Trek to Revelstoke

The drive started in Longmont with layovers in Vernal, UT, Midvale, Ut, Hailey, ID, Bend, OR, Ashland, OR, Auburn, WA, and Kamloops, BC.

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Voyage to Revelstoke in 2023

20230126

The departure was delayed a few hours while I witnessed the installation of new kitchen appliances at 1419 Red Mountain townhome. I wish I'd thought to order a new microwave as well! The installers finished by 2PM and after a quick swing by my house to leave the keys to the rental properties I started for Cheyenne on I-25. The wind was whipping west of Cheyenne with road signs reporting gusts 60+mph. At one point I was concerned the ski rack was coming loose so I pulled over to check on it. It was secure. The blowing ground snow confused the safety monitoring system on the Honda CR-V causing dash warning error messages. The system requires sunny warm conditions with dry pavement and brightly painted road markings. The wind calmed a bit as I approached Laramie. Apple maps flashed something about road closures but didn't re-route me. Then I saw flashing yellow lights on signs saying I-80 was closed. I continued to the last exit on the west side of Laramie where the gates were down and everyone was exiting the freeway. I turned left hoping to travel on some local roads to skirt the closure. I drove about 15 miles before seeing a sign that said no winter maintenance and then encountering a truck flashing it's lights indicating the road was closed.

I drove back to Laramie and enjoyed dinner at Among's Thai restaurant; Americanized Thai simple, not spicy, and wholesome with wonderful service. WYDOT.com reported closures across the state on I-80 by this time with no indicated time to reopen. The waitress said it usually stays closed until the morning. I could stay in Laramie, but I was still hoping to ski Deer Valley the next day. So I decided to travel southwest to Walden and then west to Vernal for the night.

The road from Laramie to Walden started out dry and 70mph, but once it started climbing it turned to whiteout conditions. Often only the roadside reflectors were visible. I followed, or tried to with the blowing visibility, a large semi truck. We made out way at 15-30mph. The truck pulled over when we finally made it to Walden. I continued on suspecting the next tough interval would be Rabbit Ears Pass. It was bad but compared to what I just done a walk in the park. Road conditions continued to improve as I traveled westward. The snow was still falling so bright headlights were out and fog lights in. West of Craig the new danger was elk. I must have passed about a dozen. Some of the bull elk had racks hunters would crave! The elk are dark and even at slower speeds came up and disappeared behind much to rapidly. Only one was crossing the road while a second contemplated it. Elk are majestic calm confident animals. This was fortunate as they just stood there in the driving snow with pitch black and let me pass suddenly unhindered. Some appeared to be getting their salt fix licking the road.

I made it to Vernal before 2AM and crashed into a bed. I was starting to feel a scratchy throat.

20230127

I awoke at 9AM just as Theone called to check on me. I was feeling tired and a cold coming on. I went to Beans and Brews Coffee house for a coffee and breakfast. The folks are nice, the coffee good, and the place packed at 10AM, but the air quality was horrible. Still, I struggled to leave doing some finance tasks. Deer Valley was still 3 hours away. The drive from Vernal to Deer Valley was strangely familiar to me. I've only traveled that road a few times, but I remembered curves, hills, and buildings. The road was a little snow packed the last number of miles.

I was able to park very close to the Deer Valley base as I arrived at 2:30PM. I geared up and proceed to retrieve my skis from the ski rack when it struck me. The keys for the rack are with the townhome keys I'd so judiciously hung on the key peg back in Longmont. Time was passing and I wanted to try for a couple of runs before the lifts closed. I quickly grabbed a screwdriver from my tools with the spare tire. I removed half the ski rack and slid it off the skis before sliding the skis out from the other rack that remained on the car.

It was lightly snowing at Deer Valley. I found 6 inches of powder on the black runs with moguls. The groomers were hard packed with scattered fresh snow. It was a good day to be at Deer Valley skiing. I closed the 4:15PM lift down with just over an hour of skiing. That was plenty for me given the driving and the growing cold symptoms.

The drive to Salt Lake was atrocious. It must have taken 40 minutes just to get out of Park City. There were plenty of aggressive drivers. I stopped in a Smith's grocery store to get food for dinner before checking in at the Super 8 hotel. It must be owned by an Indian (as in India) lfamily as the desk clerk was from India and the smell of food coming from somewhere was divine. I was very glad to enjoy dinner in the room, some silly movie, and to close my eyes for the day hopeful that traveling will settle down for a spell.

