USA 2007 - PART 2

Saturday March 17th - Can You Hear The Thunder?

Another beautiful morning and I packed my gear up and decided to head back towards Great Falls and make my decision on route. I had two choices and as I had no accommodation booked I was as free as a bird. I could head back up to Bear Paw which was debatable to be open and dependant on me seeing a sign for a different road to the hill or my favoured choice which was to head to Teton Pass, a small resort north west of Great Falls which would allow me to get further south and possibly even ski at Maverick for their closing day on Sunday.

After deciding on Teton Pass I got stuck behind a curious car which I felt certain was some kind of bizarre religious or cult reference. "Honk if u can hear the thunder" was the slogan with a couple of strange drawings that appeared to depict a member of a cult such as the Ku Klux Klan with hoods and flowing robes. It later transpired on the news that Hays-Lodge Pole boys basketball team had won a Montana league title for the first time. They are known as the thunderbirds!

Heading through Great Falls I passed a huge oil refinery and the smell was pretty awful and it was nice to be heading on the open road north to Choteau and the resort of Teton Pass. The final 20 miles of the journey was one of the most scenic access roads of any ski resort that I have visited. The open plains gave way to mountains and the closer I got to the resort the road was right next to a beautiful flowing river with small beaver dams and steep cliff bands on the mountains. The sun glinting on the tops of the mountains that were laden with snow was simply the cream on the cake. Fantastic!

I pulled, or rather sank, into a deserted parking lot and thought for a second that I had stuck the 4x4 in what was a very soft and muddy lot. After a bit of forward and reversing I was free and looked for a drier spot. With the time approaching 12.30 I decided to give up on lunch and head straight out on a deserted Teton Pass(1010ft, 114a $22).

The two man chair was a typical rinky dink affair with a midway loading area which a good proportion of the skiers were exiting at so I headed to the top. To the left as I looked seemed to be some lightly gladed skiing and to the right more open bowl and trails cut through the forest. Above the lift was what appeared to be excellent bowl skiing that would be accessed by climbing another 1200ft of vertical from the top of the chair. I did not have the gear, a companion or the energy but certainly one for the future.

Anyway, I was here for the lazy skiing and blasted down most of the trails through the trees and found that off to the left took me to a wonderful open area of piste under the chair to the base. With nobody around this was weekend skiing of the highest quality and I was able to really crank the pace with the only danger being to myself. I was really enjoying myself spotting my next turns from the chair and I felt that fears that I had about turning in tougher positions were receding after skiing so much in recent seasons. I also found that my enjoyment of off piste corn snow was a lot higher, I was having great fun and blowing my blues of Drummond away!

By 3pm I was tiring after skiing so hard and decided to head into the lodge for a well deserved beer. I grabbed a Fat Tire beer which is brewed in Colorado and had a good chat with the young guy behind the bar who was not local but travelled around a lot of the smaller ski areas in Montana. It was good to speak to someone else who knew where I had been and the lengths I go to get there.

It was a real shame to be leaving the small mountain which I'd enjoyed so much but I am pretty sure that some day I will be back. On the road again I decided to drive as far as I could south and hopefully as far as Dillon for the night. A fairly boring drive and just after 7pm I arrived in Dillon and checked myself into the Super 8($49.81).

The girl behind the counter was very helpful and although she confirmed that the centre of the town was a bit far to walk she was able to point me in the direction of the Best Western Paradise Inn which had a bar! It was St Patrick's Day after all so I strolled along the road and into the small bar which was fairly busy with around 20 people at the bar and in the comfortable lounge. I grabbed a bottle of Budweiser and took a seat at the bar. An interesting mix of people most of whom were passing through town. Several were travelling with race horses, a couple of truckers that had stopped in town for the night and a few locals that had finished work in the kitchen of the hotel.

One of the young waitresses bought everyone in the bar a drink and by the time the bar closed at 10pm I'd managed to have 4 beers and only pay for 2 so I was happy to leave a decent tip on the bar as I said my farewells. Nice place. Heading back to the ranch I noticed that the stars were out and it seemed like the hot weather was set to continue into next week.

