Day 17: Heavenly

It snowed all last night. 

Snow?

I wake up at 8, freezing.  I don't know what it is, but almost every place I have stayed I have woken up cold.  I check the thermostat. It is set at 70 but is reading in the 50s.  Something is not right.... So I turn on the gas fireplace to try to warm the place up some.  I check Heavenly's hours.  They open at 9.  I make some coffee and put on my ski gear.  I have nothing in my unit for breakfast so I hope that they have something at the lodge. 

I go to the office to inquire about my heat.  "Um, is there a secret to keeping my room warm?  I turned up the T stat and it is still freezing"  The front desk lady tells me to keep my T stat around 70 and turn on my fireplace.  Done.  I tell her so and she tells me they will send maintenance over.  I hope something is actually wrong and the problem is not operator error. I then tell her that I am skiing at Heavenly and since I am alone, I was hoping that I could leave my phone number and anticipated time I would be back with them just in case something happened.  I figure having someone local know something was awry would be good.  She makes a note of it on her computer somewhere and I head to my truck to pull out my gear.  I decide to use my all mountain skis today since there will be a lot of powder today.  They are great skis, I just prefer my lighter park skies in all conditions except for extreme powder.  I get tired too fast with my heavy all mountain skis. 

Heavenly has several base lodges in both California and Nevada. There is one (Boulder) that is very close to my hotel. (It's technically a time share, I am not sure what to call it)  I decide to walk.  I put my skis on my shoulder and set off down the hill.  It is further away than I thought.  Somewhere between a quarter and half mile.  It is also slippery from all the snow.  I should have taken the shuttle.  I am almost there (I had no idea how close I was at the time) when a younger guy wearing ski gear stops and asks if I want a ride.  Yes, yes I do. I throw my stuff in the bed of his truck and hop in.  He skis here a lot and told me that the lift that takes you from the Boulder lodge to the rest of the mountain is closed due to ice.  He suggests getting on a shuttle that will take me to the Stagecoach Lodge.  (the parking lot at Stagecoach is full, hence him parking at Boulder)  I get on the shuttle which is packed.  I end up standing.  The shuttle winds around the switchback mountain road and I try not to fall on anyone. 

We arrive at the foot of the lift at Stagecoach.  I have a season pass (my super awesome Epic Pass that gets me into two resorts at Tahoe and 5 in Colorado) so I don't have to go to the ticket window.  I hop on the lift.  My first run is beautiful.  I find a sparsely tracked run and head down it.  There is powder everywhere!  I am happy I brought my all mountain skis out today.  With the exception of the few rocks and tree stumps I have to dodge, the run is amazing.  (the rocks and stumps prove to be a problem everywhere I go today.  My skis have a few new gouges in them :(  From what I hear, until last week, there were actual dirt patches all over, hence the problem)  I decide to head to the lodge and try to find breakfast. 

First run!

It is now about 10:30. The lodge starts serving lunch at 11.  They don't have any breakfast stuff.  Oh well.  Clif bar it is then, for $4.  Ugh.  That will teach me to be more prepared.  I grab a trail map and eat my breakfast and try to get the lay of the mountain.  From what I hear, getting from the California side of the resort to the Nevada side is ok.  However, going the other way is impossible due to closures from the weather.  I decide to save the California side for another day. 

Yes, that is untouched powder you see in front of my skis there!

I make my way around the Nevada side.  Some of the runs are pretty tracked up, others are groomed, a few are really bumpy.  I find a few really nice powder areas. I mean powder up to my waist deep.  It was awesome.  Most of the black trails were closed sadly.  However, with the powder, this was probably a good thing.  I would have exhausted myself in an hour trying to do black diamond powder runs.   I spend the day wandering all over the mountain trying out different runs.  Around 2:30 my form starts getting sloppy.  I cross my skis while I am skiing (somehow manage not to fall) and catch really weird edges that cause me to almost lose my balance.  That is when it is time to quit. 

I have always wanted to store my skis like that!

I head back to the stagecoach lodge and inquire about the shuttles.  The information guy is talkative and we talk about every kind of "extreme sport" we have done.  I learn about surfing behind a boat.  Looks fun.  Anyway the shuttle shows up.  I tell the guy "Worldmark"  He asks which one.  Uhhh, the one by Boulder.  He asks for more clarification. I fail to clarify despite my best efforts.  I have no more description to give.  He finally seems to get it so I go sit down.  I ride the bus all the way around the loop.  We end up back at Stagecoach.  I again talk to the driver.  Uhhh, will you just let me off at the turn for Boulder?  I I really don't want to walk up the hill at all but at least this would cut my hill walk in half from if I got off at Boulder.  He says he knows where I am staying now but can't take the bus up there in the weather.  The shuttle departs again. After 45 minutes of riding the shuttle, I finally get off at the base of the hill.  I hoist my skis on my shoulder and start up the hill.  It is just over a quarter of a mile at probably a 6 to 7% grade the whole way.  I can't breathe by the time I get to the top. 

I finally make it.  There is a family out playing in the snow in the parking lot. The dad sees my ski gear and asks about the conditions.  I tell him it was amazing.  I head to my room and deposit my gear. I notice that there is a flame on in the heating unit. That was definitely not there last night.  And my room is warm.  YAY!  I then go to the office again to tell them that I made it back. I decide to walk to the market (in the daylight and not in the middle of a snowstorm) and get some food for breakfast.  The market is about where I got dropped off by the shuttle.  Back down the hill I go. At least I am not wearing ski boots this time.  I pick up some eggs and bread.  They have no cheese.  That is a major bummer.  I love cheese.  Oh well.  I leave and walk back up the hill. 

I make it to the top, not quite as winded as last time.  That is the last time I am walking up that damned hill.  Even if it means digging my truck out from under two feet of snow and maneuvering through a very very tight parking lot. It is then dinner time.  I make some canned chili.  With no cheese to put on it.  :(. 

I finally change out of my snowpants and into... my swimsuit!  I head to the outdoor hot tub and relax for a while. I realize that my entire body is sore and achy.  And the hot water is not really helping that a whole lot.  I sit there and ponder why my upper body would be sore.  Oh, walking up a hill with my heavy skis on my shoulder.  Terrible idea.  And thus ends the excitement for my day.

Should be another good day for skiing tomorrow!  The weather is supposed to clear and warm up later in the week so I want to take advantage of the good ski conditions now.  Even if I'm sore.