Orange Bubbles - Day One

Canyons, Park City, Utah, February 22, 2011

A "Better Way to Mountain" indeed. My brother-in-law Rob Baker and I arrived at Canyons about 9:15. Todd Burnette, VP Marketing set me up with a ticket for the day (Thanks Todd!). Soon we were up the Cabriolet gondola and headed for the Orange Bubble Express (OBX), a brand new hi-speed quad featuring orange-tinted Plexiglas windscreens and heated bucket seats. Pretty plush! This lift was installed just prior to Thanksgiving, so it’s the latest technological offering by CTEC.  I was eager and ready to try a few runs after pulling my left calf muscle the Friday prior at Squaw. We gingerly eased on down a groomer to the Saddleback Express. I say ‘we’ because Rob was heading in for shoulder surgery in two days, so his pole plants probably felt about as good as my first dozen turns. We lapped the Sun Peak Express lift once, then, checking in that we were both feeling good, we headed toward Saddleback on the next run.

We really covered some ground that day, skiing a run or two on just about every lift... which if you know Canyons, that is saying something. Canyons impressed me this time. I had only been there twice before, once right before catching my flight in April 2001 for about a 90 minute quick on-skis tour with Tim Harris, a former intern of mine from back in our Sugarbush days, then again in 2009 for about 3 hours with the whole family, which was a lot like herding kittens because of the varied abilities and terrain preferences. This time it was different, we were on a mission. My favorite run may have been Grande, a wide open powdery trail with a North facing aspect that has a narrowly screened entrance, thereby keeping out those less informed.  The Pines off Elk Ridge, served by Saddleback was a very nicely-gladed run, powder filled and with the right exposure to keep the snow soft and light. Worst run, for me anyway, was a hike-to where you go out of bounds to ski back in. The aspect was wrong and the slope we had to reenter on had been sun-baked the afternoon before and had a few inches of snow on it. I was concerned about getting under the crust and pulling my leg again, so I made very long traverses, punctuated with kick turns until I reached the groomed run out. 

After this workout we sought some lunch. Being the February holiday week, a quick assessment of the number of skis spilling out of the racks in front of each on-mountain eatery had us thinking otherwise… perhaps a quick bite in Red Stone village on the way home.

We skied pretty hard until about 2:30, then headed into Surefoot for a few quick fixes before heading back to N. Bitner Ranch Road for a hot tub and a quick nap. My idea of ‘A Good Day’, to borrow Northstar’s tag line. That evening we watched ‘Waiting for Superman’, a film about the state of American education, the growing incompetence of teachers in our public school systems and the astounding number of students they pass up and on without requisite mathematics or reading skills. A pretty disturbing story with a sobering ending. But I give it Two Thumbs Up as a well done documentary by Davis Guggenheim that chronicles the efforts of social-activist and educator Geoffrey Canada as he tries to make a difference in the Harlem public schools.