South Lake Pow Day is Heavenly
Photos
And thus on a Wednesday pow day with new gravy of 22 inches falling overnight, I found myself on the Nevada side Comet Chair next to Davey Boy fondling his Arriflex.
Heavenly was full of intermediate-type skiers, burgerflipping grommets and enough Chinese tourists to play all the extras in "55 Days in Peking." One small caveat: The traverses, of which there are a few at Heavenly, looked like the retreat from Moscow.
Davey Boy collided with three urchins alone on one traverse while trying to skate past everyone trying to avoid one another in between a mass of snowboarders walking, sitting and flailing along these traverses about the width of a J-Boat.
Still, the snow, fresh and looking like Milk of Magnesia, gathered deep in the Dipper Trees and Milky Way. On the California side, the groomers had a sweet surface tilled on Jackpot, High Roller and Canyon. The top of Sky Chair was socked in, but the wind softened and views of the lake swept up past us and towards configurations south.
Dropping into Gunbarrel wasn't a mistake, either. The bumps were exterrestrial VW size, but without the previous week's icyness, and kind of a relief from dodging all the folks elsewhere on the mountain and in the bars.
Being a core 30-year Squaw Valley skier with a penchant for dissin' South Lake I have to admit I've been eating crow this early season, but, in all fairness, Heavenly has decent coverage, a big mountain to cruise around and views that make you weep. Heavenly knows how to attract a crowd. Now, if they'd just work on those chaotic traverses.
Heavenly was full of intermediate-type skiers, burgerflipping grommets and enough Chinese tourists to play all the extras in "55 Days in Peking." One small caveat: The traverses, of which there are a few at Heavenly, looked like the retreat from Moscow.
Davey Boy collided with three urchins alone on one traverse while trying to skate past everyone trying to avoid one another in between a mass of snowboarders walking, sitting and flailing along these traverses about the width of a J-Boat.
Still, the snow, fresh and looking like Milk of Magnesia, gathered deep in the Dipper Trees and Milky Way. On the California side, the groomers had a sweet surface tilled on Jackpot, High Roller and Canyon. The top of Sky Chair was socked in, but the wind softened and views of the lake swept up past us and towards configurations south.
Dropping into Gunbarrel wasn't a mistake, either. The bumps were exterrestrial VW size, but without the previous week's icyness, and kind of a relief from dodging all the folks elsewhere on the mountain and in the bars.
Being a core 30-year Squaw Valley skier with a penchant for dissin' South Lake I have to admit I've been eating crow this early season, but, in all fairness, Heavenly has decent coverage, a big mountain to cruise around and views that make you weep. Heavenly knows how to attract a crowd. Now, if they'd just work on those chaotic traverses.
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