The snow started stacking up last Friday – a little at first, but then, it kind of just didn't stop. Our friends at Open Snow kept telling us we were going to get dumped on, but after trusting their forecasts last winter, and having them not quite pan out, I was skeptical. Besides, it was November 1. Early, even by Idaho standards.
But, as you know, the snow just kept coming. Five inches here. Four inches there. And, pretty soon, my legs started itching. I decided it was time for a quick scouting mission. So, in the car I went, up Goose Lake Road to the locked gate at Brundage Mountain Resort. It was hard to tell from a distance. The snow nearest me was nice, but there was a lot of brush poking through. The face of Main Street and lower Alpine looked good, but I was a long way off.
So, I decided I'd get up in the morning and convince one of my kids to take a quick ski tour to really check out the situation. That kid, as it turned out, was my second youngest daughter – and Snickerdoodle, our dog.
We geared up, drove up, and parked in the snowmobile parking lot as requested by the folks at Brundage. I was encouraged to see sleds pulling in and out of the lot. Obviously, there was enough snow for them, which likely meant there was enough for us.
Day 1 conditions. Not too shabby!
Up the snowmobile trail we went. A mile later, longer than I realized, we were at the base of Brundage. The dog was pooped. My daughter's feet had a hot spot. So, we skied a small, wooded slope, then headed back to the car. I knew ski season was here, just from that little journey, so I made plans to come back the next morning before work, with my soon-to-be son-in-law.
You can see how that first day looked in the Backcountry Dad video posted here.
Day 2 — Monday
The next day came early. Chase, my son-in-law-to-be, pulled into the driveway. We loaded our gear into his truck and headed back up the hill. We skinned up Alpine early and found good snow till just below the main face. There, the humps and lumps in the ground were not covered, and the bushes were thick. So, we turned around and headed down, enjoying the first real ski of the year. For giggles, we skied up the backside of Bear Chair and over the top, down Bear and Badger back to the car. The snow got better and better — probably because those runs are regularly mowed.
Day 2 POW with Chase. Getting better.
In any event, you can view day two shenanigans in the Backcountry Dad video posted here.
Day 3 — Tuesday
The snow kept piling up and so did the days. On Tuesday, I did a solo, dawn patrol mission, just climbing to the top of Bear and skiing down and back into town, in the office by 8:30 a.m. I giggled again as I made a Day 3 snow report video and texted it to all my kids. That video became a Backcountry Dad episode located here.
Day 3 — Early-season snow globe.
Day 4 — Wednesday
On Wednesday, I hooked up with my friend Paul to skin up Main Street and check out that snow. Awesome. As usual. Another snow report video hit the family text strand. You can view it here.
Day 4 — Getting deeper!
Day 5 — Thursday
And yesteray, Day 5, I headed back with my future son-in-law for a quick pre-work Bear Chair lap. Still awesome. Video is here.
Day 5 — Starting to be really fun!
Bottom line? The snow is piling up nicely and there's plenty more in the pipeline, according to Open Snow, starting Saturday. If you have the opportunity and means, I'd recommend getting in a pre-Thanksgiving POW lap this weekend. If you do, the uphill rules you need to follow are here.
Have a great weekend – hope to see you out there!
