Picto Diary - 08 to 19 February 2023 - Mainly Skiing

Above: Moguls Event. Deer Valley, UT. 09 February 2023
36 18 231. Skied eighteen runs sans break in perfect bluebird, including snow, conditions. Albeit cold! 08 degrees at 9:00 AM

Above: Restroom sign. Snow Park Lodge, Deer Valley, UT. 10 February 2022.

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According to this sign, then, anyone who is a male is also a gentleman. There was once a time when the term "gentleman" distinguished among males. Not every male was a gentleman. Eroding, or eliminating, words which imply status, accomplishment, or moral character at some targeted level, has been part of the woke agenda for some time. I am amused whenever I hear a police spokesman talk about, say, an accused rapist being held in the municipal jail. "The gentleman" accused of rape was apprehended at 1:00 AM in the morning around the corner from the Buick dealership." The cops have become so afraid of criticism that they'll use the term "gentleman" to describe anyone. And so it is, also, in society at large. The term "gentleman" no longer describes an individual male as someone having moral rectitude, instead the term has been watered down to mean, just, "man."

Above: Dew Drop Ski Run. Deer Valley, UT. 11 February 2023

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Avoiding crowds on crowded, flat light day.

Above: Empire Summit, Deer Valley, UT. 12 February 2023.

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Wasatch peaks: Provo Peak (left at 40 miles; 11.5K ft. elevation). Nebo (right at 75 miles, 11.9K ft. elevation). Image from Empire Express lift summit (9.6 ft. elevation).

First time this year skiing Reward. Huff puff.

What's with the liftie at Carpenter bunching everyone into foursomes pre lift opening? Doesn't he know they have a singles line to fill up the chairs? Singles, who now have to wait in line longer because of this liftie's "innovation," will now enter the regular lines in hopes of getting up quicker by being bunched up with the others. All hail: The Law of Unintended Consequences.

I went to Mrs. Driggs celebration of life event at the Museum of Natural History last night. I used to ski with Mrs. Driggs quite a bit at DV. I'll never forget her once diving off the main piste into the trees just beyond the bottom of Dakota run. Ever since, including today, I never ski that segment without thinking of Mrs. Driggs. She was an able skier among others.

Above: Empire Lodge. Deer Valley, UT. 13 February 2023.

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Bishop, Actuary, Daggett 'Cake.

Above: Empire base. Deer Valley, UT. 15 February 2023.
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Image taken from "my office" on the west side, main floor at Empire Lodge. No skiers pictured, selfishly speaking a good thing! Because of Covid disruptions it has been a couple of years since I have used 'my office" at Empire Lodge. It is good to be back. After riding the Wasatch Lift (second lift ride) today, I thought about bagging it. The ambient temperature was 15 degrees and wind, coming from the north was gusting up to 30 miles an hour. You do the math on the wind chill. On the way up the lift I was rubbing my fingertips in the palms of my hands to ward off frost bite. The lift stopped twice due to the auto wind stop being triggered. At the summit of the lift wind-blown snow berms were accumulating and the fog was soupy if not dense. Skiing northbound down the ordinarily benign Homeward Bound, into the snow swirling wind, was more than tricky. I couldn't see the wind-blown berms. While the berm infested snow was wispy, hitting an unseen berm can provoke a destabilizing moment. I proceeded carefully, more so than I would have otherwise done had visibility been better. But then things started looking up. Peeler, protected from the wind, was groomed. I skied Peeler twice it was so good. I skied Star Gazer, Silver Buck, Bonanza and Dakota before taking a break at Empire Lodge. Dakota was not out of the wind, but, at least, the wind was at my back. After break I skied eight more runs (total 16) before calling it quits at 12:15 PM. The sun had poked through, and the temperatures had risen to the low twenties, still good to keep the snow fresh. What had started out as a "maybe" day turned into one of the better ski days of the year. I asked a couple of lifties when the Viking lift would be repaired. Each said two weeks or more. I didn't get the story for the reason for the breakdown, but Stein's can't be happy as using the Viking lift is the only way to ski in there. I rode up the Carpenter with Icarus a diehard skiing regular. He's at Deer Valley every day its open, irrespective of weather conditions. Other interesting lift companions included a thirty-five something couple from Chico, California. He was a fire fighter, and she was an event planner for a bay area tech company who was able to work at home. Nice kids living in a nice area. Today was one of those "feeling really tip top" ski days. Knock on wood. Keep it going.

Above: Crown Point Lift. Deer Valley, UT. 16 February 2023.
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Selfie.
Solid blue bird. Cold. 8 degrees at 9:00 AM. Wore my OR expedition mittens, which did the job. Fabulous ski conditions with middling attendance. Rode up Crown Point Lift twice with upper 40's USMC full colonel on active duty with a multinational military exchange program. Replying to my question re seeming "Keystone Cops" US military leadership he said: 1. Military leaders were better during his dad's era. 2. If senior levels in the military seem spaced out, the upper middle and below ranks are solid. 3. Yes, there is a recruiting problem, but military is not lowering recruiting standards. 4. Focus of the world on the US much is greater than most Americans perceive. World is expecting US to take more of a leadership role. Carpenter Lift. Chair companion was a 60-something retiree who worked part time in DV ski rentals. DV is expecting a huge Presidents Day weekend as all available rental skis are reserved.

