Hola, Skiers!! This has been an interesting off season for the Commandress of the Last Mountain Division. I turned 50 on April 8th but sadly did not take out the extended warranty. While in Denali National Park in May, I slipped on an icy step, re-blew out (is that a word?) my ACL deficient knee and had surgery “back east” in July. After some “body work” I am up and running and ready to ski. So with some trepidation, Mike and I took off at 6 a.m. for Wolf Creek to see how things would pan out. I was pretty nervous and the first few runs were way too much work. I was trying so hard not to hurt myself that I skied like……heck. Then I decided that I was either going to be able to ski or it was time for the next surgery so what the hell and I just let them run.
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After lunch we found the locals "stash” and really made some nice runs. Wolf Creek is pretty retro. They don't make snow, they don't do much grooming and there is no such thing as a high speed anything. The conditions were as advertised…hard pack and packed powder. They are reporting 110 inches year to date with a 50 inch base but things were getting pretty scritched off since their last snowfall was 7 days ago. Nevertheless they were 100% open which is more than any other resort in Colorado can boast.
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| Mike Shelton really working his edges coming down Tranquility |
Wolf Creek is a beautiful place and can be done as a day trip albeit a long one. Door to door it's about 3 hours and 20 minutes depending on bladder control and road conditions. Be aware that packed powder here means exactly that……….powder that is packed by a groomer but not much. One goofy turn and you are on your tush. Here you can pole plant to China, unlike most other places where packed powder means ground up reconstituted snow made into corduroy. If you want amenities……..don’t come here. This is the place where men are men and so are the women. They have 1200 skiable acres but only about 500 is skiable by my standards. The real ski junkies come here because of the terrain which is expert expert only.
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| Last run………what a view!! If you notice that ridge that runs above Mike's head and extends over to about 10 o'clock....that's all expert terrain accessible by a chair lift and hiking..........YIKES!! |
Mike and I are headed for Aspen (2003-2004 Aspen Classic Pass for $119 entitles you to one day each week of the season and 4 free days instead of $72 per day) and hopefully Telluride. When I get back, Pat and I plan to update the web page for the Ski Group. We have many new skiers joining us this year so watch for new faces and remember………
Be safe and always finish your turns………MJ
Note: Never, never, NEVER, let your 50 year, 50 million mile warranty expire, especially not on the drive train.
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