Squaw’s summit recorded a 152 mph wind gust at 11:30am today. Exactly when they closed. Things were really starting to get weird out there right about then. This video proves it.
Squaw started the morning by not opening KT and sending us all over to Red Dog and Far Beast. The lifts opened at 9:50am. The skiing was deep, dreamy, and moonwalky for about an hour. Then the winds came up and tried to savagely tear Squaw’s lifts off the mountain and send skiers flying off Red Dog Ridge.
I gotta admit, I was pretty freaked out on my last run. It felt like the trees were gonna come down on us. The wind was periodically gusting, ripping all the snow off the trees, sending masses of snow airborne, and blackening out the daylight. I felt like I was in a Steinbeck novel at times today.
I really feel like the song on this video captures a bit of what it was like to be out there today. Just close your eyes, listen to the music, and mull over the equation: 32 inches in 24 hours + ripping winds = damn fine skiing.