Above: Deer Valley, Empire Lodge. 17 February 2023.
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Bishop 'n 'Cake Empire Lodge. New info broken Viking Lift. Lift is so old that there are no replacement parts. Required part must be newly machined. Lift, per liftie source today, is two weeks out from repair. Today, the companion Judge lift had a ten-minute wait, very unusual for late AM. Judge goes down and DV is in a pickle with no way for Flagstaff skiers to return to Silverlake or Snow Park. Truth: Last season a DV mechanic, riding with me on a Carpenter chair, said DV was skating in thin ice as it's fixed chair lifts were operating well beyond their depreciable life. Hmmm. Lost left ski on minor fall and slide post unending on a slick part of semi steep, upper Hidden Treasure. A nice lady ski instructor brought my ski from 60 feet up the hill. She reminded me to reset the binding. Not all of the world is going to hell. Notwithstanding my fall, it was an exhilarating ski AM. Presidents' Day hoards started gumming up the lifts around 11 AM. For the economy, glad they're here, but also, happy for the ski days when they are not. Apparently, big snow coming next week. Alta has already reached its annual average snowfall of 500 inches.

Above: Red Cloud and Quincy Lift Lines. Deer Valley, 18 February 2023.

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Lift lines at Red Cloud and Quincy at 11:00 AM. As a single skier starting at 9:00 AM you ski fourteen runs by 11:15 AM and avoid the President's Day weekend zombie hoards by skiing a regimen like the following:
Silver Link
Homeward Bound
Gemini
Peeler
Three Ply
Peeler
Three Ply
Silver Buck
Bandana
Magnet
Dakota
Hidden Treasure
Lower Birdseye
Dew Drop/Little Kate

Altercation! Ski garage employees request the first name of the skier handing in to or retrieving skis from overnight storage. Crowds around the ski garage are often such that it is difficult for the employee to remember who should get the tag (storing) or the skis (retrieving). It's a benign procedure. Everyone does it... until today when the guy ahead of me said, "I don't ever give out my name." An escalating shouting altercation between the employee and No Name ensued until I said, "Hey guys, cut it out. Let's move along here." The customer was a jerk. And the employee forgot that "the customer is always right." One of the reasons I could never do a customer service job like this is that I would find it hard to give a pass to the jerks. I mean, heck, the guest could have said my name is Genghis Khan. He wouldn't be passing along his name and the ski garage employee would have given a smile and retrieved the skis without incident.

And then there was the fellow ahead of me in the singles line at Ruby lift. The lift was crowded and was being maze managed by a semi-capable woman. The guy ahead moved to first in the singles line. A threesome came up and the maze manager pointed to the guy and said, "Single, go with these three." The guy was looking the other way, didn't hear the woman who didn't follow up with him when he didn't respond. So, the threesome went up with an empty seat. The busy (and frazzled) maze manager missed the next threesome and the guy just stood there and didn't voluntarily step out. Another threesome came by which the maze manager, again, missed. They guy ahead of me just stood there. Frustrated, I said "excuse me, I'd like to get around you and join that threesome." The guy looked at me and said, "you're not supposed to go until you are told." The maze manager spotted the next open seat and told the fellow to go. He went. To me, this guy was a metaphor for the huge percentage of the American population not given to using common sense or thinking critically. They are programmed only to obey. Coronavirus exposed this troublesome phenomenon in spades where millions of people willingly, even eagerly, went along with keeping kids out of school, closing businesses, wearing masks... all of which common sense and scientific research had debunked by the end of 2020.

Above: Jupiter Peak. Deer Valley, UT. 19 February 2023.
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Image taken from Flagstaff Summit, Deer Valley, UT.
Lift companions on Red Cloud, different rides. 40 something woman from Bay Area. She and her husband had a condo at Deer Valley. 35 something man from Norfolk, VA. Defense contractor. Has a new job that is taking him to Santa Fe, NM.

Addendum:

Been great watching Drums grow up over the years. Congratulations to him for his many accomplishments.

Nathans,
Massapequa, NY

Look forward to hearing him at this stage of his maturity 🇺🇸😎

Markco,
Palm Desert, CA

Steve, Thanks for sharing this. Terrific jazz musicians. Love to hear some riffs with you and Drums. Remember when we walked in to the Intercon Hotel playing our bones
Fun.

Privateer,
Hancock, ME

So happy to hear of Phin’s musical development and to see him so handsome with Phoebe and Margaret.

Hoops,
Pelham, NY

Congratulations to a proud Grandpa and Grandma and obviously very talented Grandson! It is so refreshing to watch excellence from the young and especially when you've been an important part of his journey. So glad you're keeping us aware of what he's doing!

Survival,
Hatch, UT