Dan's 2004/2005 Ski Journal

November 6, 2004: Squaw Valley USA
Squaw opened unusually early this season. Only half of the lifts were open. There were no lines. I dodged a few rocks at the end of the run to the bottom.

In October, Karen got new K2 Sweet Luv T-Nine 146 cm skis with integrated Marker Mod 10 bindings. I bought K2 Apache Recon 168 cm skis, Marker Piston bindings, and Salomon X-Wave 7 boots. We then enjoyed 11 trips as follows:

	November 18, 2004: Boreal Karen skied the Sunrise and Sunset Boulevard runs. I skied Prospector, Westface, Race Course, Bonanza, and Klondike.
	December 2, 2004: Sugar Bowl Karen skied Trailblazer and Pioneer, but did not like the latter. I skied Rahives, Carl's Ear, Cat Walk, and Crowley's — but found rocks on the latter run.
	January 19, 2005: Donner Ski Ranch We took Wayne with us. We had a limited day because Donner had problems with their main two chair lifts.
	February 2, 2005: Alpine Meadows Karen skied Weasel run. I went to the top on Alpine Bowl Chair where the wind was fierce. Summit Chair was closed. I enjoyed Scott Ridge and Ladies Slalom.
	February 3, 2005: Squaw Valley USA Karen skied East Broadway and Gold Coast and finally went with me on the trail to the bottom.
	February 4, 2005: Homewood Karen enjoyed Rainbow Ridge. She didn't like Homeward Bound because its snow was slushy. The snow at the top was great, however. I liked the runs off the left side of Ellis Chair.
	February 11, 2005: Sugar Bowl It was relatively crowded. Karen skied off Jerome on Trailbrazer and Pioneer and their variations. I skied most of the Mt. Judah and Mt. Lincoln runs, but didn't try Mt. Disney.
	March 9, 2005: Squaw Valley USA It was sunny and hot and sunburn time. Karen noticed that Goldcoast and East Broadway got soft by noon; however, I enjoyed the Shirley Lake, Siberia Express, and Red Dog runs that stayed great all day.
	March 25, 2005: Sugar Bowl The trees were still covered with about 8" of new snow and the scenery was beautiful. The temperature was comfortably brisk and cool and the snow was excellent. It was fairly crowded due to Spring break vacations. Karen enjoyed many runs on Trailblazer and Pioneer and after lunch came down Mt. Disney with me. She liked Harriet's Hollow. I skied all three mountains.
	April 6, 2005: Alpine Meadows The day began with warmer temperatures, no wind, and very small crowds. Unfortunately, Yellow and Alpine Bowl chairs were both closed. There was still plenty of snow, but by 11:00 A.M. the surface was becoming thick, slushy, and slow. After lunch our skis didn't want to move over the flatter areas. Skiing was too much work and not enough fun — so we ended our day and the ski season at 1:30 P.M.

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