Blue World Blog 4.06.09

April 6, 2009

Spring Conditions on the slopes continued this past week with lots of sunshine and warming temperatures. Many resorts are starting to reduce their reported snow depth bases. There is still plenty of snow, but start watching for bare spots and obstacles, especially on the lower elevation runs. These are usually marked so you can avoid them, but they are starting to pop up – just be aware and ski or ride with care.

“Spring Conditions” is a blanket surface condition statement that can mean anything, but for skiing and riding purposes it is usually referring to Hard or Firm Snow, which freezes at night and then softens during the day. This freeze/thaw cycle creates what is called Corn Snow or Frozen Granular type snow that can be very delightful to ski and ride on – sometimes the feeling of skiing on a smooth and buttery surface.

Spring Corn Snow will form on South Facing Slopes and the general rule of thumb is to follow the sun on the slopes as those surfaces will soften first in the morning and more so during the day. As the day progresses, the warming temps can also make the snow too soft and sticky and I would recommend carrying a bar of rub-on ski wax and apply it to the surface of your board(s) through out the day to help you slide better.

But, what am I talking about… according to the National Weather Service, it looks like a chance of fresh snow and winter conditions this week. According to Snowforecast.com there is the potential of as much as 10-15”. Keep your fingers crossed for that!

Last Saturday, Heavenly’s Spring Loaded ’09 continued with the 6th Annual Gunbarrel 25 event hosted by Glen Plake. I was there to assist and call the play-by-play, which is a good thing and great excuse for me to not have to embarrass myself in attempting 25 runs down the famous Gunbarrel Run. Over 120 participants signed up to take the challenge and this was the largest field since the event started. Skiers, Snowboarders, Men, Women, Boys & Girls all participated in this annual event. World famous extreme skier and former local, Glen Plake, started this event in celebration of keeping mogul skiing and the challenge of skiing the Gunbarrel Run alive. Negotiating the 1600+ vertical foot Gunbarrel Run was challenging to start as the bumps were brutally hard but within an hour, conditions started to soften and continued to soften throughout the day. It is not only challenging but a grueling marathon as many who finish the 25 runs continue in the “Iron Man/Woman” category to see how many runs they could complete during the allotted time. Former Slovenian Ski Team member and local resident, Janez Demsar, continued his charge down the Gunbarrel to retain the championship of this event, completing 25 runs in 3 hours, 8 minutes 47 seconds. Congratulations go out to all who participated. The results are posted below:

Men 17 and up
Janez Demsar 3.08.47
Dave Sannazzaro 3.21.07
Karl Unterleitner 3.56.55

Women
Kay Bradford 3.40.09
Ivana Burkett 4.39.58
Lauren Payne 4.44.40

Snowboarders
Jonathan Hirschfield 4.07.50
Jen Menzel 4.54.51
Dan Weiss 5.21.50

Boys 16 and Under
Shanti Koskinen 3.47.55
Sage Wright 4.02.09
Zak Shearer 4.27.05

Girls 16 and Under
Taryn Baker 3.49.36
Skye Kidd 5.35.52
Sinead Danagher 6.01.27

Experimental
Jay Chung 5.21.50

Iron Woman
Kay Bradford (41)

Iron Man
Dave Sannazzaro (42)

The Heavenly Pro Ski Patrol hosted their annual Fundraising Party Sunday evening in a new venue, the top level of the Public Parking Garage at the Heavenly Village. It was well attended with at least 200+ folks attending. A San Diego based group, Tribal Seeds, laid down the Raggae as all enjoyed this spectacular views from atop the parking garage. It was a very social event with folks enjoying beer & wine, conversations about ski tales and a lot of fun with a variety of great prizes given out through the raffle. This annual fundraiser helps support a variety of organizations which include Tahoe Special Olympics and the Sierra Avalanche Center. Heavenly plans to stay open through Sunday, April 19, 2009.

Kirkwood Jammin’ XVI kicks off on Friday, April 10 featuring 3-days of Pond Skimming Contests through Easter Sunday and they are hosting the Burton Banked Slalom on April 10 for qualifying, and the Finals to follow on April 11. Kirkwood has announced their closing date of Sunday, April 26.

Sierra at Tahoe is hosting another College Week through Friday April 10 with discount rates for College Students with Student I.D. They will also host their Salsa Showdown this Saturday, April 11 at the Baja Grill at the bottom of the West Bowl Quad. Participants are to bring two cups of their Homemade Salsa to be judged at noon with the winner taking home a 09/10 Season Pass. A taco-eating contest will follow as well as some Piñata-busting fun!

All resorts will host Easter activities on Sunday including Worship Services.

Don’t put the shovel away, just yet and keep your fingers crossed for at least one more Powder Day!

Ski yah later,

Curtis Fong
“The Guy From Tahoe”
tgft@bikethewest.com