Conquering Corned Chutes in America @ Kirkwood – 07/02/11
SKIING THE CIRQUE IN JULY? OH MY!
Date:
July 2nd, 2011
Location: Kirkwood, California (taken on July 2nd, 2011)
Weather: Summery
Riders:
Skier666, Jmetzler, Dblatto, Coop, Slim and Ottime
Cameraman:
666, Jmetzler
POV VIDEO – Conquering Corned Chutes in America @ Kirkwood
Music: Boddika – ‘Basement’
Synopsis:
After the mega-Armageddon-record snowfall year in the Sierra (4th-5th snowiest on record?), the days of lift-served have come to a close. Many of the Tahoe resorts opened for the July 4th weekend, but we figured Kirkwood would be 1) less crowded, 2) more North facing, 3) consistent pitch, & 4) The Cirque! Even better, I was able to pick up and use my 11/12 season pass….with the solstice over, its just getting darker every day, right?
Ultimately, Kirkwood opened up Chair 6 with skiers carrying their skis/boards and no grooming or frill. Surprisingly, that didn’t stop the better than expected turnout with a ‘skiers in shorts’ ratio of 91.7%. Skiing was only a few yards from being ‘top to bottom’ skiing, and I bet if they snow farmed a bit, they would have been able to fill in the holes without any issue. All in all, skiing from near Glove Rock all the way to Carnell’s was superb skiing for July 2nd. People were hiking the Wall to the Palisades….GOOD DAY INDEED!
July 4th isn’t very common…just look at this shot from ‘a patch’ on Forestdale Creek Road July 4th’s 2007….let me know if you can determine any difference between that year and this past season….
Java Porn: Espresso shot as an appetizer, single drip for the main course….
TR BEGINS:
Believe it or not, it snowed on June 29th….
Squaw High Camp…wintery after the Summer Solstice
Squaw Palisades…after a late June 2011 storm
July 2nd, 2011:
Just a normal alpine start for a ski trip on July 2nd….
Time for some healthy food for hiking…
The skis managed to see the sun first…
We brought along some fog from SF…
Spur is finally melting…
Albeit, Winter is still lingering
Jmetzler wears his thickest down coat…
I think that’s a human gesture for approval…
‘Lookout Janek’ looking filled in…
On the Summit, we are greeted by soldiers like Skimoore’s dad, Moment SkiEO’s dad, and other various fathers…
JMetzler wastes no time in making his first turn…
Zach’s wasn’t groomed but skied very well…
666 makes a few turns….
He’s just happy he’s rolling on 916s instead of Dukes….
Coop and I try to look professional..
JMetzler goes for some edge cleaning…
666 attempts to hurt himself in July…
Ottime gets into the action shot steeze…
Coop enjoying himself….I think it was only his 3rd day skiing this season. ☺
JMetzler follows his line…
Meanwhile, 666 tries for a July face shot…
…and then JMetzler pretends we are at NASTAR…
We meet up with Dblatto and decide to venture past the WALL!!!!
Ottime and I really bonded on the hike…
The hike was a tad far for ski boots but whatever….
Dblatto loves getting fresh air anyway…#freshair
#permanatelyclosed….
Sierra to the South from 9800ft…..
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! WE LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH!
Are you telling me that he brought props?
I mean….REALLY??????
I guess he marked Carnell’s for us…
The line….even better is that IT GOES!
JMetzler just got back from a trip in Hawaii, so he HAD to go first…
Not too bad for July!
Those lessons are really paying off!
Dblatto makes his first ever Cirque turn…#Kirkwoodcirqueisopen
Hella #STOKED!
Dblatto displays the first exit area….#survivalskiing
Ottime is up in the flag gate….
And decides to CHARGE IT!
YeeHaw!
666 picks up his props and goes for it…
Dblatto heads down the couloir….#skiinginJuly
#Aggressivelinebro;.
Ottime follows his line…
And hauls ass into the crux…
666 decides to chase after Ottime…
This is what it looked like…
GO DARON RAHLVES!!!!!!
666POV…
Perfect corn for a bbq…
JMetzler shows us the lower section….
I decided to take the same line…
Getting a bit narrow…
Dblatto shows us why ‘rocker technology’ is also great for…suncupps! #rockertechnology
JMetzler pretends its groomed…
Ottime skis so fast, it stresses me out…..
Eagle Bowl finish line….
Dblatto goes powder huntin’….#dirtskiing
And just like that, we arrive at the Base to drink talboys with Slim and DaveP…
Our line is visible…
Now hydrated, Slim shows us Oops still has coverage…
I really hope JMetzler applied sunscreen on his arms…
Did I mention Oops was SMOOTH?
Lower Oops….JMetzler laughing due to fun or the 4am pickup in Berkeley hours earlier?
You could even make that last carve down to 6 from Sentinel….crazy for July 2nd!
I guess Big Jims was ‘doable.’
Dblatto on #skischoolchute…
#smoothskiing….
666 leapfrogs holes….
Over to the chute near Glove rock for my final run…
Yay! Its sunny in SF!!!!!
Fireworks to celebrate our debt-ridden country!!!!
Its finally snowing in NZ, here’s a tribute to my mates…
Happy Birthday USA!