Alpine skiing - 24/25, any participants on SF?

Unlike David at 140 lbs aspiring to be Fred Astaire ( a worthy goal) I enjoy railing big, fast sweeping turns. A clydesdale is a good approximation of my style:

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againstthegrain said:
Schweitzer Basin and eastern Washington were our 2nd choice for a retirement home. Lots of snow, but lots of grey, cloudy skies as well.
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So Sun Valley does have lots of Sun. I've wondered if the name actually reflected something about the place. I've never been there. I went to college in Missoula. Sun Valley always seemed out of the way, with only secondary highways and no really direct route. Yes, there were sometimes foggy days where I lived, the kind where you couldn't tell the difference between the fog and the snow between your skies, and you could never anticipate if the next turn would send you down a steep drop or a flat run. Spooky is how it felt.
 
Oh yeah we get lots of sun. And SV being out of the way offered it some protection from the masses, but flights are abundant these days unfortunately.

Having started my Idaho life in Moscow, ID over the continental divide from Missoula it was a very quick progression to move south out of the rain forest into the high desert of central Idaho.
 

Some of my friends were "swoopers." I was more about seeing how many turns I could link in the next 50 yards. Except in Powder, where swooping was the order of the day. Never got enough powder. I got to Schweitzer Basin one morning after two feet of overnight snow. I was 45 minutes early and the lift was not yet open. I stood there watching the packing machines get rid of all that wonderful powder that I would not be able to track up. Talk about being frustrated.
 
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I spent one Fall season before winter quarter in college washing dishes in Vale, and skied everyday, but never a whole day because I had to be at work until just before noon, and had to be back at work at 4:00 PM. I missed only two days where I didn't ski.
 
I skied in Europe only. I went to France, Switzerland and Austria a few times, as well as Italy. I loved skiing!
Unfortunately, my husband hates the snow and the cold.
Instead he taught me to water ski, a sport that I enjoyed very much.
 
Dave03 said:
I went skiing once, in Colorado, when I was stationed at Ft. Carson. People on the lifts were applauding my crashes. Never again.
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Wow, I always took a bow when my fall created applause, which actually was pretty often! I grew up in the high mountains of Colorado. I started skiing when I was 4 years old. My wife and I both grew up in Colorado and we both ski. Unfortunately, we live a long way from good skiing now, but we have skied together a few times. Hopefully, we can get a few more days on the slopes, before we are too old to walk...
 
JustDave said:
Some of my friends were "swoopers." I was more about seeing how many turns I could link in the next 50 yards. Except in Powder, where swooping was the order of the day. Never got enough powder. I got to Schweitzer Basin one morning after two feet of overnight snow. I was 45 minutes early and the lift was not yet open. I stood there watching the packing machines get rid of all that wonderful powder that I would not be able to track up. Talk about being frustrated.
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I'm pretty much in line an hour before the lifts open on powder days.
 
After yesterday's snows, such a glorious bright sunny December Saturday for workweek skiers. Expect to drive up midweek when crowds are light.

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My favorite lift at lower right and most skied slope at frame center skyline.

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Welp the tourists have started to arrive for the holiday. The quality of the skiers goes way down, as the locals don't ski very much during the coming 2 weeks and the 14-18yo boys are downright scary, btwn the lack of ability, combined w the lack of judgement.

Had occasion to come upon a family group very close to the top where one young girl was crying her eyes out in fear, saying she didn't want to go down any further. The idiot male leader (don't think it was her father, prob uncle) insisted she keep trying saying "it's easier, just ski down a little more."

I had to step in and tell them in no uncertain terms they needed to walk back up and ride the lift and gongala back down. The wife of the idiot man jumped on that suggestion and he gave up as the 2 of them walked back to the top, My good deed for the day.

We have a separate mountain for novices, I'm mean how stupid can one be to bring a novice up to the top of a 3200 vertical foot mountain.
 
It's always great to see elk on the way to the lift. Two cows, and 2 calves in the lower meadow.


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My daughter is on a well deserved Christmas break, she's a teacher.

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And of course the view of the Pioneer Mtns from the top!



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It was chilly this morning. day 2 of the 3 day MLK Jr weekend. Tourists and bad skiers everywhere.


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Despite the temps most days the euphoria hits at least once so one might feel like dancing and signing and thinking it's 96°F in the shade.


SV is hosting the World Cup Finals this spring. Lots of work has been done to get ready and work is on going on a daily basis. We are hoping Mikaela Shiffrin who was injured earlier this season gets healthy and wins a race or 2. The US Ski Team calls her the greatest alpine skier of all time.

US Ski Team - "on March 11th, 2023 (and two days before her 28th birthday), Mikaela went down in history as the greatest skier of all time, surpassing Stenmark's record with her 87th World Cup win...again, in Stenmark's home turf in Are, Sweden."


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We've only had 80" of snow so far the south and west facing slopes have no to poor coverage. From left to right is what's known to locals as the "Siegfried Line." It's a really nice overlooked option on powder days, but beware of the cliff band below. A careful look shows some snowmaking in progress.

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After 18 straight mid winter dry days, the Northern Jet Stream is changing with the first minor storm nearing peak as I type. Also the period I've been sidelined with a strong sinus head cold virus. View at 3:45pm today Saturday from my favorite lift at Heavenly with the air exceptionally cold for storms at 14F so extra light fluff powder snow. I expect to be skiing again by mid week.:

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As a Youngster I spent a lot hours out in the snow, snowball fights,
building snow packed forts, building Frosty back and Sledding +
Toboggan steep dirt country road afternoons. HAVE No Adult desires
for more snow time.

Been to Aspen and Vail + lots of slippery sled hills in my 20's!
Too many sidewalks and Drive cleaning to care for more snows.
 
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Welp the snow begins to fall w 24" predicted by Monday.🤞

The agro level has jumped in anticipation of the storm this morning as the newbs in town panic buy bread and milk. I'm sure it'll ramp up from here. Saturday is normally the busiest day of the week on the hill and with the dearth of powder days this year tomorrow will be a chit show.
 

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