Barb

Ordered this backpack. Decided to get a snow specific pack that fits all the avy gear properly. Have a shovel and beacon on order and found a used probe at a local shop. Can’t wait till all my stuff is in and I go out again! Also picked up this book. Lots of good spots in the park when I get more comfortable. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The area we went to in the park was formerly a ski area, closed in the early 90’s. Found an old trail map. We were in the area I circled but have no idea which ‘Trail’ we took down. Will have to pay more attention next time. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Haha yes, she got egg on hers

No action shots as I was in front of Shannon. She is just learning to ski and I give her a lot of credit for basically learning this way. It wasn’t pretty. I still feel like my form goes to hell in powder. I have to learn just to trust the skis and let them run. I must say the Zelda’s felt good though! Skied the powder much better then my other ones.

Yes Doug, blonde with unicorn head. Lol. I finished half the fries. Only had some Ezekiel bread w peanut butter for breakfast so I was hungry. That burger was lunch and dinner. And it was a beef burger. Too hungry for a veggie burger. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Went back into the park today. The access road to the area we were going just reopened late yesterday afternoon due to Wednesday’s storm. It was a gorgeous day and we arrived about 10:30 to sunny skies and no wind. The skin up started mellow then got steep. I am still figuring out the best way to go about things and on a particularly steep section I started to slide backwards a bit. Thought I would have more traction if I put one ski into the powder and get it out of the skin track. That was a huge mistake. I then tried to get it back on the track but it seemed harder to do then it should have been. Since my heel was loose whenever I lifted my ski the nose just stayed in the foot of powder. Here is a picture of how ridiculous this was. Overall a great day and I have a lot to learn with the transitions/etc. A well deserved lunch in town after. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We decided not to do the hut trip. I think if not for this latest storm things would be ok. Vail area getting 10-16" tonight through Thursday morning. Avalanche danger forecast is being elevated tomorrow back up to a 4/5 (high). But, since I now have my own touring setup we are going to go back to RMNP one of the days to play around.

I seem to gravitate toward purple. I have 4 purple jackets.

Decided to pull the trigger in the Zelda’s. Every shop in town is out of stock. The place I rented them from gave me a really good deal on the demos with skins. At the very least now I can go play around in the snow whenever I want. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thurs-sat

I am fine with the dynafit bindings on flat surfaces/snow. But yesterday was so much powder it was a challenge. Definitely getting a metal shovel, I borrowed one from CMS for the class yesterday and it didn't have an extension so it was made for T-rex arms. I just took the skis to Eldora and didn't quite realize how shot my legs were. I only did 2 runs (wtf) I am just spent. Not even putting it in my stats. So still hard to tell how they skied since I know I was skiing shitty. I feel like they would be good but wondering if I should also try a 98 width before committing. I am really leaning towards not going on the hut trip, which makes me super bummed. I think it would probably be fine for the skin in, but don't know about the surrounding area. Every CAIC bulletin out there now says to avoid the backcountry. Vail Pass is still at a 4/5 avalanche danger.

I learned so much today! The class was the AIARE companion rescue. We had 2 hours of classroom instruction then went into the park. The area we practiced in has lots of mellow, avalanche free terrain. My friend and I already said we would go back soon to practice. They also have a beacon area you can practice in. Weather was nice, no wind and fairly warm. Snowing hard all day, tons and tons of powder! We did several drills in groups and worked on finding a buried beacon and probing, then digging it out. The digging is intense and tiring. By the third drill we were all working more efficiently and digging the beacon out faster. Last drill the guide buried the beacon uphill (previous 2 drills were buried downhill). My friend and I were a team and guide told us to take a break so we were having a snack, skis off and fairly far away from us. Then he calls “avalanche Jenny is buried.” We were like, fuck since we are both still not proficient at the dynafit bindings clipping in. So we made the decision to run uphill and start our search just in ski boots......mistake. Snow was so deep we were postholing to mid thigh each step. Then we couldn’t stop laughing saying “Jenny will be dead by the time we reach her.” By the time zeroed in on the burial site we were totally out of breath. Good lesson for both of us. I demoed a pair of DPS Zelda 1 touring skis. 106 underfoot so much fatter than I am used to. There wasn’t much free skiing today so I can’t tell if I like them or not. I don’t have to return them until noon tomorrow so I am going to run up to Eldora and try them out there. If I like them I am buying them. My ‘used’ boots felt great, no hot spots and my feet stayed warm. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Glad all ok. Happens to everyone out here at some point. I have never been hospitalized for it but have had times when I get severe headaches and cramps from not drinking enough. Sometimes you are having so much fun you just don’t think about fluids Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Even with the state of insane snow pack and avalanche warnings yesterday, a private company decided it was a good idea to operate their snow cat on Jones Pass. Operator got buried and died. So avoidable.

Winter Park just announced Mary Jane staying open until May 12th.

I don’t like trees, not confident enough to do them. The back side has some fun stuff, but the lifts back there are sooooo slow. I blocked out CB for myself 3/18-22.

I skied there yesterday, then dropped off my skis to be waxed so I don’t even have them right now. To be honest, I am getting bored with Eldora. I love that it’s close and I don’t have to kill a whole day with travel, but I need to get to some bigger mountains soon.

I am not going near the mountains till this shit calms down. My hut trip is next Thursday, I really hope things settle down by then.

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@PSUfly Winter park is having a special that you can ski 3 days in April for $47 per day. Tickets must be purchased by 3/18. I70 closed again this morning because of more avalanche debris reaching the highway. Most of the mountains got at least a foot in the last 24 hours. Abasin may not be opening today due to extreme avalanche concerns over the pass.

Abasin announced their season pass prices. $399 no black out dates. That is an amazing deal since their season is so long. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know, I am not as baller as Jeff.

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fly to Aspen? It's only a 3.5 hour drive. By the time you go through airport security and wait at the gate it's the same amount of time. The only time I drove to Jackson was on the motorcycle. Stopped at Rock Springs, Wyoming first night (6 hours) then to Jackson next day. But takes longer on the motorcycle because you take more breaks to stretch.

https://www.epicpass.com/ epic prices announced.