Heavenry to Kookwood – 01/22/05
Went to Heavenry last friday and took some pics of Killebrew for you all. Not too many pics out there so I thought I’d help out a bit. I can honestly say that I really like skiing Gate B. Its consistently steep, lots of granite boulders everywhere (similiar to Granite Chief at Squaw) making millions of different lines to choose from, north facing, and high elevation. It also has great views of the Minden valley which astonishingly still had snow-cover. I’m pretty sure some people on this board skied all the way to Gardnerville last week and it still looked good to go…with 5,000 vert or so. 
It was probably in the upper 50’s on friday above the fog, and my brother-in-law and I still found some winter snow laying around up there. Even some untouched fresh in some of the technical boulder lines.
Music: – Klute – Acid Rain
January 22nd, 2005 – Kirkwood
Yes…crowded. I roll there with my dad, etc at 8:35 am and the lot by 6 was already full. Why?, because they extended the "$20" pay lot proper. Oh well, I guess I can’t blame them. So we parked past Red Cliffs which I haven’t done in years.
Super sick groomers off of 6 all morning, then roll to 10 & 11 to hit up some more. Lunch. Then the backside to hit west shore with Arty and my brother in law who decided that "he has kids and he shouldn’t ski that" so he hiked back out into Fawn Ridge. I skied the chute skiers left of West Shore proper, the one that rolls to the right. I have no idea why I didn’t take a photo. It was crunchy mush on skiers left and powder on skiers right with some crevasse-like holes where buried rocks warmed up the snow.
Finally, took a run on Oops which was getting close to bulletproof and bumpy. Then did the usual roll to the half-pipe where I meet Mr. Steeze himself, Punani and the ever friendly SkiDawg. The pipe was about a 6.3 on a 10 point scale. Icy but with some nice vert. Definitely more of a "superpipe" than the last few years.
Perfect weather, bluebird, NO WIND, and warm. The snow held up well on the north aspects and so did the Fat Tire in the sun at the Off the Wall Bar.