20230128

I slept in till 9AM. Alta requires parking reservations at $25 per day until 1PM. I didn't make any. Skiing after 1PM will be just fine. I arrived at Alta about 1:15PM. (I'm finding drivers in Utah that are rude and aggressive.) After parking and as I was putting on my ski gear, I met a contract traveling chef that smokes from back east (I forgot the town) who was born in Brazil with relatives in Saskatchewan.

Making my way from the parking lot to the ski lift I skied through 6-12 inches of fresh powder. The next 2-1/2 hours of skiing was spectacular. I skied the S lift down some chutes with piles of broken powder and fresh powder next to the trees. I managed to explore most of the mountain including passing by the gate to Snowbird where I'd stood a couple of years back with Leah. (I suggested we ski Alta, but she pointed out that snowboarders aren't allowed at Alta.) Most of the folks I met on the chairlifts were from out of town. One young local couple was up for the afternoon as an escape from their five kids 2-12 years of age - Mormon couple perhaps? Two local guys talked about a proposed gondola to run up the valley which would reduce traffic and skirt the avalanche problem in the valley. They had spent 2 hours driving the 15 miles up the valley themselves arriving 15 minutes before their parking reservation expired. I turned out to be a good ski day. I had dinner in the hotel room with food from the cooler.

20230129

There were reports of a winter storm for the drive from Salt Lake City to Hailey, ID, where I'd be staying. So I thought I try to leave shortly after 7AM. Instead I didn't wake up until 8:15AM. It didn't take me long to get out the door. I searched for a coffee shop, but several ones nearby were closed. It seems in Utah people take their Sunday rests seriously. The roads reflected the shut down nature of the city; there were few cars out and about. I landed at a 'goth' coffee shop. There were two young guys out front smoking cigarettes. Inside a four and seven year old (roughly) were playing in their Halloween costumes. The lady behind the counter was in a costume as well but I suspect that was just her style. Every exposed patch of skin on her was tattooed. She was most friendly and willing to run hot water through my very cold insulated thermos before filling it with coffee. I tipped her well.

I was headed north through Salt Lake City. The weather was ok with hints of breaking clouds, but the roads were still slushy and the temperature started out at 30F and dropped to 10F as I proceeded northward. I stopped for gas where I-15 and I-84 split at a Chevron station. The safety monitoring system on the car had stopped working many miles back due to freezing water on the car grill. I cleaned that off so I could have cruise control back. The fresh snow combined with the sun shining through clearing skies provided many spectacular views of the countryside. I was becoming worried I might run out of windshield washing fluid as every car that passed me required a skirt and a wipe to keep the view in front of me clear. I passed by Twin Falls and wondered where the city was. This region is covered by miles of fairly recent sheet lava flows. I am amazed to see pivots indicating the growing of crops in the seemingly black rocky earth. The drive north on Hwy 93 revealed very little in the way of human development. I wanted to stop for washer fluid and some NyQuil to help with my cold symptoms and was growing concerned that I wouldn't find much. Fortunately I was wrong. Just a few miles from my hotel I stopped in at Atkinson's Market in Hailey. The selection was so broad and good that the store could be an incentive to move here. Unlike Salt Lake City, no one was wearing a mask.

I arrived very shortly after the grocery store stop at The Inn at Ellsworth Estate. A charming old house built in 1915 by a son of John D. Rockefeller for his bride. Thomas was finishing up cleaning rooms and welcomed me in from the top of the stairs. I had my mask on and I sensed he was happy to keep his distance. The Inn is a pseudo B&B style place. I took a long hot shower and enjoyed a late lunch in my room.

20230130

Today was all about skiing Sun Valley. There was no rush especially with the morning temperature of -3F. I put "Sun Valley Resort" in the Apple map for navigation, but quickly realized that was going to take me to a golf course. The drive from Hailey to Ketchum and the ski area is only about 13 miles. Apple maps instructed a turn at a street just before Ketchum with a sign saying Bald Mountain. Let's say I'm a little suspicious about blindly following the navigation these days. I pulled over to investigate since 'Bald' isn't 'Sun Valley'. It seemed like the right place so I proceeded to the nearly empty parking lot. There was a Sun Valley shuttle in the lot so I was at the right place.

