William Richmond

Study Breaks Episode 2: Northwest Sucks

2012-01-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Finally got some good conditions, so here's the edit. Don't ski the Northwest. Remember that area of the country has no fun.

I-Rock Review

2012-01-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

I acquired the I-Rock to supplement my D-Senders on deep pow days, and for touring capability.

I’m 5’8’’ 150lbs

Ski aggressively and have competed in a big mountain competition

186cm Fat-ypus I-Rock

158-126-148

For rocker view, see previous post

Mounted with Marker Duke Touring Bindings ski center

My review of this incredible ski after three days at Aspen Snowmass and one day at Crystal:

Groomed- My first few runs on this were on groomed terrain, which the I-Rock handled admirably. This ski exudes stability and speed, at least with the segment that remains in contact with the snow. They key to groomers was remaining centered and foreword on the ski. With the correct stance, the ski rails. I only got in trouble if I tried backseat driver. Keep your form up and the ski will follow.

Ice- Unfortunately, Crystal had several aspects that resembled solid ice. The I-Rock remained solid and stable on the slope, with chattering tips and tails. Not the ski for these conditions, but I was able manage well.

Crust- Riding the northwest, I was fortunate to obtain plenty of chances to experiment on this snow type. While not as stable as the D-Sender, the I-Rock rides like a champ. The tips remain up above the snow, allowing me to decide whatever speed and turning style I preferred. The I-Rock made this snow type more enjoyable.

Heavy Powder- Let’s face the facts: the Pacific Northwest’s atmospheric patterns don’t predictably bless us with light snow. That’s why a fat ski like the I-Rock becomes a necessity, because even if the snow isn’t ideal, you can still ski like you’re riding Utah.

Crud- No complaints in this department. Similarly to groomers most especially, keep the balanced stable stance over the middle of the ski, and prepare for Mach 5.

Powder- That’s why I bought the ski, and no I don’t regret the decision in the slightest. Zoom zoom in the pow pow!

In the Ayer- My bindings are the legendary heavyweights Dukes, yet these skis still retain a very high level of pop, which keeps all of the little hits fun. I’ve only sent around 15feet on these thus far, and they’ve remained highly stable.

Speed- This ski performs well at all speeds, but truly comes alive in straight lines and fast turns. Just go for it on these skis: the I-Rocks will remain dependable.

Technical- Given the rocker shape, these skis handle technical sections with ease, and easily accomplish the small precise turns. Not their forte, but the I-Rock handles well.

Freestyle- Fun, fun switch ski. Their girth necessitates a rather wide stance for switch skiing, but the slightly different technique becomes well worth the trade off. These are a fun ride for backwards. Additionally butters are quite easy with the I-Rock, even with Dukes. Spread Eagles and 180s have never been more fun.

Here’s a short video on a few runs at Crystal with outlined conditions, while I was testing out the ski. Unfortunately the GoPro died a couple hours before lunch, but here are a few shots.

In short, the I-Rock is a turnier, slightly less stable, more powder oriented D-Sender. In otherwords kickass to the max. Such a enjoyable pair of boards. I recommend them entirely. If you have any questions, post them on up, and I’ll respond as soon as possible.

While corny, I rock with I-Rocks has become a proven fact!

With the forecasted upcoming NW storm, hopefully these babies will be of use. Pray for snow!

Fat-ypus I-Rock!

2011-11-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

Say hello to my new children.

Fat-ypus I-Rock

186cm

158-126-148

Now let's have some pow to test these babies out!

The Rocker!

Tip

Middle

Tail

Pray for snow!

Study Breaks Episode 1

2011-11-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, our campus was blessed with 4 inches of snow, so we made the most of the October skiing opportunity. Here's the edit, the first installment of my webisode series Study Breaks. Photos to come.

Think snow!

Ski Season Has Begun!

2011-10-18T10:53:00.001-07:00

Finally!!!

A-Basin opened last Thursday, so I spent an incredible October 14th Friday enjoying the one open run. The snow was man made, but felt like spring skiing. Here's a view from the lift of A-Basin's natural base.

With more snow in the forecast, hopefully more terrain will be opening shortly!

Pray for snow!

More Summer Skiing

2011-08-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

A few friends and I decided to check out what skiing remained around Snoqualmie recently, and found a good time.

