The Vill: Snow back; Powder tests; Beacon Basin rehabbed

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

By Planet User

Jackson Hole, Wyo.- Purpose returned to skiers’ lives earlier this week when two feet of new snow blanketed the Tetons. After a drought lasting many days - almost seven - the stoke was strong. Many places, even inbounds, skied chest deep. That’s the kind of 24 inches we like.
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 Powder Magazine is back for their annual Powder Week this week. Held annually in Jackson, industry reps bring their ’08-09 wares to town for review for next fall’s Buyers’ Guide. Last year, the industry saw a huge influx of reverse camber, reverse sidecut, and rocker skis. Matt Berkowitz, freeride manager for Fischer skis, says there will be plenty of that again this year, with most companies, Fischer included, sporting at least a rocker ski.  Joe Stumpf of 4FRNT skis is stoked on their zero camber rocker ski for next year, which should be interesting.

As far as width, skis have gotten about as fat as is useful. According to Stumpf and Berkowitz, the industry feeling is that rockers are the innovation to stick with, and the others may lose popularity. We’ll see what the editors have to say about it next fall. In the meantime, all those funky skis you see out there this week, likely as not, are next year’s prototypes.

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 A re-vamped Beacon Basin at the base of Rendevous Bowl is back in action, after being out of commission for much of the winter. After marmots decimated the original wiring system, ski patrol’s head electrical technician, Larry Dietrich, put in some serious hours installing thicker wires. Owning an avalanche beacon isn’t very useful unless you and your ski partners know how to use it. We are lucky to have this site, so get there and get to know your beacon, and make sure it is functioning properly - impacts can seriously affect your antennae. JHSP would like to remind everyone that there is no probing or digging in the basin. Consider the beacon found when you reach your lowest reading.

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 With March just around the corner, we are entering one of the busiest times of year for the resort, according to Anna Olson, JHMR spokeswoman. This influx of tourism is apparent even now. In town, it already looks like a northeastern fur trappers convention is meeting here. So buck up for the mink coat wearers and lift lines (and no, dear environmentally friendly, yurt dwelling local, fur is clearly not out of style-not if you’re from Texas, anyway). But, of course, this may be good preparation for the hype following next year’s marketing dream: the new tram.

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Last week, JHMR declared the countdown to the new tram officially on. They have even launched a new website, www.tramformation.com, in anticipation. Here you can watch the construction process. The site supplies technical information, monthly construction updates, construction photos, construction video … you get the point.

It is a pretty massive undertaking, and certainly fascinating to see unfold. Vertical rise will remain the same, but the new tram will be faster, with a ride time of about 9 minutes, or 1.5 minutes faster than before. The thing that has locals less than stoked is the uphill capacity. The previous box carried about 300 skiers an hour, and the new one will be about 650 per hour, or 100 people per box. While good for marketing, it is easy to cringe envisioning the havoc wrought by 600 people hacking up the bowl per hour. If only they could all ski the workers wiggle: you could see it not just from the road, but from Jupiter.

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The Vill: Snow back; Powder tests; Beacon Basin rehabbed | Planet JH News Article: Sports & Recreation

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