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While Tahoe has been getting slammed with the Pineapple Express, I figured why not post some pre-holiday Kirkwood stoke? At the very least, you will be able to see what the mountain looked like prior to feet upon feet of snow. Who doesnโt like a good comparison? Well, that and I made a video while tanning on the beach in Florida for New Years.
Early season at Kirkwood mountain is quite unique. The mountain is littered with deep volcanic chutes and cliffs that skis quite differently at the end of the season with a deeper snowpack.
On a normal year, these same chutes and cliffs disappear and may even turn into a open bowl later on in the year. Therefore, this early part of the season yields some radical mini-golf action in the classic Fingers, Wagon Wheel Bowl, Oops & Poops, Lightning, All the Way and of course all of Thunder Saddle.
On this trip right before Christmas, I had two days to explore with my two older kids. The first day being a gorgeous sunny day and the second surprising us with a quick two inches before the lifts opened to give that much needed extra layer of fluff. With the entire mountain open, it was a great time skiing everything from the Palisades all the way to Thunder Saddle and everything in between.
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Early bird gets the corduroyโฆ
When you let your kids pick the first runโฆ
Lightning is radical early seasonโฆ
vThe Fingers can be intimidating early on in the yearโฆ
Skiing in from the cornice is always a good ideaโฆ
And then down deep into the early season funโฆ
Chamoix had a small exit air, but no longer after the last stormโฆ
The view from The Wall gives you a much better perspectiveโฆ
The backcountry zone of California Chute saying helloโฆ
Lots of snow on the backside of Kirkwoodโฆ
Vista had a mix of untracked pow and solid iceโฆ
After lunch, the oldest and I skied some BLACK DIAMONDS off Chair 6โฆ
Hand out frontโฆHANDS OUT FRONT!
Apres snowball manufacturing, but the my son wasnโt impressedโฆ
Dinner at 7800 checked all the boxesโฆ
The next morning, we met up with Bevanโฆso I took some action shots!
Follow-cam down Oops & Poopsโฆ
I think his heel is brokenโฆ
The Fingers were all-time funโฆ
The top of The Wall provided some nice grippy steep turnsโฆ
What was Florida like you may ask? Day after day of thisโฆ
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Oh and the current forecast is looking quite promising after Sundayโฆ
Correction: FREE your heel, ski for REAL