The hill.

No lift access.

And it's sketchy. Not the most snow.

But still super fun!

We flipped the close sign.

Time to build features.

The inrun.

The hit.

Drew up for more.

I liked it too.

Brian's face says it all.

What a killer session!

Turns in the Tropics

2011-08-14T23:46:00.003-07:00

Even with little snow Jamaica has potential for some great skiing, as I found out on my mission trip.

Video of the line starts at 3:00

The incredible trip was done with Next Step Ministries.

Skiing in the Sun

2011-07-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

On june 4th I was able to make it to Alpental with photographer Michael Alvernaz, for some spring skiing shots. I also tested out some Cross Outerwear, and I am very impressed. Very breathable, functional, with a nice fit. It's light as well. Easily the best I've used, and its appearance speaks for itself.

More photos over the summer to come!

Crystal Mountain Moments Episode 3

2011-04-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the next episode of Crystal Mountain Moments.

I was expecting to make several more, but a torn rotator cuff wrecked some havoc on my season.

I had to take several weeks off, and then when I made it to Aspen, I had to tone it down, hence the one shot in the episode. Conditions either weren't right for filming, or the terrain was too mellow.

Finally, still not 100% but better, came the Crystal Mountain Junior Freeskiing Nationals. It was my first comp and I placed 17th. Definitely not where I wanted to be, but the comp was an invaluable learning experience. Here are my thoughts on the lines:

Day 1 Elk Shoots

28.3 Points (20th/39th places)

For my first real comp run, it went ok. I skied the top section well, but stopped and later went off the air in the middle section in the wrong spot. I was feeling tentative with my shoulder and went smaller than I should've. And my finish was a disaster. Totally missed my line through the rocks, and almost bit it the entire way down. Oh well, I made it into day 2.

Day 2 Silver King

26.67 Points (17th/39th places)

After feeling upset about how my day 1 skiing, and still unable to send anything large with 1 shoulder, I chose one of the most technical lines on the King. Quite the mistake. Throwing spread eagles all the way my alternative Brain Damage line on the other side of the King would've scored much higher, and would've been more fun. Anyways, my chosen line down Pinball was simply too rocky. For half of the top section I wasn't on snow, and was unprepared for that. But I felt content with my air after the madness up top.

Final place 17th. 54.97 Points.

Even though I'm unhappy with my performance, this was an incredible event, and I can't wait for future competitions. The talent and positive energy at Crystal that weekend was as high as it has ever been. Congrats to the winners! Some insane lines were thrown down.

Without further ado, here is Crystal Mountain Moments Episode 3.

http://vimeo.com/22221709

Crystal Mountain Junior Freeride Championships

2011-03-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted on here in quite a while, so here's a quick photo update.

Crystal Mountain Moments Episode 2

2011-01-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted on here in forever, but the next episode of Crystal Mountain Moments is up!

Conditions at Crystal have been far from ideal, but the skiing has been really fun.

Hopefully this warm spell will end soon, so the pow will return.

I will be updating the blog next week with some pictures from Crystal.

http://vimeo.com/19109265

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p701fAzNdmE

Or watch it here (double click for full screen)

Enjoy!

2010-2011 184cm Fat-ypus D-Sender Review

2010-12-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

I bought the D-Sender this year as my 1-ski quiver, and after two days skiing a multitude of conditions, I feel it's time for a review. In short: I love them.

My Stats-

5'9''

145lbs

Ski Aggressively and will be entering in a big mountain comp this year

I ski Crystal Mountain

Was on the 168cm Volkl Gotama last few seasons

184cm Fat-ypus D-Sender

144-112-130

Mounted with Dynastar PXXXL 14 Bindings

Rocker Profile

Tip

Zoomed in Tip

Tail

Zoomed in Tail

Base

The Review

Groomed

The D-Sender held up very well on groomed runs, without tip or tail flap. It was very stable throughout, and I only felt somewhat of a speed limit on very icy slopes. It carves well, and gives the option of slarving as well.

Powder

I love the D-Sender in pow! There isn't really a speed limit, and it floats like a beast! Any type of turn is possible. Nuff said.

Heavy Powder

Yay I love Cascade Concrete! Not. However, in this tricky snow condition, the D-Sender powers through it well, better at higher speeds. With this ski, fast is the way to go.