Where was everyone? I'm liking the lack of crowds. I parked and walked the few hundred meters crossing the bridge over the Big Wood River to the River Run Day Lodge and Gondola. Sun Valley doesn't have the RF card readers yet so it was necessary to pull the IKON pass out of my pocket so it could be scanned by an attendant. There were two people in front of me or should I say casually wandering toward the gondola. There were no crowds. There were virtually no people! I did ride up in a gondola car with a couple from New Mexico taking a week skiing away from their teenage children. I could see from the ride up looking at the slopes that the snow did not possess the champagne qualities of Alta two days earlier.

The gondola ends about three-quarters of the way up the multiple mountains. There was a building up a long flight of stairs that I skipped at this point. I contemplated asking if they gave mountain tours, but figured I'd missed them as it must have been 11:30AM by now. Inspecting the mountain billboard map I decided to jump on the chair in front of me. The 'Christmas' chair deposited me at the top of the mountain. What a view from the top! Blue skies and fresh snow covered mountains and jagged peaks in all directions! I started down toward the north slopes on a groomed blue run. This was not going to be one of the better days skiing. Yes, the runs a wonderfully long. Yes, the pitch is that nice blend of not too steep and not too shallow. But the snow was dang near bullet proof. Fortunately it was only icy in a few avoidable spots. I stuck to alpine turns to save my knees and keep from skidding out from not holding a proper edge. It was a long way down to the Warm Springs Day Lodge. Between being in the shadow of the mountain with the cold temperatures and the stainless steel snow, I decided to take the chair going all the way back to the top of the mountain. It was a nippy ride. I skied down Christmas Ridge back to the top of the Gondola; this was the best run of the day for me because it had the softest moguls.

After a little more skiing on the east facing side of the mountain, I visited the 'Round House' near the top of the Gondola. I was a little embarrassed as I came in through the door off the deck into a very fancy restaurant that seemed to have more people dining than I'd seen on the slopes! The air was thick with the smoke of grilling steaks. A central fire place burned warmly surrounded by many tables filled with seated patrons. The floor was lushly carpeted, the windows charming small panes with wooden framing, the bar of heavy dark wood, and then there was the feel of money with no understanding of value. I course took me through the entire space and then out the main entrance before I descended some stairs to find the toilet down a very narrow hallway to the restroom. Perhaps if it had been less crowded I might have lingered and even enjoyed a beer with the view.

I almost called it a day because of the poor snow conditions. Instead I decided to make a couple of runs on the south end of the ski area. The straight forward approach was to drop off a small steep pitch and proceed down the diamond (double?) run that was a mix of several day old mostly broken powder to a shallow ravine filled with nicely shaped but hard moguls. Overall, the moguls were a better place to ski as the snow was softest and there were no icy patches to contend with. After a couple hours of skiing I made my way to the bottom happy to have at least explore outlined the mountain.

Skiing every possible line would probably take a lifetime. I love the area for it's lack of crowds, pleasantly steep mogul runs that are some of the longest I've known, and the opportunity for tree and glade skiing with proper snow conditions. The pitches are long and steady without being aggressively steep and narrow.

I drove the short distance into Ketchum, parked, and walked about. I stopped in the Nourishme Health Food store on main street for a bowl of extremely hearty thick chicken vegetable soup, half a pesto and vegetable sandwich, and a lemon ginger tea well worth a return.

20230131

Woke up this morning feeling the best in a number of days. Just a smidge away from a normal healthy self. Ate some oatmeal and a couple cups of coffee in the common area at the Ellsworth Estate Inn. Met a retired firefighter from New York City. I had trouble understanding his accent at times. He's an avid skier with a wife who's not. The Canadian couple came to breakfast and the four of us exchanged chatter. I excused myself first to start the journey to Bend, Oregon.

It was beyond cold this morning with the car thermometer reporting -10F. The car started which always makes me happy. The skies were partly cloudy and no new snow had fallen since my arrival leaving the roads dry. The car computer and navigation software indicated I could make it to the town of Mountain Home about 100 miles away. I passed a gas station in a blip called Fairfield with confidence the gas would be sufficient. The countryside was covered in virgin snow with a sun that shone down on a lone ridge for a brief period. A snow cat was creating a pseudo snow fence on the leeward side of the road by creating long troughs paralleled by the wall of snow removed from the trough. Driving along, the remaining miles of fuel value was rapidly approaching the miles remaining to get to a gas station. I slowed the speed to help my concern if not to stretch out the miles of fuel remaining. I made it to Mountain Home with 15 miles on the fuel computer left in the tank. Dang it was cold! I'd seen -10F at one point.

