told him he should wear knee pads and elbow pads as well but no skipping the helmet or wrist guards.





Old board:

 

Disturbing graphics, but cool boards! Good job dad!

How old is he? 10?

 

Love the screaming hand graphic!!! Here is my families rides….

 

Today...

 

He’s 7.5 years old and originally wanted some cartoon graphic but ended up choosing the screaming hand. They had a matching one in the size I wanted so pulled the trigger.

He actually got a sticker of the same graphic at a skate shop in Carlsbad last year and stuck it on his closet mirror. It’s a classic Santa Cruz graphic and not nearly as colorful as some decks out there.