TR from the Cell Phoned Col T4Ters

[M@]

From the "Mobil Messages" thing:

Originally Posted by cellPhoneMessage

01/20/05 16:50:01
!skilaskmrnpwdr8sridersteve Springtime at Keystone, soft snow, sunshine, bluebird!!!!!!

Kewl meet up, but excesive puncuation.

M@

[skicdave]

Nice... and I bet its warmer too. Gad this deep freeze is the pits...

[skicdave]

And whats this about "too much snow"! :jealousoverdose: . Driving from Waitsfield VT to Lake Placid NY yesterday there were areas that had hardly a dusting of snow... looked more like November coverage.

[Rider.Steve]

Originally Posted by M@

From the "Mobil Messages" thing:

Kewl meet up, but excesive puncuation.

M@

Twas brillig and the slithy tothes; a super fab gathering at Keystone on Thursday; unpunctuated bliss! Sadly I was a late entrant, due to a messy flight day and a 2 a.m. condo arrival that morning; my woozy party arrived to the top of the Keystone Outback chair at noon as Skilas, Kmrnskier and Pwdr8s (having ripped glades during the morning) climbing up to access the South Bowl - no snowcats operating this day. Although tempted by the prospect of the bowl, I headed downwards for some warmup runs through the woods and under the chair (no hiking above 12,200 ft for me on the first day por favor).

Later Pwdr8s showed me and my buds some stashes in the gnarly glades at skiers right and we followed that with some fun high-speed runs on-piste.

We met up with Skilas and Kmrn at day's end, ending with all planks taking a fun cruiser to the base. Kmrnskier needed to return to her home base pronto, but Skilas and Pwdr8s settled in at the base lodge for some delicious Fat Tire byramid pints courtesy of the newbie TMC member ( ). As noted in another post, Pwdr8s later visited my condo for burritos and some fine tea.

Great day, but no pics?! Well my camera bag had unslung itself from my belt on an early run, totally lost to the elements; it was only miraculously recovered the following evening, causing a two day photo gap. I was sad to miss the photo opportunities of the day, but delighted to have my camera back. I will post some pics from days 3 and 4 of my trip.

Steve

[Rider.Steve]

Well I lost my camera at Keystone on Day 1 just after meeting Kmrn, Skilas and Pwdr8s at the Outback chair (as described in previous post), but got it back on Day 2 after a very nice time at Copper with my travel companions and a long-lost classmate who now lives in Boulder. Stan from Boulder was old school in every way, skiing in jeans, with narrow planks and neolithic boots - very relaxed and confident, nice to ride with.

Day 3 on Saturday was cooler than the previous two days, with the prospect of crusty conditions from the prevous warm days and subsequent refreeze. We headed for Beaver Creek and its groomed slopes (the Deer Valley of Colorado?). Not as much adventure here as the other resorts perhaps, but the Birds of Prey downhill course (on the Golden Eagle run) was as satisfying a leg burner as I have ever done - pretty darn steep and fast: http://www.skimaps.com/map1533

We basked in the sun and enjoyed the stupendous Beaver views and bluebird sky:


Rider.steve at play at Beaver


And a Beaver panorama with my buds


On Day 4 snow was petering out from the warm conditions and week-long snow drought. We headed again to Copper and after allowing some time for the sun to warm up the snowpack we headed for the higher elevations. Spaulding Bowl is the highest terrain at Copper (12,400 feet) but there was no wind and the temperatures peaked tropically in the 40's. That's me on the right, all smiles.


You don't see many snowboarders in the Spaulding Bowl because the only lift access to the top is the Storm King poma lift, which most riders find too steep to hang on to. I got the knack after one embarassing failure and went up three more times. Here's my riding pal Joe contemplating the Spaulding headwall.


The snow on the bowl headwall, although a week old, was beautifully deep and soft and not heavily tracked, which made the riding a real pleasure. I enjoyed watching the snow from every jump turn slide down to the bottom of the bowl as I switchbacked my way down. Nice way to finish my first Summit County trip.

Steve

[RR]

coo coo katchoo....

[Huckasaurass]

Can't wait.. I will be there hopefully skiing with KRMN starting feb 3....wooo hooooo t-minus...I sooo can't wait...

Hopeing for a few inches or feet of fresh..looks like some in the forecast...keeping my fingers crossed..I should be hittin Keystone and Copper definately..maybe A-Basin too, we'll see.

Matt

[Rider.Steve]

Originally Posted by Huckasaurass

Can't wait.. I will be there hopefully skiing with KRMN starting feb 3....wooo hooooo t-minus...I sooo can't wait...

Hopeing for a few inches or feet of fresh..looks like some in the forecast...keeping my fingers crossed..I should be hittin Keystone and Copper definately..maybe A-Basin too, we'll see.

Matt

I heard that when there is fresh, A Basin is the place. Don't forget the Mate (cocoa leaf) tea - made a big difference for me.

Steve

[Huckasaurass]

Originally Posted by Rider.Steve

Don't forget the Mate (cocoa leaf) tea - made a big difference for me.

Steve

????? I know i'll be sucking down agua, but what is this "tea" to which you are referring??

It will probably be Keystone 2/3, A-Basin 2/4 (snow permitting), and 2/5-6 will be at Copper. Thats the plan anyway...we all know plans change.

Matt...

[RR]

Yerba Matte....green leaves with some go power and a way to ease the difficulties of acclimatization...taken as tea hereabouts and chewed (as in plug a'baccy) on La Platta Alto.

[Huckasaurass]

Originally Posted by RR

Yerba Matte....green leaves with some go power and a way to ease the difficulties of acclimatization...taken as tea hereabouts and chewed (as in plug a'baccy) on La Platta Alto.

Any where would one find this stuff?

Matt

[RR]

Originally Posted by Huckasaurass

Any where would one find this stuff?

Matt

http://www.yerba-mate.com/

or call your local Health Food Store....even GNC might have some

[PWDR8S]

Originally Posted by Huckasaurass

Any where would one find this stuff?

Matt

Often referred to as Matte de Coca... can be found in health food stores and tea shops. I got mine online and shipped express to me. It works very well. I introduced my brother and friends to it. They were out only for the weekend from Seattle and they said it made a HUGE difference. No altitude problems except the normal lack of O2. Makes a good health food beverage. Lots of vitamins and minerals.

Steve - I'm psyched you got your camera back! I AM IMPRESSED. I thought it was a goner for sure. Nice pics! My cam has been malfunctioning and being an overall pain, hence I didn't take any pics that afternoon we slid at Keystone. I'll try to post my previous days stuff in another TR today.

[Huckasaurass]

Originally Posted by PWDR8S

Often referred to as Matte de Coca... can be found in health food stores and tea shops. I got mine online and shipped express to me. It works very well. I introduced my brother and friends to it. They were out only for the weekend from Seattle and they said it made a HUGE difference. No altitude problems except the normal lack of O2.

How much to drink and when did you start? When you arrived? Days before you left? Please advise?

Matt

[PWDR8S]

Start the H2O about 3 days before... drink copious amounts till your pee is almost clear.... that way you're tuning your stomach to accept larger amounts and it's a good way to flush toxins out. Flying always dehydrates everyone more than they know. Drink plenty during your whole trip. If you're feeling thirsty, you haven't drank enough and your bod is begging for more.

As for the tea, drink a cup or 2 the evening you arrive(depending upon when in the day - if at night, don't drink more than 1 or else you won't get much sleep) and then 1 or 2 upon waking.... ski/ride all day and have another or 2 around dinner time. You may use it instead of coffee in the morning.... it has the same 'pick-me-up' quality as caffeine.