Opening Day at Eaglecrest!

Today was opening day! It felt soooo so so so good to ride groomed runs and making lift laps. Although only a small section of the mountain was open, we still had a blast. We had training pretty much all day but it was good to brush up on some stuff and get some riding in with other instructors. There were two rails set up and it was dumping snow the whole time.We even did a little rail clinic to end the day. Hopefully the whole mountain will be open soon. Lots of snow is in the forecast, so if mother nature cooperates, we'll be getting more pow turns in again very soon!

Awesome first official day of the season!

This isn't relevant to opening day, but below is a video that we saw at the avalanche workshop we attended a few weeks ago. This morning I saw where my friend Lisa posted a link on Facebook and I was super excited to be able to watch it again since I didn't realize it was available online. It talks mainly about avalanche awareness and safety but also has many great shots of the terrain available at Eaglecrest! Even if you have no interest in anything to do with avalanches, watch it anyways to get a glimpse of what our season is going to be like :)

The Other Side of the Signs: Decision Making in the Eaglecrest Backcountry from Southeast AK Avalanche Center on Vimeo.

The Dark Side Of Snow

Snow. This same thing that captured my heart has an entirely dark, evil side. This thing I'm speaking of is called the avalanche. Avalanches come in all shapes and sizes and can be classified into a number of different types. We just got home from an avalanche workshop put on by some very knowledgable individuals. My favorite speaker was Kent Scheler, the lead guide and avalanche expert for TGR. If you're not familiar, TGR (Teton Gravity Research) produces progressive, cutting edge ski, snowboard, and surf films. Some of their recent well known films include Jeremy Jones' Deeper, Jeremy Jones' Further, Dream Factory, and One for the Road. That's just a handful of the amazing work they've produced. So yeah, they are a pretty big deal in the snowsports industry, and I've been a fan for years.

Anyways, Kent was very informative about the importance of being aware of the dangers and risks of an avalanche. He also got into detail about the technical side of filming, the side you don't see or think about when you watch the TGR films. It takes hours of planning and preparation before the rider ever steps foot onto the snow. These mountains mean business, and learning about avalanche safety is on the top of our list. 

There were a few more amazing speakers that touched on several different topics, from weather and science to smart decisions in the backcountry to what it actually takes to open a ski area after a major snow event. I can't thank these folks enough for the information they've enlightened me with tonight, and I'm super excited to learn more about every aspect of avalanche safety. 

Although they usually aren't major, Juneau is very prone to avalanches near the city. 

Photo of an avalanche engulfing downtown Juneau in 1972.

An avalanche overtaking Thane Rd.
We can see this area from our apartment.

Eaglecrest Ski Patrol works hard to control avalanche danger. In this shot of West Bowl, a fracture line is visible where a large slab avalanche was set off by a charge to clear the area for skiers and riders.


Aside from avalanche talk, we did participate in the lift evac training today at Eaglecrest. Dustin and I both got to hitch a ride on a rope down from lift chairs twice, which turned out to be pretty fun! (as long as it's not happening for real)

There was also a bloodborne pathogens class we attended, which was mostly just common sense on how to handle bodily fluids during an emergency. We met a lot of new, very cool people today and I can't wait to get this season started!

Please note that I do not take credit for any of the photos featured in this post.