The freeway around Boise Idaho spread to four lanes. Everybody but one car was speeding. Trash was abundant on the sides of the road. Crossing the Snake River and into Oregon, poverty seemed rampant. I'd assumed I'd be on a freeway all the way to Bend but was wrong. I immediately noticed I'd missed the navigation instructions to exit the freeway. I ended up self navigating for some miles through the farm countryside. It was a bit of serendipity because I was exposed to how some of the locals live. Many looked very poor clinging to stuff long since past it's prime. People trying to extract wealth from soil already rung penniless. There were the very few with large pivots and hundreds of cattle. The many poor and the very few rich.

The countryside continued the theme of lava flows. This entire section of the globe had some spectacular volcanic action in the past. The road wound along a creek cutting into thousands of years of sheet lava flows. Some of the shaded curves on the road contained icy patches waiting to grab distracted drivers.

I passed through a collection of buildings, old military vehicles, and rodeo rink called Juntera. The only thing that appeared a going concern from the road was the Oasis Cafe and motel though I couldn't ascertain the motel part. I almost continued along but the next 'town' was over 60 miles away, I needed a restroom break, and I frankly needed a break after 4 hours of driving. So I pulled a u-turn and drove back to the cafe. There was a pickup truck idling in front. Not a surprise for a place like this where I've seen ranchers eat breakfast and gossip while their trucks sat out front for an hour idling. I tried to avoid the mud and went inside. Worn out charm best describes the place. The door had a sign requesting a cook and waitress. The single woman behind the counter asked if I was eating in or take-out. After I said eating in she announced that they close and 2PM but that there was enough time to eat and besides they wouldn't kick me out. I'd lost track of the time because my phone switched to the Pacific time zone and then back to Mountain prior to this so I didn't know what to think. I couldn't help but ponder the story of this waitress; where did she live in the area, did she grow up here, why hadn't she left. I ordered the Juntera Omelette rich in sausage, bacon, ham, and three types of cheeses. It seemed the thing to order when visiting a foreign country. The plate arrived with enough hash browns to feed five. I figured it was the last of the days food and the cook decided it was better to feed it to someone than through it in the trash. I found the entire experience relaxing, stiffly welcoming, and warmly familiar.

Another three hours or so brought me to Bend. It immediately reminded me of Flagstaff, Arizona. One drives for many miles through barren landscape and then almost suddenly arrives in a town nestled within a forest of trees. I stopped at a gas station as this was the second time today the fuel warning light had come on. The first pump island had only diesel. The second island had a guy walking up to the car. He obviously was assigned to pump the gas but knowing this didn't alleviate my routine of pumping my own gas. I asked him what country I was in and he looked at my license plate and said I could pump my own. I did.

The Holiday Motel is the second accommodation to be owned by someone from India that I've stayed at on this trip. The receptionist male was excited that he'd just been accepted to a local school. The place is a bit archaic, but clean with the standard amenities.

I contacted Robert Hart to insure he was still up for my visit tomorrow and to let him know I'd just gotten over a cold.

20230201

I rolled out of bed on the earlier side for me this morning with the goal to secure parking at Mt Bachelor ski area at about 9AM when the chairlifts start operating. I find a Starbucks store near a grocery store and drove there first. I couldn't resist the poppyseed muffins at Safeway trying to offset that with an avocado and banana for breakfast. Then on to Starbucks for the coffee. The young female clerk there found it in her to repeat all her questions to me at least twice but I did get my insulated mug filled with some light brew. After eating in the car I sipped my coffee during the 15 mile drive to Mt Bachelor where I parked about 6 rows back from the Sunrise Lodge on the east side of the ski area.

