Cold Smoke report - DP on Little Superior 1-20-06

**powstash** · 01-20-2006, 02:14 PM

I knew it was going to be a good day, but didn't know it would be the best day of the season. You know the type - snowed the past couple of days, resorts are only reporting 6-8", so you head out thinking, "heh, should be worth the outing" and then on the second turn after dropping into a committing line you find yourself saying out loud, "Oh my..oh yea..hell yea!" and you instantly visualize what your buddy will experience upon dropping in. I dig the feeling of getting stoked for your ski bud.

Such was the morning for Particle and myself. After poor form of showing up late

we found our way to Wasangeles Central - Our Lady of the Blower Pow Snows. The morning was very crisp and as we gained the ridge at Cardiff Pass it became down right bitter. As we trudged along I kept poking my pole into the side of the skin track, surprsed by the depth.

Our target was Superior. The sunrise was shaping up to be another classic.

Particle

We made our way along the ridge and up Little Superior to find that ahead of us it was bumper to bumper.

Wasangeles?

Considering that we both needed to be to work and that we weren't in need of additional company, we decided to hit the south ridge of Little Superior, one neither of us had hit. When we skinned to the top of it, there was a bit of an ice crust under the top layer of snow so as I made a couple of ski cuts I wasn't too optomistic. A little surface slough was all it produced so I dropped in...and was blown away at how deep it was. Almost scary deep. The rest of it was the stuff dreams are made of. A couple stops for route finding and then the long money shot to the road where trucks were honking and people shouting stoke. Particle and I were laughing.

The evidence:

Particle on the upper part of the ridge: (he later said that he didn't feel like he was skiing it all that well - pffft)

A little lower - getting deeper:

...but many turns yet to make

As we entered the apron I really felt the enormity of the face of Superior, looming over me. Although I didn't glance over my shoulder, I kept thinking - just keep turning, keep going...

You can see our line (the promient ridge just lookers right of the center of this photo)

P was stoked upon arriving at the road. A "click, click" of the poles, some laughs and a ride from the Rustler Lodge shuttle driver and we were on our way down canyon, savoring another blessed day in the Wasatch.

**phUnk** · 01-20-2006, 02:21 PM

I heart you guys.

**powstash** · 01-20-2006, 02:22 PM

Forgot one more photo of Particle slutting at the bottom of the apron. Yea, it was this deep at the bottom

**lemon boy** · 01-20-2006, 02:23 PM

seething jealousy today.

**Particle** · 01-20-2006, 02:25 PM

My camera was not enjoying the super cold morning, and it wasn't focusing all that well or snapping off the sequence shots like it normall does, but got a few good 'uns of Pstash. Definitely my favorite run of the year, possibly the past 2 seasons. Simply amazing. Stash summed it up well.

Powstash on the approach:

Dawn over the Wasatch:

**Particle** · 01-20-2006, 02:27 PM

Powstash gettin' the goods:

**robokill1981** · 01-20-2006, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by lemon boy

seething jealousy today.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

**Karl Stall** · 01-20-2006, 02:28 PM

yep, seething, virtually unncontrollable jealousy today.

**Trackhead** · 01-20-2006, 02:29 PM

It's the friggin Hillary Step on Everest.

**bcrider** · 01-20-2006, 02:29 PM

Beauty Clark!

Snow looks $$$!

**Tippster** · 01-20-2006, 02:34 PM

Great picture:

**ninjabirdman** · 01-20-2006, 02:34 PM

this is a BEAUTIFUL photograph . . . sooo jealous right now. hopefully heading up to the sierras this weekend, all stoked up from these pics. thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Particle

Dawn over the Wasatch:

**iskibc** · 01-20-2006, 02:36 PM

Hell yeah!! Dawn Patrol stoke meter rising. Nice work fellas.

**mrryde** · 01-20-2006, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Trackhead

It's the friggin Hillary Step on Everest.

first thing that came to mind for me too

**Squirrel99** · 01-20-2006, 02:55 PM

makes me wish the sun rose a little bit earlier during the winter in the cascades

nice pics & write up.
by the way, do you ever work in the morning

**skier666** · 01-20-2006, 02:55 PM

...my god

**hev** · 01-20-2006, 03:25 PM

Nicely done. Damn Superior really needs to be checked of my list that just looks rad.

**truberski** · 01-20-2006, 03:36 PM

Great stoke and cold smoke.

**Stoysluttie1** · 01-20-2006, 03:44 PM

Glad to see you enjoyed yourselves today as well

Off the hook up here.

**Woodsy** · 01-20-2006, 03:47 PM

whatever,
my lunch @ the Waldorf=Astoria was so much better..
*sniff*
nice work boys.

**stump832** · 01-20-2006, 03:54 PM

Sweet pics!! Wasangeles indeed was in full effect today - as we set off up to Toledo we counted 11 ants in close formation on the Flagstaff skintrack. As we sat atop a clean, but for one run from Trackhead, Toledo Bowl, counted another 15 stomping toward Cardiff. Our 2nd run in Holy Toledo could be classified as turbo sweet. What a day. What happened with the HCAC attack on Cardiff?

and btw, thanks for the skintrack, Trackhead.

**sick.bird** · 01-20-2006, 04:00 PM

CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!! CAW!!!!!!

**KillingCokes** · 01-20-2006, 04:07 PM

Couldn't help but think of this pic from the shasta post
Sweet TR

**Hutch** · 01-20-2006, 04:41 PM

sweet TR, powstash. thanks

CS · 01-20-2006, 04:46 PM

Hmmm, we must have just missed you guys. Dan and I put tracks down just above pole-line pass then traversed down the ridge to do some huckin.

And I'll agree. I wasn't expecting much given the low snow totals but it was friggin deep. It hurt me bad to have to leave, but not so bad when my turns just above the road were even deeper than up high. Fun morning.

Oh, and sweet pics.