TR: First turns, new boots, old poles.

[Lori_K]

Saturday (11/24) we skied at Copper Mountain, Colorado. It was very cold when the lifts opened at 8:30am, about 0 F. Not windy, but that first chair ride up was a bit brisk! I had on my new Salomon Instinct 9 boots, and riding the Volkl Attiva S5 ski. We got our ski legs back quickly, which was a bit surprising since when we went out on our first day last year, we felt like we hadn't skied for a few years instead of a few months!

I like the new boots so far. They are stiffer than my old Lange CRL70, but not unmanageable. It took much less effort to initiate turns, and I felt I was able to stay more centered on the ski. Didn't get any scary moments from "accidental" input, either. By the end of the day I found a couple hot spots on the inside of each ankle bone, but I'll get those worked out.

Halfway down one of the runs, I stopped at the side of the trail. Hubby asks how things are going, and I say "Fine, but I think I might get some shorter poles. These feel a bit awkward." I put my arm out with the pole, and he puts his arm out with his pole. Then he looks and says, "Maybe we should SWITCH POLES!" Somehow, in the confusion of getting the stuff out of the car, we managed to swap poles. It's amazing we hadn't noticed before then, as Dave is 6'3", and I'm 5'3" and our poles are vastly different lengths! We had a good laugh over that one.
After getting MY poles back, skiing was even better, although my quads were getting tired quickly. Snow conditions were decent, and it was ski on/ski off until about 10am. Then, it had warmed up enough and it seemed like all of Denver was out at Copper mountain. It got quite scary-- we hadn't seen crowds like that since skiing on the east coast. Ski patrol was out in force, trying to watch and keep the hotdoggers/bombers under control. After a few more runs we decided to call it a day before someone got hurt. We grabbed some lunch and then headed home.
Overall, a good first day of the season. Looks like more snow in the future, as well!

Early morning, still some untracked corduroy at the top of the Excelsior lift. (Note the long poles in my hand! We hadn't made the pole swap yet.)

 

[Robyn]

Lori, glad you had a good time! How were the conditions on the Ptarmigan run (the one open off the Excelerator lift that you are at the top of in your pic)? Last time I skied it a couple of weeks ago it was quite rocky and I gave up on it.

 

[Severine]

Beautiful picture! Sounds like a great day out - congrats!

 

[ski diva]

SO glad the boots worked out. I'm sure you're relieved. A few tweaks, and you'll wonder how you ever skied with your old ones!

(And don't feel silly about the poles. My hubby and I have done the same thing! )

 

[Lori_K]

Lori, glad you had a good time! How were the conditions on the Ptarmigan run (the one open off the Excelerator lift that you are at the top of in your pic)? Last time I skied it a couple of weeks ago it was quite rocky and I gave up on it.

Yes, it was the EXCELERATOR lift! I didn't have the map in front of me when I typed the report and I have a bad case of CRS!

Ptarmigan was in good shape, and one of our favorites for all its rolls and turns. In fact, we made several yo-yo trips on the Excelerator lift in the morning, just for that trail, and the lack of lift lines.

 

[Little Lightning]

From the Denver Post

https://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/24/ski-areas-cut-price-over-lack-of-snow/

We're going to ski tomorrow. Hope everyone is back to work and school.

 

[pinto]

Saturday (11/24) we skied at Copper Mountain, Colorado. It was very cold when the lifts opened at 8:30am, about 0 F. Not windy, but that first chair ride up was a bit brisk! I had on my new Salomon Instinct 9 boots, and riding the Volkl Attiva S5 ski. We got our ski legs back quickly, which was a bit surprising since when we went out on our first day last year, we felt like we hadn't skied for a few years instead of a few months!

I like the new boots so far. They are stiffer than my old Lange CRL70, but not unmanageable. It took much less effort to initiate turns, and I felt I was able to stay more centered on the ski. Didn't get any scary moments from "accidental" input, either. By the end of the day I found a couple hot spots on the inside of each ankle bone, but I'll get those worked out.

Halfway down one of the runs, I stopped at the side of the trail. Hubby asks how things are going, and I say "Fine, but I think I might get some shorter poles. These feel a bit awkward." I put my arm out with the pole, and he puts his arm out with his pole. Then he looks and says, "Maybe we should SWITCH POLES!" Somehow, in the confusion of getting the stuff out of the car, we managed to swap poles. It's amazing we hadn't noticed before then, as Dave is 6'3", and I'm 5'3" and our poles are vastly different lengths! We had a good laugh over that one.
After getting MY poles back, skiing was even better, although my quads were getting tired quickly. Snow conditions were decent, and it was ski on/ski off until about 10am. Then, it had warmed up enough and it seemed like all of Denver was out at Copper mountain. It got quite scary-- we hadn't seen crowds like that since skiing on the east coast. Ski patrol was out in force, trying to watch and keep the hotdoggers/bombers under control. After a few more runs we decided to call it a day before someone got hurt. ..

Hey, I could have written this TR (except for the poles :D ).

We did the same bit, and quit at 10, when it started getting uncomfortably crowded. (At 10! ha ha, that's the problem with so few runs open.)

I'm sure we crossed paths ... I was in a yellow jacket, brown pants, bright blue boots -- just in case I cut you off, I apologize.

I skied Friday as well ... it was crazy crowded. I quit at lunch. Some other family went back out at 2, hoping the crowds were thinned, but they weren't quite yet. My DH overheard some patrol saying, while looking up at Ptarmigan, that they'd never seen it that packed before. Yikes.

Snow quality wasn't bad. Mostly manmade, of course, and it did get hard later, but I never skied in the afternoon, so I am not sure how hard it got.

I made a couple of the fastest top-to-bottom runs I've ever done, though ... we made it to the Super Bee a couple of times before they'd gotten the SLOW signs and ropes up on Skid Row, and THAT WAS FUN! No one was there, and we just pointed 'em. The snow was groomed but fast, and there were no worries about other skiers. (For non-Copper skiers, you cut off the main run over to the right to hit another lift ... there is a flat section, then a steep but fairly wide section that funnels into a curvy road that leads out to the other lift -- it gets crowded and dangerous, of course, so they usually rope it off so you can't go straight down. Which is perfectly understandable, and smart. But boy was it fun to just bomb the thing. The runout takes a few curves back and forth, and it's flat enough that it isn't too stupid to go straight on the steep part.)