I skied from east to west over the course of the day. I started with a trip to the very top of the mountain. The chair was slow, the wind blowing, and the wind chill taking a bite out of my fingures. The views from the top were worth the trip. The single run down was very hard wind pack. The lower runs had unusual trees and trail undulations that I found relaxing entertaining. It warmed into the low 40's marking a change from the cold I had at the previous ski areas. The folks I met were generally polite though slightly reserved. I met a mixture of locals to the area though one guy had a distinctly British accent and one lady from Canada living in Tucson and an EMT from California. The snow was trending toward the harder side. This place is a blue-green groomer skier paradise. I eventually found some interesting runs off the Northwest chair. The top part of the runs were steeper here with tree powder laden runs. After skiing almost five hours, I took a cautious approach and only made one run leaving days of exploration should I come back in the future.

I head off the mountain around 2PM eating a late lunch and ultimately an early dinner from the back of the car before starting out for Ashland. About 2 hours into the drive I passed the turnoff to Crater Lake. I thought, I'm ahead of schedule and when will I be here again in the winter so I pulled a U-turn and drove the 23 miles to Crater Lake with rapidly darkening skies. I made it just in time to snap some photos and walk about on wind packed snow looking at the cinder cone, deep blue water, and rising moon.

Leaving I past a vehicle broken down a short distance from the rim. After a little indecision on my part, the couple and their two dogs piled in my car. I drove them a few hundred meters when we came upon a park ranger driving up toward the rim. I took them back to their car and transferred responsibility to the ranger.

The snow packed road to Crater Lake and the 'rescue' made me late for Ashland. I tried to send a text message, but suspect it was not delivered. I arrived at Robert's house at 8:45PM. I rang the doorbell twice thinking maybe the first time it hadn't actually rung. I was beginning to think my late arrival meant he'd gone to bed when he opened the door. We visited until 10PM before we headed for bed. He gave me his master bedroom while he slept downstairs. He explained the he often sleeps downstairs. I had no problem falling asleep.

He'd closed off a couple of rooms he spends time in with space heaters to save on heating costs and resource consumption. He keeps his house at 60F except for those couple of rooms. The house feels perched on the top of a narrow ridge tree covered but very steep sides and adjacent homes. It's a lovely small, efficient, upscale finished home. Everything is downhill from the house. There is a lovely park meandering up the valley to the west with zig zagging trails only the west hillside forming the ridge. The east side of the ridge faces I-5 and the town of Ashland.

20230202

Today Robert and I spent the day together. We drank coffee and had a late light breakfast. Robert doesn't eat much and commented that food is for sustenance not enjoyment. We took a walk down through the Lithia park eventually making our way to Case Coffee Roasters. The coffee was delicious as was the bearclaw pastry I enjoyed. We walked back a slightly different route through Lithia park and up the steep side of the ridge to his home. There we chatted for several more hours. Robert made us a simple salad and I snacked on the remaining cheese and crackers I had. He retired to clean up at 7PM and we ended up separating for the evening.

20230203

I heard Robert moving about downstairs but didn't venture down for at least another hour and then only after shaving and packing to leave. Robert had a pot of coffee ready for the pouring. We chatted standing in the kitchen for another hour or so and then we said our goodbyes. I'm very glad I made the effort and took the time to visit him. We share many similar views about the world. A goal he has is to learn about living in urban environments after so many years in a small community. That's perhaps the single area where we differ as I'd like to spend more time in a quieter setting.

I was driving north on I-5 before 9AM. The valley bottoms were filled with smoke from apparent controlled yard debris burns. The air burned my eyes and hurt my lungs. Fortunately it began to rain lightly which helped to cleanse the air. The fuel warning light came on. I left the freeway at the first exit for Roseburg receiving a tour of the valley and old town as a result. Stopping for gas, I was out of the car too quickly to pump before an attendant approached me. He shared that by law he was suppose to fuel the vehicle, but that after COVID the law was not enforced. He asked me if I wanted him to do it or to do it myself. I said myself, but he heard that I wanted him. He struck me as a little dejected by that so I corrected him and I pumped the gas. The bathroom required a key to unload a padlock on a chainlink fence enclosure. The security left me feeling a little uneasy. Continuing north I stopped for lunch in Eugene at a Fred Meyer grocery store. My first stop was a Grocery Outlet because it receive 4.5 stars on Apple maps. Don't go; it's like a run down Costco. Walking through the Fred Meyer parking lot back to my car and dog wildly thrust it's head through a nearly open window barking ferociously at me. I jumped back exclaiming and my heart raced as it scared my. It was another tick box against moving to Oregon if I ever thought I might. I drove the loop road to the east of Portland at the direction of the Apple navigation software as it was supposedly faster. It was still stop and go at times. Heading into Washington the rain became heavier but the speeding cars kept at it. I made it to Ashley's home by 6PM.

