Marc's Public Blog - Skiing / Snowboarding / Snow


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This is a collection of my blog entries about snowboarding.
You can find all the pictures I've taken here, and read below for the more recent trips that I have recorded in blog entries:

Table of Content for snow:

More pages: December 2021 November 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 October 2020 March 2020 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 April 2015 March 2015 December 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 March 2011 February 2011 December 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 December 2009 March 2009 February 2009 December 2008 April 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 December 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 December 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 November 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004





2021/12/15 Incredible Start Of the Season at Kirkwood with 7ft of Freshies
π 2021-12-15 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
After a very bad start of season (resorts not being able to open due to lack of snow), we got more than 7ft in a week, which well, was very nice :)

I tried to time the storm systems and drove to kirkwood in between 2 storms, when Carson Spur was open. It was too cold and I had to drive at night, so the temperature and headlights made it so that I would have arrived at kirkwood with -4% battery from my after the fact estimate, but thanks to the new supercharger in Jackon, a 5mn detour and 10mn bathroom stop gave me more than enough battery to arrive there comfortably. Drive up took just over 3h45 with the charging stop and the snow:


the bad news is that most of the chargers are broken, and the 2 left are sharing the same power (only 20A each)
the bad news is that most of the chargers are broken, and the 2 left are sharing the same power (only 20A each)

It was early season, KW had only been open for 3 days, so they were still getting things ready and cleaning up :)


coverage was amazing
coverage was amazing

Normally, 6 would have opened on tuesday, but didn't like I predicted, and opened late (11:30) on wednesday. It was a longer wait than planned, but better than nothing:


we all waited eagerly :)
we all waited eagerly :)

and finally got up
and finally got up

plenty of snow
plenty of snow

coverage on chamoix was amazing
coverage on chamoix was amazing

Day #2 got an extra 17", which caused Cornice to open a bit late (9:50), but not terribly:


ski patrol was training
ski patrol was training

chamoix started being scraped a bit :)
chamoix started being scraped a bit :)


this is why the run is called hole in the wall :)
this is why the run is called hole in the wall :)

plenty of freshies
plenty of freshies

Palisades opened
Palisades opened

we were all eying the wall and hoping it would open the next day
we were all eying the wall and hoping it would open the next day


Day #3 started being a bit repetitive running 6 all day, but we held hope for the wall opening:

beautiful conditions
beautiful conditions


by 13:00 people started lining up for the wall
by 13:00 people started lining up for the wall

so I went to join them and waited about 45mn
so I went to join them and waited about 45mn

and at 14:00 it opened, wee!
and at 14:00 it opened, wee!

people who waited 1h30+ got first tracks, but there were plenty for everyone
people who waited 1h30+ got first tracks, but there were plenty for everyone


After lapping the wall until they closed it, I was definitely spent, and with a huge grin on my face :)


3h30 Drive home was uneventful
2021/11/12 Snowboarding at Ski Dubai
π 2021-11-12 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow, Uae2021
So, there was no way I could go to Dubai, and not go snowboarding of course :)

Before people cry murder about how bad it is for the environment, it's all indoors and temperature is controlled beter than ski resorts that spent untold amounts of energy to make a lot of snow that melts away on very big slopes. I don't have numbers, but my feeling is that it's actually not that bad in comparison, and it's cool for people there to be able to enjoy the snow when there is clearly none nearby.

This is what it looks like:


Like other places in Dubai, navigation was a bit tricky, I missed one exit and had to find far away street parking and jump some hedges to get in the mall eventually (or it would have been a 15mn drive to get all the way out and back in to the correct entrance). Got there eventually. I got in kind of late on a weekday, so I was lucky not to have any wait and got my gear right away. The guy was surprised when I asked a board of 164 and stance of 15R 30F. That was a bit aggressive and powder-day like, which is almost all I do :)




really cool to see a groomer indoors
really cool to see a groomer indoors


the quad chair was not detachable and a bit slow, but note the nice leather seats
the quad chair was not detachable and a bit slow, but note the nice leather seats



After a while I figured out that the tow rope was faster than the quad chair:




The run is of course not super long, but they have a mini terrain park at the top, and it was fun enough for almost 2H. Here's a vid:


It was definitely my best day of the season, haha :)
See more images for Snowboarding at Ski Dubai
2021/04/04 End Of Season at Kirkwood
π 2021-04-04 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
Well, this was not the best season for snow, I unfortunately missed on a bit midweek storm due to another commitment, and the one I did catch was too big so most of KW was closed. Still, got to go a bit...