Cliffs

The D-Sender descends cliffs like a boss. It's forgiving, so slight backseat (SLIGHT) landings don't kill you. But centered is better. So far I've stomped 20 feet without serious problems.

Crud

Again, the D-Sender does better faster, but can handle all of the beautiful crud Crystal Mountain has to offer with ease. This is where the D-Sender's rocker becomes very helpful, and I was really impressed.

Tricks

I wouldn't call this a freestyle ski by any means, but its a quite light ski, so 180s off little bumps is no problem. I've also experimented skiing switch, which the D-Sender does quite easily.

All in all this is an excellent charging ski, with a forgiving playful side. Compared to other skis i've tried, it's a blend of Blizzard's The Answer and Volkl's Katana, with a hint of the Atomic Blog's pop and playfulness. Quite the perfect combination. And the topsheet has a narwal. I really recommend it!

Crystal Mountain Moments Episode 1

2010-11-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

Skiing at Crystal has been so fun thus far. Been up twice and made an episode of Crystal Mountain Moments for day 2.

Crystal is still very rocky, so no large airs, just fun in the pow.

I ended up clipping a ski pole on a tree, so the day ended up being no poles. Super fun!

Going to be skiing like that for a while.

I also skied my first day on the Fat-ypus D-Sender, which is a incredible ski. Review coming shortly.

Crystal Mountain Moments Episode 1: No Poles

(Double Click For Full Screen)

http://vimeo.com/17350748

Skiing Da Hood

2010-08-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

Boy it feels good to be posting fresh ski stoke in August!

Oh my goodness this ski season just keeps going and going!

Anyways I just made a trip down to Mt. Hood Timberline with my Dad, and we got a couple of excellent days skiing and hiking the mountain. I brought along the GoPro, and made an edit of the first few runs and current conditions.

Here is the url if you wan to watch it directly on vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/14038666

Double click for full screen.

A random photo essay of the Hood Trip (containing a few words)

Click on any of the photos to zoom.

Smoky says "GO SKI!"

Mt. Hood!

Very colorful cars lined up to go ski.

The lift served portion of Hood. Windells' enormous terrain park is visible bottom right.

Upper skiing terrain and big jumps.

Pipecutter next to a large table.

Danger! Danger!

Ski with care over here!

Log on a hike around Hood.

A slightly different view of Hood.

I love clouds.

Dirty snow never looked so fun.

Sentry squirrel.

Alpental Memorial Day Photos

2010-06-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

Just got my photos from Alpental, and I'm impressed. With bad snow and photography conditions Michael Alvernaz did a great job. Here are the photographs and the run-down of May 31st at Alpental. Click on any of them to zoom in.

Hiking up to the snow, which was about 100 feet above the base area. Much less than when Drew and I were at Alpental on the 15th. Still, skiing is skiing.

Making a jump. It's over a cliff and small gap, which was about about 15 feet vertical and horizontal to clear.

The first attempt. I came up short and tail-tapped the rocks. After that I extended in the in-run.

Hiking back for the rebate.

A much better jump. The landing is out of the frame, far to the left.

Same jump, different angle.

Shredding the Alpental gnar, amidst lots of dirty snow.

Definitely some of the best May 31st turns I've ever had.

Hiking up Shot-6 for the goods.

And, boy were they good,

with plenty of snow to spay.

The transportation of the day: my feet. I've really considered the benefits of skins after this hiking adventure.

Someone before us built a kicker, and as it would've been rude not to sample their efforts, I gave it a go. B+

Spinning off a natural lip. Quite a fun find.

Slashing a turn back to the base.

To the end of the snow!

What an epic day and hopefully not my last of the season. After all, that was only May 31st.

Alpental Memorial Day

2010-06-06T18:26:00.000-07:00

On May 31st, my photographer friend Michael Alvernaz and I headed up to Alpental to shoot some skiing photos. I also brought my GoPro along to take some POV of the day. Unfortunately, the GoPro died very quickly into the day, but there is enough for a preview.

There will be another entry soon with all of the photos and a full report of the day, but watch this little preview of the day's events.

Double click the video for full screen.

Sadly, a great freeskier passed away recently. Rest In Peace Arne Backstrom!

