Past
logs for 2004
(13th calendar year
of non-stop skiing)
Dec '04,
147th month:
Things slowed down a bit in terms of snowstorms. I had but one powder day in all of December, whereas in November it seemed every time I went it was a powder day.
We also had buddies in town from all over the world for the 4th Annual Utah Ski Summit, so that was nice...
December pics
Nov 2004:
November....Snowbird opened on the 5th! The earliest opening ever. OK, this kinda helps them make up for closing in early May when they could have stayed open until Memorial. Kinda. 
Some incredible photos for the month
Oct 2004, Month 145:
The 13th year begins...
I took advantage of the heavy snowfall in the middle of the month and skied Alta.
Little did I know that the dumps would continue. As a result, Brighton had its earliest opening in more than 20 years and several other resorts geared up to open early as well.
Oct photos: 
Sep 2004, 144th Month:
End of twelfth year: Thanks to Phil and Lisa's hospitality (Jay's sister) we had a great place to stay this trip. Ski Conditions were very good, especially compared to last September.
Aug '03:
First time I've been able to ski August in Utah for five years. All the others have been in Oregon.
Also, a couple of great autumn shots, including August snow on the Tetons...
4th of July,(142nd month): One year after ACL replacement surgery.
Skiing the 4th of July
June,
141 Months:
Check out Pipeline Chute in June for pics and notes on a summer skiing adventure.
May '04:
140th Month:
Skiing the first weekend of May turned out to be perfect with spring conditions. It was the last weekend for Mineral Basin, Gadzoom, Gad II, and Wilbere as the mountain geared up for the final month of skiing. Currently, only the tram and the Little Cloud chairs are in operation.
I only wish they would keep Mineral Basin open in lieu of Little Cloud since it has the best snow this time of year. If not that, I wonder why they can't open MB in the morning while LC is still frozen, then switch to LC at noon after it thaws?
This just in: Snowbird had posted in March on their website that they would continue through Memorial Day (May 31st). Suddenly, on May 11th, despite several inches of new powder that very morning, they announced they're closing this weekend! That's the THIRD time in five years they haven't even made it to Memorial Day! Snowbird hasn't spun the chairs in June since the 90's, yet my photos show that the skier days and conditions are better this year than the last time they did back then.
I remember a couple of Junes when there wasn't any snow on the 'Road-to-Provo' so the ski trail dipped below the road and across 'Shireen' out to LC Bowl. This year they have the snow. They have the crowds.
What IS UP With The Early Close?!
Memorial Day skinning/skiing.
April '04:
Had a good-sized group for clocking speeds with the radar gun. One of our group actually hit 76MPH on Pocket Rockets on a crappy, flat-light day! We're positive that with the right light and snow conditions we can break 80. In fact, I know we've gone faster than that before, we just didn't have the gun to prove it. Hey, if we aren't getting pow, what else we gonna do...
Barring any unforseen trips in the next couple of months, I'll finish with some 30 different ski areas for the season.
Alta closed on the 18th with 17" in 24 hours. Another 1 1/2 feet during the next 3 days put Alta over 600" by April 21st, making it the best season in at least five years. Here are some photos from April.
Mar 2004:
Alta sailed right on past 500" by the 5th day of March. Then somebody flipped a switch. We didn't get anything else the rest of the month. It turned out to be a very poor month, but still a very good year.
Also, last year I was pretty excited to have skied more than 20 different ski areas during the season. This year, I was able to do that many in a month--a personal best. From Illinois and Wisconsin to California, Nevada, and Red Lodge, Montana--this was a stand-out month!
 Click for 20+ resorts in a month
Feb '04, 137th Month:
We ended the month knocking on the door to 500" of seasonal snowfall at Alta...which is nice. 
I can't remember a year with more canyon "restricted" days, meaning no vehicles allowed up the canyon without 4-wheel drive or chains. Happily, this coincided with me finally getting a 4WD just before Thanksgiving. Bring it on, Ullr!!
For the third year in a row, "powdermaggots" from all over the world descended on Utah for our annual Summit. The timing was extraordinary, as can be seen in these photos:
'Utah Summit' Pow Pics
Jan, 2004:
The best snow in years. Tons of pow so far, with tons more to come. This is more like it!
Jackson, Targhee, Big Sky, and the new Moonlight Basin were really fun. I even convinced one of my daughters to come with me this year.
Pics of some highlights
Monthly Logs from 2003
Newspaper/Magazine
articles regarding this SKI STREAK
My
ski notes from 100 resorts
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OTHER YEARS IN REVIEW:
See previous log link for more than 20 resorts in a month, heli-skiing the Wasatch,
amazing powder days, almost 300 inches of snowfall by the end of calendar 2003, how I tore my ACL in May, had replacement surgery in July, and the streak continues...
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STREAK 2004 