Sunday March 18th - Maverick Mountain, Take Two

Rising at 7am I opened my curtains to yet another amazing morning and after a shower and packing everything into the car I was on my way to try and ski at Maverick Mountain for the 2nd time in a matter of days.

Knowing the road I made good time and by 9.30am I was in the deserted parking lot. Although I describe many parking lots as deserted this one actually was and the sign that three days earlier had claimed "Open Sat + Sun" had changed to "Closed For The Season". Out of luck and a little annoyed I turned around and decided on my next course of action. Slowly but surely the carefully laid plans were falling apart and this would be the beginning of many changes over the course of the next 3 weeks.

I made the decision that I would head south to Utah where I knew I'd get some skiing and also get access to a computer to check on conditions and decide where to head next. First though I wanted to see some new places and hopefully get some skiing even though any turns would almost certainly be well earned by a good hike.

With a whole day to fill I decided to explore for a couple of ski areas that I had read about although knew very little actual facts about. The first on my radar was a small rope tow area by the name of Blizzard which I knew was somewhere around the Craters of the Moon National Monument around 20 miles south west of Arco in Idaho. By early afternoon I was at the National Monument and parked the car to take a few photos and have a wander around and see if I could spot any sign of an old lift.

I think most people would imagine a national monument to be some kind of building or structure but the Craters of the Moon National Monument is a natural area of volcanic activity that over 15000 years has created strange structures including cones, tubes and other strange flows. It really was like walking on a different planet although the pictures never really do these kind of places true justice.

After a look around I could see no evidence of a ski lift so I took a look into the visitor centre to see if there was any mention in there. Struggling to see anything I bought a few postcards and asked the park warden if he could assist in my search. He knew exactly what I wanted to know and was able to tell me that I had came a mile or two too far up the road and that the hill had failed to open at all this year but was run by the local Lions Club on weekends. With the information in my head I turned around and made my way back towards Arco while looking for a lift on the flank of a hill. Spotting the lift I missed the access road and had to make a u-turn after getting a car off my tail. Once there it was clear that there was not even a lick of snow so after a couple of photos I headed back on the road, and this time I was headed towards Sun Valley.

A drive of around an hour and a half took me towards the town of Hailey and an interesting small mountain by the name of Rotarun. Hailey is about 15 miles south of Sun Valley and I'd heard about Rotarun a few years previously but knew very little until a month or so before I arrived in the USA when I noticed a local lady had an online blog about the area. After contacting her we had tentatively thought about meeting around lunchtime on the Monday. With no laptop, no internet access and rapidly changing plans I had no chance to get in contact with Sarah to let her know that I was a day ahead of myself.

After a wrong turn searching for a hill I knew nothing much about I finally found a map in the local tourist information which showed me the road I needed to take and I drove a mile or two out of town and could see the lift on the left hand side. To my surprise and total delight there seemed to be top to bottom coverage so I was hiking!

I strapped my skis onto my sling and with a wonderful late afternoon's sun on my back I setoff from the base area for the short and fairly steep uphill climb under the tow to the top of the hill. Huffing and puffing like an 80 a day smoker I stopped several times to admire the view and the peacefulness of below. I also wondered how much the huge houses dotted around would cost in such beautiful surroundings.

After ten minutes or so I was standing at the top and the view was worth every bit of sweat and toil. The mountains around Sun Valley are pretty distinctive with what I can only describe as lots of ridges with one side holding the snow and the other baked dry. I could see miles in every direction and with no wind and not a sound to be heard I sat for a good ten minutes or so on top of a massive pile of straw bales and took in the sights, caught my breath and contemplated the week ahead.

My first turns were a matter of picking a route sideways to get to the snow and once in I made six or seven nice turns in the mix of corn and hard pack snow and I had to wonder if anyone had noticed me out on the slopes and wondered what on earth I was up to. Packing my gear into the car my final destination of the day was Ogden, a city thirty minutes or so north of Salt Lake City.

Arriving at 9pm I checked into the Motel 6($39.80) and after a few cold beers I called it a day and looked forward to my first day in Utah.