I wasn't happy with Vail closing early (again the earliest in the history of kirkwood, not counting covid last year), but in the end, there was not a lot of snow, so it's probably not a huge loss.
I went with Deana who had been meaning to go to Tahoe, and this made the trip more fun for sure, especially on easter sunday where she definitely wanted to be in the running for bunny spirit :)

Carson Spur was honestly not showing a lot of snow, and despite the higher temps, the early morning was on the icy side outside of groomers, so it was a chasing the right snow, day:



Deana got some rentals:


getting ready for the day :)
getting ready for the day :)

it was easter, bunny ears
it was easter, bunny ears


She then went mostly on chair 1 and 2:




A few pictures from higher up:



a few people still went hiking up, but the snow wasn't worth it for me
a few people still went hiking up, but the snow wasn't worth it for me

not very busy
not very busy


Then, we did something I haven't done in many years: lunch :)


I went on the backside to check it out, it had started to melt, but still had snow:


the wall drop never got a lot of snow, and started getting questionable to ride again
the wall drop never got a lot of snow, and started getting questionable to ride again


And that was it for the weird 2020-2021 season. Not the best, but better than nothing.

See more images for End Of Season at Kirkwood
2021/03/14 18" of cold pow at kirkwood
π 2021-03-14 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
I drove up sunday morning while the weather was still nice, not too much snow on carson spur:


lots of people, lines for getting food
lots of people, lines for getting food

the wall was pretty tracked out, but not that much snow at the top
the wall was pretty tracked out, but not that much snow at the top


The forecast for overnight snow went down to 6", but thankfully Kirkwood got 1ft, nice!




eagle bowl, not open yet
eagle bowl, not open yet


got more snow refills during the day
got more snow refills during the day



I went to the back side when it opened:


fawn ridge delivered
fawn ridge delivered

the line wasn't bad
the line wasn't bad



I definitely got some good rides that day:

a later ride on fawn ridge:

Day #3 was a bluebird with pleny of pow left:


saw a heli land at martin point, not quite sure why
saw a heli land at martin point, not quite sure why


As a first (for me), I used half the day to hike two peaks, starting with Thimble Peak:




the other side was nice, but a bit bare
the other side was nice, but a bit bare


After Thimble peak from chair 4, I went to hike Glove Rock over palisades. As I expected, by the time I got there (15:40), the temperatures went down and the top crusted, making the ride down a lot less satisfying:


you have to hike far to see those signs
you have to hike far to see those signs

nice view of the back
nice view of the back

it was spooky to ride on the other side of the ridge, away from the resort
it was spooky to ride on the other side of the ridge, away from the resort

I then rode the ridge some more
I then rode the ridge some more

and afer another warning, it was time to ride back down
and afer another warning, it was time to ride back down

I wasn't the first person to do this :)
I wasn't the first person to do this :)

And that was it for day #3, very nice conditions, and snow that was good until 2/3rd of the 3rd day.

See more images for 18" of cold pow at kirkwood
2021/02/24 Snowbassin with surprise 8" of pow
π 2021-02-24 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow

This was our last stop on Arturo's ski road trip

Day #1 was great, awesome pow for the location, we spent most of our time at Strawberry Bowl:












lots of lines to be had
lots of lines to be had

The runs were wonderful:

Day #2 was still good, less pow, but still plenty of good snow:




we took the tram to John Paul Ridge
we took the tram to John Paul Ridge

great view
great view






lots of pow, still
lots of pow, still




2021/02/19 Crested Butte
π 2021-02-19 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow

After 4 days in Utah on Arturo's ski road trip, our next stop was Crested Butte in Colorado.

Crested Butte is not a mountain for beginners, and a bit on the bony side, but very interesting terrain. We got to meet Karl and Suwei:




great views
great views







good pow on the sides, but you had to pay the price of getting back
good pow on the sides, but you had to pay the price of getting back



the tow ropes were there to weed snowboarders :)
the tow ropes were there to weed snowboarders :)


before the ride down
before the ride down

then the hike back up
then the hike back up

Wanna smoke some rocks, dude
Wanna smoke some rocks, dude







we went for banana to find some powder
we went for banana to find some powder


Then another hike to another run: spellbound (hike was not that fun):


arturo didn't even make it to the beginning of the descent :)
arturo didn't even make it to the beginning of the descent :)

it was a fun run down, with another hike to get out at the bottom
it was a fun run down, with another hike to get out at the bottom

