Ski Trip Report 2 - First day at Monarch

Sometimes, you get involved in the perfect storm. An even better day is when the perfect early season storm is only part of the story. In this case, there was almost a foot of new snow, new skis and a free day of skiing. Here's how it went.

Monarch Ski Area was offering a free lift ticket on December 11. In return, they were asking for food donations to help out the local food bank. Luckily, it was 2 days after I picked up my new 1080 Guns, as mentioned in the last post. So, I was heading to Monarch to give them a try. I wasn't worried about the snow conditions, as I was planning on taking my Volkls along as well. That way, I could ski until I was done. Then, I looked at the weather forecast. The free day was a Monday, and there was supposed to be a storm passing through the area on Sunday. What more could I ask for?

My plan was to take my daughter to school on Morning, and then head west for almost 2 hours to the ski area. Then, I thought that I would be free to go whenever, as Jackie came down with a horrible cold. That was until I realised that I still needed to drop off one of the neighbour's kids at school. Oh well.

There was snow on the ground, and the skies were cloudy as I headed out of Woodland Park. It stayed that way until I passed over Wilkerson Pass. Then, the sun came out. I began to think that I was going to drive right into a rare post storm day. In the end, it was better than that.

When I got to Monarch Pass, the location of the ski area, the pass was completely snowed in. Not only did the ski area have 6" of snow overnight, but about another 5 fell during the day.

So, how was the skiing? In one word: phenomenal! I literally skiied myself into the ground. I don't know how many runs I made, but there more than a few. I had a ball, I stayed upright, and I think that I smiled all day. The new Guns are great in soft snow, whether its 6" of powder, cut up powder, or somewhat packed runs. I don't know how they do in harder snow conditions because there wasn't a hard packed slope to be found. I might find out at some point, but I might not. After all, that's what the Volkls are for. I do know this, the Volkls have some competition on groomed slopes, especially when I need to ski at a slower pace. All in all, I'm as happy as I can be.

I continue to think that this is going to be a great ski season. I'm looking at one more ski trip, this week. I have a free pass opportunity at Ski Cooper, but I have to use it before the 22nd of December. Guess what? Its going to snow again. In fact, there's the opportunity for 2 feet of snow in the next 2 days. What are the chances of that?