Monday March 19th - Summer Skiing

I awoke to another beautiful day in the USA and as snow was at a premium I decided to head to Wolf Mountain near the town of Eden. Wolf Mountain(1000ft, 100a) was one of only two Utah resorts currently open that I had yet to visit. I was however hedging my bets in the very real thinking that there was at least a 50% chance that the mountain would be closed and if so I would head to Powder Mountain for the day.

Rounding the last corner in temperatures in the 60's and with very little snow in sight I was certain that I was to be left disappointed but to my relief I could see the distant movement of a chair. I was in business!

To my surprise since my last visit the parking lot was now fully tarred and I could sense a real improvement to the area. Getting my gear together I doubted that a jacket was required and marched over to the ticket window to find that the main lift was only open to midway but for $22 I would have enough terrain to keep me entertained. I probably say this too often for smaller resorts but this place had a feel to it and I felt I'd fit in and have fun.

I guess there were around 20-30 people on the hill and most on the beginner runs which the resort had spent a lot of the season making snow on to keep the terrain open into March and hopefully early April. The main lift dropped me off mid mountain and the choices, though limited, were a nice pitched run parallel to the lift or head wide across towards the beginner lift and then a sweep across to the bottom of the lift. At times the terrain was sketchy and it was difficult to see the mountain staying open until the scheduled closing at the weekend.

I noticed that below the lift there was a new lift waiting to be installed. It was second hand and named Selkirk in its previous existence and although no expert on lifts it seemed fairly long and the liftie reckoned that they were putting it straight up the middle between the current two chairlifts. With investment and the rights, which I am lead to believe years ago they had, there is an opportunity to make this place into a 4000 foot mountain to rival many others in the area. Pie in the sky perhaps but when you look from Powder Mountain across to Wolf Mountain you can see the real potential. Anyone who has read about Tom Maclay's plans for the Bitterroot development in Montana and believes that snow would be an issue should take a look at Wolf Mountain. The resort is below the snow line come this time of year but good snowmaking low down and expanding above make the dream a reality for Bitterroot in my opinion.

I headed into the lodge for a spot of lunch. The normal burgers and fries and a coke although when the end of the coke machine shot off and I got covered in juice I felt sure that I'd get it for nothing. Full price and an apology. Oh well, I enjoyed it none the less!

A couple of runs into the afternoon and it was getting ridiculously warm so I called it quits and headed down to Salt Lake City and the Motel 6 where I would stay for the following 3 nights for $47 a night.

After a shower and a few beers in my room I decided to walk up to the library to check my emails and then my aim was to find a bar close to the Delta Centre so that I could have a few beers after the NBA the following night.

An hour or so later and I stumbled into a quiet, but large, club by the name Lumpy's. Settling down at the bar I watched the evening go by for $5 membership and $4 for each very large beer. I caught a bit of a Real Madrid match before heading back to the ranch at 11pm. I stopped past Denny's which is within a hundred yards of the door and had a 13oz steak, fries, onion rings and battered shrimp for just $15. Great stuff and the end to another very good day.

Tuesday March 20th - Back Off!

I awoke in downtown SLC to a grey, overcast day that did little to excite me. Today I would head to Brighton(1745ft, 1050a, $47) for the day. I'd skied there in 2004 with Mike Richards and thought that the place deserved another visit.

I was in the parking lot by 10am and although sunny a cold wind was coming and it was clear that a change in the weather was on the cards. I spent most of the morning skiing the hard pack, verging on icy piste before making my way to Milly's for a spot of lunch. A beer, freshly BBQ burger and fries set me back $10. Nice setting but I knew it could be better and my day here was not a great judge of character.

I finished my day with several blasts down the pistes off the Millicent lift which was by far the best of the day. Unfortunately I witnessed the worst crash of the trip when a guy heading down one of the trails that look directly down to the lift caught an edge and pretty much somersaulted onto his head several times before coming to rest at the bottom of the short gulley. Feeling sure I'd have to contact ski patrol I got my position on the map but before long the guy was very gingerly getting to his feet. I told the piste patrol and when I was down the other side of the lift I noticed that they had reached the guy and fortunately he was ok. It looked way more sickening than I could ever write in words.