See more images for Crested Butte
2021/02/14 Canyons and Park City, 2ft of fresh fluffy powder
π 2021-02-14 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow

After a 2 day drive, this was our first stop on Arturo's ski road trip

We were in a yotelpad, small, but close to the lift:









nice cell phone tree
nice cell phone tree



So much powder:

The trees were good:

Day #2: was lots of snow:

the next day, there was a bit of a line to get up, 45mn+
the next day, there was a bit of a line to get up, 45mn+

but pow!
but pow!






did I mention snow?
did I mention snow?


The trees in the morning were lovely:

So much pow:

I went back to the trees and found lots of things hiding under the snow and got my snow pants ripped out :)

The powder in the other trees, was ridiculously good:

Day #3 was a bluebird:


even more lines
even more lines





Day #4, we went to Park City:



still pow
still pow











stupid guy that kept photobombing my pictures
stupid guy that kept photobombing my pictures


After a while, I got tired and took the traverse gondola back to Canyons:


big valley between
big valley between

mid station where you could ski back down to either mountain
mid station where you could ski back down to either mountain

back to Canyons
back to Canyons

a few crossing lifts
a few crossing lifts

nice views
nice views


2021/01/26 First Days of the Season at Kirkwood
π 2021-01-26 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
Well, it had been a while since the wretched day that shall not be named where I drove to kirkwood the entire day for them to close for the rest of the season when I arrived.

We got lucky and got an unusal early cold storm in January, which covered all the rocks and ice. I drove there on a tuesday afternoon before the storm hit, parked the car underground and waited for the storm and the lifts to open.

I made it in one shot (no recharging) and 11% left when I arrived. That was by far a best condition scenario: no headlights, no heat, no windshield wipers, and no snow to add rolling resistance. I know that it's not safe to attempt this in one shot if all the stars don't align, but on the plus side, there is now a supercharger in jackson (only 5mn detour), so it's much easier to charge if needed. That said, I only had to charge when I arrived at kirkwood.


Day #1, wednesday. Big dump, lots of wind, kirkwood only managed to open 6 (the only lift to the top) by 15:28 and promptly closed it at 16:00. Disappointing to say the least. The old kirkwood would have stayed open past 16:00 as a gesture of good faith. The new kirkwood, closed after 32mn:






Day #2, thursday. Another big dump. Thursday, they opened at 13:00 again (new dump). The "you had one job" twitter guy failed to tell anyone that anything opened. I just noticed it on the webcam and ran outside screaming "WTF?"
They closed at 15:00 sharp, because the road was closing at 15:30. They knew they were punishing every single person who paid you and KW to stay on site. They didn't care.
The old kirkwood turned away people for the lift if they didn't have logdging and kept them running until 16:00. The new KW closed for everyone.







Day #3, friday: the wall never opened. Again, it was probably hard to make safe, but I'm pretty sure they could have opened friday.















Johannes came to join me for a few hours:






Day #4, saturday. The wall didn't open until 10. Why? Nobody knows. And then it closed at 14:00 for reasons unknown.


by the weekend, people came, teslas filled the electric parking slots
by the weekend, people came, teslas filled the electric parking slots

there was a line by 07:30 already
there was a line by 07:30 already







Time to go to chair 4 that had just opened.


slight line to chair 4
slight line to chair 4


probably first time of the year that the wave was rideable
probably first time of the year that the wave was rideable

fawn ridge
fawn ridge



At the end of the time, I was able to retrieve my camera pouch I dropped off the lift:


So all in all the snow was fantastic, and kirkwood as a resort was beyond disappointing in multiple ways. I will seriously consider heavenly next time.

2020/10/02 Hiking Thunder Mountain at Kirkwood
π 2020-10-02 01:01 in Hiking, Nsnow, Ntrips, Snow, Trips
To finish our trip through Utah and Nevada, we drove through Kirkwood to see it during the summer:

never seen the area outside of the snow season, pretty trees
never seen the area outside of the snow season, pretty trees


I've only ever seen caples lake when it was frozen
I've only ever seen caples lake when it was frozen

