Vacation brings to mind an escape, an adventure, likely somewhere far from home. To the more neurotic or hodophobic it might bring images of delayed flights, uncomfortable accomodations, and general discomfort around the unknown. But what if you have a vacation at your home? Turns out the Staycation can be pretty damn sweet.
Last March during our record breaking warm and sunny winter, several Colgate friends visited and experienced “spring conditions” long before normal at Snowbird. Teddy booked a trip to visit here this January for MLK weekend to get a shot at what Little Cottonwood is known for, ze powz.
LCC has been firing since Christmas this year with several small storms adding up some impressive snow totals. Teddy and Nicole arrived Friday night when LCC was in the midst of accumulating 13″ of blower after only a few inches were forecast. The next morning we headed up with excitement
The ladies shredding in Peruvian Gulch in a short window of nice visibility
On our next trip up the tram, they announced they’d be dropping the rope on Mineral Basin. Teddy made the most of an all-time untracked run down the gut of Mineral. Nicole will likely forgive him for leaving her stuck in a snow-hole above at some point in the next decade. Teddy will remember the run for far longer than that.
That afternoon we watched some NFL playoffs, hot tubbed (no pics, pervert), and revisited a few other college traditions, naturally.
That evening Snowbird recieved some heavier, denser snow, and lots of wind, creating a windbuffed playground in favored areas the next day. We also got some great light to enjoy the surrounding views. Hannah racing down the windbuff near Little Cloud
Teddy Brosevelt
And the San Franciscan couple
On Monday we set out for a tour in Grizzly Gulch. It snowed heavily all day, and the new snow was stacking up quickly. We skied right above the road and broke trail, pretty awesome given how close this zone is to the parking lot.
Holbrook enjoying a sampling of the bottomless
By our second lap our skin track had another several inches of snow covering it anew
And the ride down was even better.
Overall a great weekend of escape and adventure, and we slept in our own bed each evening. Cheers to the Staycation!
TheNaton 