Saturday, Feb. 18 -
Hodag is open and 4″ of new have graced us!! While Hodag info is not really a big deal it was looking like a wind closure all night so we were pleasently suprised to have the wind die down so we could open it and have all of you access the great new snow. Presidents Lincoln and Washington must have wanted it this way:)
Matthew
Monday, Feb. 13-
Winter Carnival was a huge success as measured by the smiles on everyones faces. The dummys were great the contests were fun and the fireworks were fantastic after a great evening of skiing and music. I am looking forward to next year already as is all the staff. We are still waiting for a little refresh on the snow surface, we are able to ski everywhere but the off groom is suffering. Thanks to Ray and all the groomers we have great corduroy skiing every morning but we are still watching the forecast waiting on a fresh blanket white.
Matthew
Thursday, Feb. 9 -
Winter Carnival is coming!! We have been doing a lot of preparation for the festivities and it always proves to be worth it. There is one way to ruin your day however and that is to get your gear stolen. A couple weeks ago someone tought it would be a good idea to steal a bunch of skis and boards but like most theives was stupid and got caught. It definatly ruined that guys day and the days of the people involved but at least it was settled well and all the gear was returned. Let’s all have a great Winter Carnival day and keep our gear locked up and safe.
Matthew
Thursday, Feb. 2 –
There is one thing all the long time Hoodoo skiers know well and that is Thursday is the best day to be here and no not because of Shell’s great two for one deal but being closed Wednesday means great snow for Thursday. We had about 4″ of nice dry stuff this morning and still at 2:00 there are plenty of untracked lines and faceshots aplenty in the trees. I got to sit through 3 meetings meaning I wasn’t tracking up the snow butI had a lot of offers from people looking for ski partners. There should still be a bunch of good snow tomorrow so come follow a local and see where they go “the day after” and you too will be in the know(better yet, you will be in the snow)
Matthew
Tuesday, Jan. 31 –
We have been lucky lately. Today is another beautiful tightwad Tuesday with just a skiff of snow overnight and temps in the high 20′s the skiing surface stayed wonderful. I took my favorite snowbike out for a few runs today, what a hoot. It is always fun to get out on a bluebird day and enjoy the huge blanket of snow, but the real fun was riding the trees. A few guys here are getting ready for a snowbike race Feb 19th that is like a single track race through the trees in terrain one rarely skis. There is a lot of great tree skiing here and the snow coverage has made almost all of it fantastic but the ski bikes can access a bunch of terrain that is in my opinion too flat or too tight to ski or board through. If you have never tried a ski bike I highly recommend it but don’t go blasting through the trees until you get proficient and always remember, look where you are going, not at the trees.
Saturday, Jan. 28 –
Well Saturday is here and the skys are clear just as promised by the forecasters. This is the the third near perfect day in a row, winter as usual, temperature in the low 20′s, great ski surface with plenty of coverage, blue skys and little to no wind. Hodag is open today for the first time this year and the skiing is fantastic over there. I didn’t get first chair on Hodag but I did get the first run down the whoopty trail at the Autobahn. I was the test dummy and it was fun. The afternoon is warming up so expect the off groom to be a little hard tomorrow and thanks to Ray and the grooming staff all the groomers to be smooth as silk.
Thursday, Jan. 26 –
Mother Nature just can’t seem to decide if it is snowing or raining(everyone remind her it is winter so snowing would be preferred). Tuesday morning was heaven and Tuesday afternoon was “something else” we will say. We had 3-4″ of dry Utah snow until it started raining just before noon, then it got sloppy! Today we have spring-like conditions and the snow should be great on the steeps but a little slow in the flats. We are all looking forward to Saturday when Hodag will be open and the skys are forecast to be clear.
Monday, Jan. 23 –
Today is/was THE day! If you are reading this instead of skiing today you missed it. The snow is light, fluffy and forgiving. The groomed is beautiful but off groom is heaven. We have been blessed with a great base the last few days and had a cold, fun weekend with lots of dry snow but today the summit is open with a bluebird sky, calm winds and 5″ of new it just doesn’t get any better. Hopefully we will get a repeat tomorrow for all our tightwads.
Tuesday, Jan. 16 –
The word of the day was Snow, snow, snow and more snow. Ok, maybe that is the sentence of the day but holy cow what a lot of snow and super dry fluffy snow at that. After Chuck and I plowed the parking lot for the second time I parked my truck in 3″ of fresh snow and thought to myself “didn’t I just plow this?” The snow kept coming all day and the wind was with it so sadly we never opened Green but with 41″ forecast and calm weather Thursday, Green should be open with all that untracked powder just waiting, I think I will take the second chair lift (I leave the 1st chair for paying guests.) I almost got to ski with professional photographer Dave Basset today but after eating a quick lunch he disappeared back onto the slopes where we never met up again: (oh well, we had fun enjoying what Mother Nature offers but never rode the chair together). Come find me Thursday Dave and take 2nd chair with me, Shell has 2 for 1 vouchers so you can ski cheap- oh yeah, you have a season pass well buy shell gas anyway and give the voucher to a friend.
Anyone want to ride 2nd chair on green Thursday? I need 3 friends to fill up the seat (unless Dave comes).
See you on the slopes!
– Matthew
Matthew McFarland
General Manager
Hoodoo Ski Area
matthew@hoodoo.com