I headed back to SLC at 3pm and had a few beers in my room before heading to the Delta Centre for my night watching the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. I was one block away from the centre when I stopped at a crossing and spoke to a local policeman while waiting for the green man. Next of it is he takes off and yells at someone to "back off". Another policeman does the same and although unsure of what had happened it appeared that a pedestrian had became annoyed at a driver for blocking the crossing. Once into the centre it was all the talk of the fans!

A couple of pints and I sat down to watch the action which started with a fabulous rendition of the national anthem by a local choir. I thought they were outstanding.

The Jazz started very slowly and were well behind mainly due to poor pressure on the 3 point shooting of the Warriors.

I love watching the action between plays, periods and half's and I was not to be disappointed. A local troupe did a fabulous Can-Can from the Moulin Rouge and at half time I was honestly in stitches as the local mascot(Jazz Bear) became "Air Bear" and wandered about with one of those inflatable upper bodies like a sumo wrestler. Anyway, he went behind one of the on court security guards and butted him from behind laying the guard out flat. Next he moves behind the next guard but is spotted and as he moves for the kill the guard lays him out flat with a punch. Out cold, Air Bear is given the kiss of life by one of the lovely cheerleaders. Coming round a huge pink tongue shoots out of "Air Bear" and chases the poor girl out of the arena. It appealed to my sense of humour anyway!

On another stop I was unsure if it was an accident or planned when a guy bombing towards the hoop via a trampoline collided in mid-air with one of the cheerleaders. If planned it was sensational and if not then pretty lucky they were able to walk away!

A few beers later and a nail biting end to the play saw rookie Paul Millsap nail a brilliant 3 pointer from downtown with seconds remaining to see the Jazz home by 104-100. Another highlight late on was the fouling out of Stephen Jackson who took an age to leave the court to the jeers from the home fans. Great night and I headed back to Lumpy's for a few beers.

A couple of beers and a chat with a guy from California and then I headed home for the night via Denny's for a cheeseburger, fries and onion rings for $10. A fabulous day.

Wednesday March 21st - Inversion

With a fairly short drive north I was able to get a decent long lie in the morning before setting off for one of my favourite resorts, Powder Mountain(2005ft, 5500a, $46). I arrived at the base area to a nice, bright and sunny day and although the warm weather had taken its toll with the closure of the cat and one lift there was still plenty fun to be had with a 2" covering of fresh and deserted slopes.

I spent most of my day skiing laps on the Hidden Lake Express and the Sunrise poma with some brilliant turns in the trees. The inversion created quite a few problems at the base of the lift however with visibility down to a matter of feet and care had to be taken not to hit hidden bumps and drops in the marginal visibility!

I called it a day at around 2pm and had a quick beer in the Powder Keg bar at the resort before heading down to SLC for the night.

A quick shower and I was off to the library to see what the next week or so would bring and unfortunately the news was not good. New Mexico was too warm, Arizona too and Ski Las Vegas had closed a week early. With two weeks before my dad and brother were due in Colorado I decided to make the best of it and head south and accept that conditions may not be ideal and that I may have a few non skiing days due to greater distances between the only open resorts. On the flip side I would see some wonderful scenery and hopefully have the chance to visit some of the USA's top landmarks.

Heading back to the ranch I grabbed a steak, fries and onion rings from Denny's for $12 and washed it down with a glass of wine before turning in for an early night before the long drive to Brian Head, some 3 hours south, in the morning.

Thursday March 22nd - Red Rock

I awoke early to an overcast and uninviting day in downtown SLC. Packing the car I hit the road at around 8am for the 3 hour drive south to Brian Head(1707ft, 540a, $35). Although I was able to drive at around 70-80mph most of the way it seemed like a slow and monotonous drive compared to many others with the scenery average.

However that changed the closer I got to Brian Head after I turned off I-15 with some genuinely magnificent scenery with trees, twisting road and beautiful red rock. Quite outstanding and every bit as good as I had been told and had read.

I booted up in a nice parking lot which was tarred and had ample spaces with the sun on my back. The slopes looked nice, empty, well pisted and with what appeared to be an inch or two of fresh if you knew where to look. Brian Head is renowned for its striking red rock but also for having two separate mountains that are not connected. I was at the base of the main mountain, Giant Steps.