Your smooth, inspiring style and the great way you affected others around you won't be forgotten. Condolences to the Backstrom family.

5-15 Alpental and Summit West

2010-05-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's May 15th, and there's still snow!!

Drew Hurter and I decided to check out what snow was left at the Summit at Snoqualmie, which was a lot.

Photos by Drew Hurter and William Richmond (me).

Not looking promising from the highway.

Summit West

Not seeing much snow at West, we decided to ski the park later and go to Alpental.

There's still snowbanks.

Lots of snow and cars for May 15th.

Starting the ascent.

Lots of possible lines about a third of the way up Armstrong.

Drew hiking our long bootpack. No skins or AT-bindings.

Our choices.

After a bit more hiking, I skied down some excellent corn. Very fun skiing. At that point, we took a lunch break, and then made the push to the Armstrong chair.

On the way we made a small kicker.

The view from the start.

I sent it.

The chair was only 50 feet above the jump, so we made it up, and sat on one of the chairs, and a nice man took our photo.

It was way to hot to put on the jacket.

The excellent skiing down.

Drew coming down.

A small cliff that was pretty fun to hit.

I sent the thing.

From there we continued to ski down excellent corn to the base, and went back to West, to hit a jump or two. Unfortunately several stoners had already congregated there, so the park session was cut short. However, the were some fun hits.

This gap was really fun to circle around. I tried to hit it with speed, and do it from the bottom up, but I couldn't get enough speed.

Drew sessioned the rail.

Overall an amazing day!

Hopefully there will still be more snow for some later May sessions.

New Photo

2010-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

I found a photo of me today!

Paul Moseley did some shooting with Crystal Mountain Junior Freeride a few times over the season, and I know he shot some photos of me, I just never saw one. Well now I have, and here it is.

http://apzorm.smugmug.com/Skiing/Freeride/CTF/11111004_XA6Dj#779021749_JD6z8

4-2

2010-04-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today was my last of the season, and it was awesome. Today was one of my few legitimate powder days this year with 3 feet in the last week, and was the Junior Freeskiing Championships.

The Freeskiing competition is two runs down big mountain faces, with judging on challenge, fluidity, aggression, control, and form/technique. The first run was today on Elk Chutes.

More information in judging is here- http://freeskiingworldtour.com/events_press.html?id=174

Before the competition began, there was an hour allotted for venue inspection, and we loaded the lifts before the public to get started on that early.

Here is the line at Chinook at 8:30. Everyone came for the powder day.

Day one was the elk chutes, and here's several pictures of the venue. For a larger picture, click on it.

From the top.

From the side.

From the bottom.

Even though Crystal had received several feet of snow in the last week, and there were four inches overnight, the venue wasn't great. It was incredibly skied out, and the middle chute right under the peak was very icy, with random ice chunks and rocks poking out. Farther down, conditions were better, but worsened progressively throughout the day. The lower cliff section skier's right of the trees was especially bad. Rocks started coming out everywhere. Props to everyone who went big.

I was unable to compete because the competition continued on Easter, so I was able to forerun (Thanks Rob Greener!) A forerun is the first run of the competition, and warms up the judges and stokes the crowd. The run is supposed to be fast and fluid, without major features, so that's just what I did. After two inspection runs, here is my line roughly (I'm not the best with photoshop). You can click to zoom in.

It went ok. Hearing the announcer say my name, and the crowd cheering was incredible. I skied much better because of it. The top section went well, but I ran into a little problem in the lower section. The chute I went into skier's left of the "Shark's Teeth Cliff" was much rockier than during my inspection runs, and when I unexpectedly unearthed even more rocks, I slid a bit down the chute. However, I regained control, and continued to the finish. That run was so much fun!

MSI even got some photos of me!

http://freeskiingworldtour.com/photos.html (I'm in photos 1 and 2 for Crystal Mountain Jr. Freeride)

I'm definitely competing for real next year.

My forerun was scheduled for 9:30am, but it actually occurred around 10. That gave me the opportunity to watch enormous amounts of people line up at the Northway Gates. At its height, gate one had over 50 people in line. I had never ever seen that before. Once the gate opened, it was like a cross-country ski race to get to the goods. Quite entertaining to see.

