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Powder Journal for Snowbasin Reports from Pam Mitchell, January 1, 2005 - Snowbasin. What a fabulous way to ring in the New Year! Nine inches of new snow, temperatures in the low 20's – perfect to keep it light – and sunny skies first thing in the morning. January 1 is always a great morning to ski – especially if you take it easy the night before. I slept right through New Year's Eve, except for a few minutes of neighborhood fireworks – that's all right – I needed to know it happened. My husband foolishly drove to Tempe for the Fiesta Bowl. He knew it would insure good powder for those left behind.
An untracked non-stop run down the Men's Downhill in fresh powder and sunshine! Then to Hollywood, more untracked. Then to the Diamond on our way to Strawberry, then Moonshine “Chicks in Sticks” (just a little wooded north-facing heaven, informally named in honor of myself and my girlfriends), then Moonshine full blown, then under the snowmaking building, and more freshies after lunch. I will spare you all the details – resting up for the next storm coming in Sunday night. Life is good. Happy Happy New Year!
January 6, 2005 - Snowbasin. UNBELIEVABLE! Face shots, and not just because I am short! The powder kept falling all day, on top of the snow that fell during the night. It had to be 12 to 16 inches in most places. I enjoyed the Men's Downhill, Hollywood, the Diamond and several Moonshine runs before my legs begged to rest. If you don't mind a little fog and reduced visibility, skiing during a snow storm is fantastic. Few people venture out on these days, so the powder is fresh and deep all day.
Optimistically, we shot over to Strawberry hoping to ski another area that had not opened during the storm. As luck would have it after one run in lower Moonshine Bowl, we overheard the ski patrol as we departed the gondola. They were about to open the upper Sisters gate so we followed the small group over. Eureka! Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Several runs in the light fluffy stuff... this was truly a day to remember.
January 12, 2005 - Snowbasin. Variable conditions, variable delights! I didn’t ski yesterday during a wet storm – busy doing webmaster things. Not knowing what to expect today, ski buddy Mike McConvill and I headed right to Strawberry on our first run. As you can see from the gondola view at right, it was a typical weekday at an Ogden Valley ski resort – no one in sight for the first few runs. As we surveyed the conditions on the way up we noticed that north-facing slopes were wind-scoured. How could this be? Perhaps the non-typical storm direction had spared other exposures this time. To our giddy
February 7 , 2005 - Snowbasin. Did we have fun today or what? After a few weeks of pleasant groomer runs, we really appreciated the new snow, even if it did flurry a bit during the day. It just keeps the snow fresh. We ran into our friend Kelly, center in above photo, near the end of our first run off the John Paul Quad. He wisely decided early today that a drive to Snowbasin from Ogden was much wiser than the slippery drive to work in Salt Lake. Perhaps the report of new snow had something to do with it. "Ski until you drop" was the theme today. Ah... the pleasure of skiing on a powdery weekday in Northern Utah. Everyone was happy with our choice of runs throughout the day, moving from John Paul to Strawberry, back to Needles for a well-deserved lunch at the top. Old Snowbasin (those runs we loved prior to gondola and quad lift) provided more freshies after lunch. Did we have fun? You betcha! Back to Powder Journal Index Page
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I picked up my neighbor and we arrived at Snowbasin at 8:40. Still not too many vehicles parked in the lot. The Needles Gondola lift was just starting to sport a bit of a line so we swaggered over to the John Paul quad chair – having scoped out the Downhill Runs from the access road – I knew exactly where the fresh snow was waiting – despite a few Ski Patrol tracks. Then another thrill – we were let on the lift a few minutes BEFORE 9 a.m. Hmmm… I was supposed to meet a couple of other friends that morning, too. They were probably over at the Needles Gondola, but darn it, I “forgot” my cell phone. And are there really any “friends on powder days?” 
