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.