This picture was taken about 5 minutes after gate one opened. If you click on it, you can see just how many people crowded Northway. My friend Drew skied over there, and said the lift line was ridiculous.

After the forerun, we met up and skied Niagras about six times. It was finally open! Mostly untracked, with many pillows made for some awesome skiing. Later after watching some incredible competitors, we headed out to Teddy Bear, and hit up some spines I hadn't noticed previously. This was one of the best days of my season, and a perfect way to end it.

Shakers Area of Niagras

Crystal Mountain Demo Day 3-27

2010-03-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

Crystal Mountain had its demo day today, and so I went out and tried lots of skis. Previously I'd only been on 5 different skis my whole life, and none with rocker, so I came to try lots of different ski types, and to determine what is best for me as a daily driver.

My Stats

5'9''

135lbs

I ski fast, aggressive, will be doing freeride competitions in the future, and stick to off-piste terrain.

I am currently on the 2008 168cm Volkl Gotama, which is far too short for me.

Conditions

4'' in the last 24

Between Sunny and Partially Cloudy all day, with Mostly Sunny being the majority of the day.

The Test

I got two runs per ski to determine if it could be a excellent daily driver so I did the following:

Came up REX, went skiers right dropping skiers left of Upper Ferks, then straightlining onto it. From there I skied fast and boosted all of the little rolls, unto dropping the 5 foot cornice onto Middle Ferks. From there it was just skiing fast, partially to the right, on back to Rex. There conditions here went from hard to soft to slushy.

For run number 2, I skied between Breakover and Memorial, which started off mostly untracked higher up, with crud lower down, which became the norm by the end of the day. Conditions ranged from sticky to nice powder to cut up to nice packed powder. In other words the perfect testing grounds.

From there I finished on Lower Ferk which had lots of little airs and an fun spine to play with. Conditions greatly improved, but the moguls grew, later in the day. The straightline out was the best.

The Skis (All 2011 models in order of testing)

Atomic Coax

183cm

Well today I started off with my least favorite ski. This was the only ski without rocker, it was 183cm, and the conditions weren't the best early in the morning, but I still didn't like the Coax. It was horrible at short turns if they were possible, not stable, very unforgiving and inspired a lack of confidence. I didn't want to push it on this ski. They did ok in larger turns. Also the ski doesn't float very well. For this ski, I skied my test runs in opposite order. Two thumbs down.

Atomic Bent Chetler

183cm

I understand now why this ski sold out in December: it's that good. This was the most playful ski, along with being the lightest. Coming from a 105mm ski, I was impressed on how it doesn't feel like a really fat ski on groomers. On my groomed run, it performed well, with some slight tip flap when I was going fast, but still felt stable. I was able to do any turn I wanted, its especially excellent in shorter turns. In the powder and crud the Bent Chetler held up extremely well, and was lots of fun to be on. High speed straighlines were the Bent Chetler's worst skiing, and it did ok. This ski is a playful skiers daily driver.

Line Prophet 115

186cm

I had never felt an ski HOLD onto the edge and stay there. That's what the Prophet 115 did, everywhere. That level of control was awesome. The minimal tip rocker in this ski allows any type of turn possible, at whatever speed. I was very impressed with this ski's stability in all conditions. Straightlining is redonkulusly easy. This is a heavy ski, but that went along with the stable feel. My only gripe is this ski drives so much that it's impossible to shut down in a hurry. The Prophet 115 just wants to keep going and going.

Dynastar Pro Rider 115

184cm

Don't buy this ski. I was very disappointed after my two runs. It's got very little sidecut, moderate flex, and a fair amount of rocker. This amounts to garbage. The flex isn't stiff enough for the rocker, and it doesn't have a stable feel off-piste. The rocker is excessive and simply flops around. My legs were very tired after skiing a little powder and lots of crud, because this ski is so ineffective. On the plus side you can make pretty much any type of turn at most speeds. Unfortunately, this ski is only good in pure powder.

Blizzard The Answer

184cm

I have never skied so fast not noticing it. That's what The Answer does, in a stable way. I was able to make all turn shapes, even at speed. It's easy to scrub speed in a hurry. I found The Answer could slarve turns, but preferred normal arcs. This wasn't very forgiving, and definitely required a strong, forward stance, but was very fun. It's pretty much an excellent big mountain ski. One of my favorites of the test.