Then, we went to check out kirkwood. This must have been the lowest snow coverage day I've seen at kirkwood :)



the wall
the wall

which button do I push? :)
which button do I push? :)

it was fun to see the magic carpets. They can be raised as the snow level goes higher
it was fun to see the magic carpets. They can be raised as the snow level goes higher

the 'temporary' lodges
the 'temporary' lodges

still stocked
still stocked

After going around KW a bit, we went around Carson Spur:

avanlache prevention gates and avalanche triggering devices when the road needs to be cleaned
avanlache prevention gates and avalanche triggering devices when the road needs to be cleaned

After parking the car, we hiked up from Carson Spur to Thunder Mountain, and back down to Silver Lake/Kit Carson. It was a pretty easy hike up to Thunder Mountain with great views of kirkwood, Caples Lake, top of Cornice lift, and Silver Lake.

nice to see the avalanche gates from so close
nice to see the avalanche gates from so close


these trigger the slides for avalanche safety on Carson Spur
these trigger the slides for avalanche safety on Carson Spur



the smaller kirkwood lake
the smaller kirkwood lake

multiple big volcanic rocks
multiple big volcanic rocks




damn, I never hiked that far with my snowboard :)
damn, I never hiked that far with my snowboard :)

getting closer to sentinel bowl/cornice lift
getting closer to sentinel bowl/cornice lift



nice view of silver lake
nice view of silver lake


We split off with Arturo, he went back to the car, and we continued the other way towards cornice and silver lake:


looks a bit rocky, probably not a big deal that I forgot to bring my snowboard
looks a bit rocky, probably not a big deal that I forgot to bring my snowboard

a sign frozen in time, left as is on the wretched day of March 14th when they closed
a sign frozen in time, left as is on the wretched day of March 14th when they closed


path to sentinel bowl
path to sentinel bowl

woohoo, I'm a lift operator now :)
woohoo, I'm a lift operator now :)

never went down this way, but it was the way back to our path
never went down this way, but it was the way back to our path



kit carson
kit carson

From there, Arturo met us on the road, and we drove home to end our 11 day trip.

2020/03/14 9.5H of Driving to Kirkwood and Back for 2 Runs on Solitude before Unannounced Season Closure
π 2020-03-14 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
4ft+ of snow finally coming to Tahoe, after so little for so long, finally! It was time to go.

The snow line wasn't too low when I started driving up, except for a bit of surprise slush when I was passing a truck. Thankfully my tesla stability control, did the right thing:



strangely, the road was quite clear higher up (localized snowfalls)
strangely, the road was quite clear higher up (localized snowfalls)

Carson Spur was still in very good shape
Carson Spur was still in very good shape

After a bit under 4H, including a 20mn recharging stop in Manteca, I arrived at Kirkwood just before 15:00:


Sadly, by then only solitude was open, I did 2 runs that weren't bad but on my 2nd run up, I got the very bad news that while Vail said they would stay open that same morning, a few hours later, while I drove up, changed their minds and closed off everything for the season due to COVID-19. Needless to say that I wasn't happy that they couldn't make that decision in the morning, and mislead everyone into coming:


those were 2 expensive runs
those were 2 expensive runs

Now, life sucked, it was clear that I had to leave kirkwood as quickly as possible, as the weather was worsening, but my car was very discharged. I had to recharge it just enough to get out and hopefully make it to some charging source under the snow line.

I had to take the Omo Ranch Rd by Cook's Station to get the shortest path to the Placerville Supercharger, where I barely arrived with a 5% of battery left. Omo Ranch Rd, while open, is not a safe road with snow, and doesn't get plowed. The top was dicey and I had the tradeoff of getting down quickly to get out of the snow line, without driving off the road due to snow.
The tesla estimator has been very wrong, on the trip out, it told me I'd arrive with 14%, but I arrived with 5% while driving quite slow and taking an unsafe road (the safe road around would not have gotten me there with enough battery left):

estimator went from 14% to 9% to 5% by the time I arrived
estimator went from 14% to 9% to 5% by the time I arrived


thankfully it stabilized at 5%
thankfully it stabilized at 5%

on the plus side, the new superchargers are fast, I got back to 80% in 30mn
on the plus side, the new superchargers are fast, I got back to 80% in 30mn

That's definitely been my worst snow trip ever, except for the fact that I avoided crashing my car on the way up after that slide, or running out of battery and having my car die on the side of the road in a snowstorm.


More pages: December 2021 November 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 October 2020 March 2020 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 April 2015 March 2015 December 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 March 2011 February 2011 December 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 December 2009 March 2009 February 2009 December 2008 April 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 December 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 December 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 November 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004

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