Last Call!

"Hi Mom"! These are the happy campers (and friends) I ran into at the Highland Peak
yesterday. Larry is a ski pro and caterer, Chip runs the Snowmass bus system and
Sheridan is a native Aspenite and regular bowl hiker (along with her man Lorenzo who was
featured in this blog a few weeks ago). "Lo" hikes over 100 laps in the bowl per season,
for years now. Lucky dude! Bowl hippy! Seeing your buds and sharing the energy of the
bowl is a big part of the experience. And the views of big peaks, like Pyramid Peak
(14,018 ft.) in the background, make hiking and skiing the bowl even more epic....
maybe even Biblical (was that Moses on his snowboard dropping into Ozone?).
Whatever you think, it's always heavenly in the Highland Bowl.

Fourteen inches of "medium weight" powder had fallen a few days earlier and the Deep
Temerity chairlift, that services the Highland Bowl, proceeded to break down; apparently
under the weight of too many powder pigs. Thus, yesterday's skiing was still
pretty darn good, with classic variable spring conditions; crust, crud, hard pack, wind slab
and lighter powder near the trees in the G Zones. This pic (above) is lower G3.
And yes, crud can be a GOOD thing to catch. This crud does NOT require antibiotics.....

For me, the trees are the place to be; especially when spring snow conditions prevail. This was
a 50 degree day at the base and I skied gloveless and a sun visor. With the intense sun
rising in the sky with the changing season, the sun and wind protected G's are often the
place to be . OK Erik, jump turns, it's tight here. Ready.... go!

Now that's a "Noxema container" blue sky; one of the amazing features of a bluebird
winter day in Colorado! The darker the blue; the cleaner the air. Breathe it in deep
while you're sking the steep.
Looking accross the bowl towards the Y's and Box Car, the tracks tell us that
good times were had by all who experienced the powder day a few days prior. Some
lucky souls were able to get into the bowl on Saturday before the chairlift experienced
electrical problems (then the back-up diesel system overloaded-TILT!). No one was able to ski
or ride the bowl the rest of Saturday and Sunday. I was fortunate to get "last call"
in the bowl on Monday around 2:30, after guiding a snowshoe tour the first part of the day
on the other side of the valley (sneaking in glimpses of the powdery bowl
whenever possible). On a spring pow pow day, hit the this part of the bowl
asap before the sun takes its toll on it. "Y" stands for the yellow wax typically
used in warmer snow conditions.
As Closing Day at Highlands nears (April 4th), there are only a few more weeks
and blogs to be enjoyed. Thanks for joining me on the ride!
STAY TUNED for fresh info. on the Highland Bowl; my favorite getaway
and home away from home during the winter season.

|