Atomic Blog

177cm

Yes this is the 2010 topsheet, but the ski remains unchanged next year. I felt the Blog did exactly what I wanted to, but the softer, more forgiving flex along with rocker did cause some instability. However, some of that was due to the length. I demoed it later in a 183 and liked it much more. This ski is ridiculously poppy, and skis like a more versatile Bent Chetler. Overall I was quite impressed.

Rossignol S7

188cm

After going to the Rossignol booth about five times to try to get this ski, I was disappointed with what I found. The S7 is the Indiana Jones 4 of skis: very overrated and disappointing. The rocker and soft flex create a very forgiving ski, but not much else. I didn't feel stable on this ski at all, and had a very hard time skiing anything not powder. The S7 is awful in crud, with lots and lots of tail flap. Also the rocker makes it extremely easy to become skiing in the backseat in if you're not careful, and I almost had the crash of my lifetime because of it. Maybe I should've tried the Super 7, but the 188 was one of the worst skis of the day.

K2 Obsethed

179cm

I came to the demo wanting to try a variety of skis, with differing rocker and flex patterns, so I came to the Obsethed for the super soft ski. Honestly going in I had low expectations, and was blown away. First of all this ski is scary soft, especially in the tip, and almost the entire ski is rockered. However, it's stable and fun. The rocker did chatter on groomers, but in off-piste snow it was pretty good, as long as I stayed out of the backseat. All turn types were possible, and the Obsethed was excellent in softer snow. This is too soft for a daily driver, but it was a good ski, including the graphics (sorry my picture is bad). I think this is what the S7 intended to be.

Volkl Katana

183cm

This monster is full rockered, and I gave it a whirl to try that type of ski. The Katana is incredible! I found it was very stable, did any type of turn I wanted, and was great in all terrain. Quite a fun ski. Also the Katana promotes slarving over carving. One of my favorite skis of the test.

Atomic Blog

183cm

The 183 is much better than the 177 Blog. I found the longer length had all of the pop of the shorter ski (a ton), but felt much more stable. This is much more versatile, and fun. It's not really a big mountain ski, but a strong contender for my favorite ski of the test.

Atomic Atlas

182cm

I was able to get one long run on these at the end of the day, and they were ok. The Atlas has a moderate flex with some tip rocker. I felt these ended up skiing like a much improved Dynastar 115, but they were still had somewhat floppy tips. However they were pretty stable, and lots of fun in long turns.

3-6

2010-03-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

3-6

Conditions were excellent. Soft snow on north facing aspects, and corn on south slopes. To get laps in I stayed North. Saw some tracks of really crazy lines in the Teddy Bear Chutes. Here's some photos.

About to drop in to the left Teddy Bear Chute. Intense drop and straightline combination.

Teddy Bear Chutes and Spook Hill. If you look closely, there is an insane line skied in the spines between the main Teddy Bear Chutes and the double air.

View up the chair. Snow was nice and soft in the bowl.

Skied Elk Chutes twice from the traverse and once from the top. It's finally filled in. I skied in the cliffs bottom left of the picture which had a soft snow layer on top, but an lower icy layer right below it. Sent one of the airs.

Another view of the Teddy Bear Chutes and Paradise Bowl Chutes. Skied Embryo twice, and aired of the cliff/cornice by the large tree on the edge once. My tracks are visible.

The Bowl was awesome. Hit the air in the middle of the picture three times, and the snow was soft for each. Scared myself straightlining the crud of the bowl from higher and higher points at faster speeds throughout the day.

A very enjoyable day.

2-28

2010-03-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

Originally when I made this blog, I was only planning of posting epic photos and videos. However, those are somewhat rare, so I'm adding conditions reports with photos. This is definitely going to be an improvement.

2-28

Conditions were very altitude and aspect dependent, as there was rain/ super heavy snow recently. High and north-facing was great, and everywhere else wasn't. South was the best. There were lots of visible slides, and the patrol spent a long time opening South. It wouldn't be a great time to go into the Backcountry. Still, a great day.

Here's a few pics-

Powder Bowl

South Facing Throne

Teddy Bear

Skiing Photo

2010-02-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

A photo from this season of playing with some pillows at Crystal Mountain, Washington.

Photo by Andy Devore.