Report from April 1, 2024

Yesterday was a long, fun day.

The day started at 9am with rumors of “The Chimney” being open up on “The Palisades.”

I jammed up to the top of Siberia and the sign said Chimney closed.

The east wind was howling…

For the first two laps, I tucked straight down the Siberia groomer in the east wind and it was too fun.

Then I saw Andy and Garrett up on The Chimney poking around.

So I went up and had a look as well.

It was gorgeous and very alpine feeling.

I took some photos then went for a walk looking for something fun to ski.

I decided to put some work into “The Tube Alternate.”

The Tube Alternate had been looking like a cheesegrater all season and it had this mini, wonky cornice that just made the thing sketchy.

I put in the work.

I pole-whacked the mini cornice for about 10 minutes hewing it down to something manageable and dropable.

Eventually, it started to look good.

Cheesegrater rocks line both sides of the chute and make it very uninviting.

You also have to land on rocks.

There are just rocks everywhere in that damn thing…

No one had hit Tube Alternate yet this season.

Yesterday was likely my last day in Tahoe for the season and I felt like leaving a mark.

Suddenly, the fear disappeared and my courage surged.

I got myself in position, squirreled around a bit, barked, and dropped.

The landing is a precision landing.

I slammed down about 2″ off the rocks on the left and shot outta the chute like a cannonball!

The runout was chattery but I found a bit soft patch of snow to speed check in.

I had to make sure to shut it down before the traverse tracks below.

Once my speed was under control the adrenaline made me high.

I smiled and cruised down to Andy and Garrett.

We discussed The Chimney and how we longed for it open for a bit.

Then we all went our separate ways.

Garrett to rest.

Andy to ski more.

Me to Park City, UT.

I skied down, packed up, and hit the road east.

Nevada was as snowy as I’ve ever seen it.

Green and white with puffy clouds.

Gorgeous.

I used to not like Nevada.

Now I find it stunningly beautiful.

I know it.

I did the math as I was driving and I’ve crossed that desert about 48 times since 2017…

I arrived in Park City at 7:30pm.

580 miles in 7 hours and 36 minutes.

I hauled my stuff inside and started resting.

My bad back hurt the entire drive and it felt incredible to not be in that car.

Thanks, California, Nevada, and Utah!

Snow Numbers

Forecast

Photos