I’m a fan of succulents, and I’m a fan of snowboarding. Never would I have anticipated those two interests intersecting, but a few months ago, they did.
It was Jason’s turn to plan our Valentine’s Day events this year, and he thought a long weekend of snowboarding would be well received. He was correct. In addition to a couple days of staying and boarding at Snowbird, he gave me books about succulents to read during our trip’s unhurried evenings. Whatever Jason sacrificed to the snow gods, his Speedo or flip flops perhaps, must have been appreciated because a massive blizzard came in just in time for our outing, maybe the best storm of the whole season. There were 11 new inches the first day and 18 inches the second. In case totaling snowpack isn’t your thing, that’s 29 inches of powder in 48 hours. Essentially, Snowbird’s base depth increased by about 50%. Our evenings may have been succy, but our days were not.
We chose to spend the bulk of our first day in Gad Valley and found some tasty deposits at the ends of the Gad Chutes. The lift line was fairly long in the morning due to social distancing guidelines. When it cleared out around lunchtime, we couldn’t resist utilizing that lull even though our own tummies were grumbling, our legs were exhausted, and our feet had gone painfully to sleep. We ended up boarding for four hours without a break or any food or water. Sometimes you have to surrender more than just icky summer attire on the altar of brumal deities.
After our delayed lunch, we went to the top of Peruvian Gulch for a little more time on the mountain. I’m pretty sure the mountain was there, but we never saw it. Thick clouds and blowing snow created a dizzying whiteout as we attempted to descend. I’ve never had the topsy-turvy sensation before of not being able to tell where the sky ends and the ground begins. If you’ve never experienced that, it is much more disorienting than you’d imagine. Although Chip’s Run was unfamiliar and obscured, we eventually made it past the masking mist to our cozy room at the bottom.
The next morning, we decided against getting up at 6:30 to be on a lift at opening since only one inch had fallen overnight, and the accumulation was supposed to accelerate as the day progressed. By the way, it did. By late afternoon, 15 more inches of feathery glory had wafted down on us. Is that why we skipped lunch and boarded for five hours straight in 20-something temperatures? Actually, it wasn’t just the stockpiles of powder; it was also the inadequate visibility. Allow me to explain. After a bit of time in Peruvian Gulch, we were curious about the heaps in Mineral Basin. Signs indicated that due to poor visibility, Mineral Basin was limited to experts that day. I’m not sure I would call myself an expert, but I was willing to give Mineral Basin a whirl and see just how far below the expert bar I fell. Our range of vision was indeed narrow during our first Mineral Basin run, so much so that we immediately began debating going back to Peruvian Gulch. However, in the end, the appeal of a new lift overpowered our common sense.
Neither of us had ever been on Baldy Express, a smaller lift most often used to access Alta Ski Area. So, when we noticed it sans line, we agreed to give it a try whether we would be able to discern its terrain or not. While it was challenging to see at the top of the ridge where the lift plopped us, we soon found a path with manageable visibility. It proved to be our favorite run of the day, and the trip… and maybe our whole lives. We didn’t know its name at the time but later learned it was Claim Jumper. The best thing about this corridor? Only a handful of people on the entire mountainside and barely trod powder at least two feet deep. It was almost too much powder. I know, such a thing doesn’t really exist any more than Sasquatch or mermaids, but this came close. No people? Powder so deep it could bury you? Yes! Bury me, and send me to that fuzzy heaven. It was easily one of the best days I’ve ever boarded.
After two days of pushing ourselves through almost every hour of daylight, and reading books, writing, eating takeout, and playing games for the many dark hours of the evening, we headed home while the storm still lingered. And that is how I got a weekend of snowy days and succy nights for Valentine’s Day.