Taking the Giant Steps lift I headed to the summit with no jacket and must admit I began to think to myself that I was making a bit of a mistake as the wind began to blow and a few clouds rolled overhead. Undeterred I took a warm-up run back to the base noticing that the piste was fairly hard and that the Roulette lift looked to have what I considered to be better terrain so I headed to the top and made my way down.

Although the trail map hinted at dense trees I found the area off the Roulette lift to be gladed and more than interesting so I did lap after lap pretty much on the unpisted area close to the lift. Although some turns were icy I was looking each time to find more and more fresh and was enjoying my turns. The two lifties were extremely friendly and the skiing fantastic with only I guess around 20 people on the lift and most sticking to the piste.

Finishing at 3pm I headed to the base for a late lunch with the thinking that I'd miss dinner and get my plan together for the week ahead. Burger and fries($9.50) and I was on my way on the short drive down to Cedar City for a night at the Motel 6($39.71). On a long trip value for money is vital along with the simple fact that I only really need a bed, toilet and TV to keep me happy. To say I was happy is far from the truth, this motel was absolutely superb value. Huge room, quiet and generally way better than most for a very cheap night.

I decided to get my maps out and plan how I would land in Frisco to meet up with my dad and brother on Tuesday April 3rd. Although a long time away it was also a long way away considering I was still heading south! With quite a few of the resorts I'd planned to visit in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico closed I knew I would have to accept days off the snow as the distances between open ones along the way was growing to pretty large drives even by my standards. It was either that or blow off Arizona and New Mexico and head straight to Colorado for two weeks. I preferred the first option and although I knew where I was heading and when, I would continually think about it as I went and had plenty freedom to change along the way. With the wine flowing and a day off the slopes planned for tomorrow I was in no real rush to head to my bed so I watched a little TV and looked forward to the weekend.

Friday March 23rd - The Hoover Dam

Packing the car I knew that I was living out of a suitcase for a few days and I headed into Nevada and passed through the gambling mecca of Las Vegas. Although I only skirted through the city I passed the Las Vegas Motor Speedway circuit which looked massive with huge stands and way to my right I was sure I could see the slopes of Ski Las Vegas which I had hoped to ski this year but had closed early. Stopping for some gas the temperatures must have been in the 70's and possibly 80's and although I was not too keen on the city itself I certainly liked the sun. No use for skiing so I headed on the short drive to the Hoover Dam.

Arriving at around midday I really had no idea what to expect so I decided to park in the $7 parking and set off on foot to the dam.

With the sun beating down the views were absolutely amazing and although I'd seen the programmes on the TV regarding the building of the dam it was superb to see it in all its splendour and I simply marvelled at its construction. A few negatives were the ugly power lines and what appears to be a new huge bridge spanning high across the dam and valley below. It will be spectacular to look at the dam from the new bridge but for me it will spoil the enjoyment of gazing out from the dam. I guess traffic at a standstill on a two way road across the dam shows it's needed but time will tell.

After a good wander round I headed back to the car and headed towards Holbrook, Arizona for the night. I'd hoped to visit the Grand Canyon but time on this trip along with very heavy rain in the area meant I gave it a miss although I made a stop in Williams, Arizona on the old Route 66 and headed into what was described as a "famous" bar, the Sultana Bar for a couple beers after I had been denied access to the old Williams Ski area which is now named Elk Ridge. No snow and don't think they opened for skiing at all this year.

On my way again I came through some pretty nasty snow and if it is cold enough the skiing tomorrow should be superb. If not then it will be nasty and probably not worth the drive!

My night was spent in the Motel 6 in Holbrook($33.70) and I popped along the road to Pizza Hut for some chicken pizza. Nice at the time but experience really should tell me that I will awaken through the night with a thirst worse than a recovering alcoholic! Never again?

This article was written by Quintin Chalmers, a 32-year-old skier from Aberdeen in the north of
Scotland. Quintin has skied at over 80 North American resorts and is in the process of setting up
www.offthebeatenpath.co.uk designed to help like minded people find the best turns in some of the
more unusual resorts in western USA. He has over 20 years skiing experience and enjoys nothing
more than seeing new places that many people write off as being not worth the hassle.