After the 3.5 hour trek through the passes to get to Vail everyone was eager to get out on the slopes. After gearing and up and getting the radios set the whole crew hopped in a gondola and rode to the top. At the top we parted ways and a contingent of us headed for the back bowls. By the time we got to the top of the ridge, “we” consisted of David L and I as others dropped off due to cold feet (both literally and figuratively depending on the person.) We shot for Blue Sky but ended up taking a Black Diamond run that headed back towards the front side. This turned out to be the best mistake of the day. The run head down towards the the bottom of the front side, and was sustained steep black diamond terrain for the better part of a mile and half, with tons of powder and bumps. You could link turns for minutes at a time until you needed a break, and there was no end in sight of the run!
Finally, we made it to the back bowl. The conditions were incredible! I actually stopped pointing straight down a CO black diamond because the waist deep powder had stopped my in my tracks at one point! We headed for China Bowl, marveling at the knee-waist deep powder. Once we made it to China Bowl, I got my first taste of “Face-Shots” which is when you make a turn and the snow wave you are pushing crests and hits you in the face! You had to be very careful on choosing your line in this bowl because you could quickly find your self stuck in waist deep powder and trying to “paddle” with your poles to get down!
We made another run down China Bowl, trying to pick our way through the upper glade without getting stuck. It was incredible to be pushing snow waves over your waist as you floated down making fresh tracks. As fun as this was we headed for Pete’s Bowl again. This turned out to be pure skiing nirvana! There were drifts almost as tall as me in the downwind side of trees you could pop over. We quickly picked a line on the far side of the bowl that was very steep through moderately dense trees. It was a huge rush to traverse your way through thick trees until you saw an opening in the trees and then dive straight down making fresh tracks. You could feel like a pro as you popped up and out of the snow on hard turns and touched down light as a feather.
I finally got overconfident and was flying down a run with large snow covered moguls through the trees, intentionally popping into the air for several feet after each turn. I found myself in a trajectory for a small tree while airborn and tried to rush the landing. I did a head over heels somersault and came to rest on my back sans skis and poles, but didn’t feel a thing in the powder. After 30+ minutes of searching I located BOTH my skis, snapped a couple quick pics and headed for the lift to start traversing home.
On the way back David and I stopped at the cornice and decided to try it. I successfully dropped into a ~6 footer and we headed down into the trees. We made it back to the vehicle and reunited with the crew. A successfully epic day of skiing!
Photo Credits
- Ben Larson
- Jenna Baker