Ashley fixed a quick and fine tasting eggplant, rice, and Indian sauce dinner. We played the game of Flux which is right up her alley as a game with constantly changing rules; we each one one game. It was bedtime around 9PM. I appreciated her being up for letting me stay in her home.

20230204

It was a lovely day spent with Ashley and Rory. Ashley made a delicious cup of coffee for me. We took our time waking and chatting. I met her roommate Terry who was still in a confused slumber. Ashley and I walked across town to the Starting Gate restaurant: an all American traditional breakfast with waitresses that have been at it since the 70's. We'd gone there on one of my past visits. Ashley got the wonderful idea to made Cock-a-Leekie soup, a Scottish chicken soup with leeks. After a grocery store trip to acquire the ingredients we spent the afternoon making the meal. The cooking was interspersed with a shower, nap, and a walking Rory. I shared too many photos with Ashley and then the soup was ready to eat. She introduced me to the Netflix series 'Sandman' before heading to bed.

20230205

The day started slower than yesterday. Ashley made me another delicious cup of coffee using bulk Starbucks Via. I took Rory for a long walk to give Ashley time to attend to work related stuff. We played a game of cribbage or tried to. Neither of us knew the sequence for a 'go' and unfortunately the descriptions on the internet appeared to be in conflict. The game was never finished and I took Rory for another walk. We watched a couple more episodes of the Sandman and headed to bed.

20230206

This was the early morning we missed the last two days. Ashley with Rory and myself by myself left the house before 6AM. I went in search of a cup of coffee and only put gasoline in the tank of the car. I realized the Ashley left at this hour to beat commuter traffic so I thought it wise to follow her example and set my course for Kamloops. Traffic did present itself numerous times before I made it north of Seattle. The rain spit and came down steadily. I took my coffee at Starbucks north of Everette and got up with Reed and Carol on the phone.

The next stop was the Canadian border crossing at Sumas/Huntingdon. I don't recall crossing into Canada when the it didn't go quickly without fuss. The framed picture covered in old newspaper sent this border patrol interaction down the major inspection path. After the parol agent asked me about the picture, I found myself compelled to mention the box of stuff that my sister had packed. Since I hadn't packed it, the agent felt it necessary to have one of his co-inspectors take a peek. Following instructions, I pulled off to aisles 3, went inside the customs office, handed my passport and yellow slip of paper provided by the agent to another agent, answered duplicate questions, and sat down while he took my car keys and searched my vehicle. He returned after about five minutes and bid me a good day. My sister can transport her own stuff across the border herself in the future.

I stopped in Hope to top off the gas tank and had lunch at the Hope Mountain Cafe on Main street. The light jazz playing, the spotless upgraded bathroom, and the prompt service didn't match expectation for a similar small town in the lower 48. The sleet was falling on the Coquihalla Pass as I drove north for Kamloops.

It seems Kamloops is having a heat wave with temperatures in the 40's when I arrived at 3PM. The Plaza Hotel where I booked a room is an old building with an above average upgrade. It's the nicest place I've stayed. Irene at the front desk was very friendly and informative. She recommended Jacobs Noodles and Cutlets for dinner across the street.

I headed over slightly after 6PM thinking the sidewalks would be rolled up by 8PM. I was wrong. Sitting down with most of the tables empty by the time I finished my meal the restaurant had people waiting for a table. There were delivery people constantly picking up food. There was a couple with a new baby. There were three folks from India discussing oil. There was young striking Japanese woman eating with a young man from India. There was a Mexican appearing woman with a jubilant black woman having a conversation over dinner. Kamloops turned out to be dramatically more cosmopolitan than Boulder, Colorado.

20230210

Theone and I took a walk along the Columbia river near her home in Revelstoke. We then took in a beer and tea at the local brewery, Mt Begbie. I had a seasonal beer with distinct cinnamon flavors.

20230211

Ah, my first time this visit up on the Revelstoke ski mountain. It was a family affair with Theone, Bobby, Robert and myself. The parking lot at the base was muddy but the top of the Stoke Chair offered soft light broken powder on moguls - it was excellent! We spent most of the day on the Ripper Chair before making the long long descent back to the bottom and parking lots.