Previously posted on my Thrillhead Blog
Winter Park
Sunday Jan 20, 2008
My dad and his wife Susan came to visit me in Colorado from Ohio for the holiday weekend. Sunday was a perfect ski day. Sunny, not too cold but not too warm, practically windless, and just one of those days you’d be silly to not enjoy.
I often ski at Winter Park, but rarely do I bother to bring a camera with me. I couldn’t resist bringing it with me on Sunday though, as I knew it was going to be one of those great days.
I knew it was going to be a great day when I got to the top of the Super Gauge chair that the chutes were open. I made sure to hit them for my first run of the day:
Hole-in-the-Wall is always my favorite. So, of course I headed there. Looking down the chute from part-way.
Looking back up the chute
Looking across the chute (pillows beckoning for someone!)
It was fantastic snow in Hole-in-the-Wall. Very few rocks were showing. It really doesn’t get much better than that!
We then headed to the Panoramic Express chair, the new 6-pack that takes you to the top of Parsenn’s Bowl. This chair replaces the old Timberline chair, which is now gone. Thoughts were that a 6-pack would eliminate the always-long-line of the dinky-double that was Timberline, but this is simply not the case. Everyone wanted to try the new chair and the line was at least a half an hour long! We didn’t want to deal with that line again so we headed over to the Eagle Wind chair. From the runs off Eagle Wind you can get a good view of the Cirque.
The side you can view is typically not open, but when it is, there’s some great lines.
While we were skiing the Eagle Wind, we could hear the ski patrollers bombing the Cirque. I was hoping it would open. I got lucky because while I was waiting for my dad at the bottom of the Eagle Wind, a ski patroller came out of the Cirque and announced it was open. To the Cirque we went.
I like the Cirque. I like it because it’s a nice pitch and because the snow is usually pretty good. Part of reason it stays good is due to the fact that the Cirque is hard to get to, and requires a 20 minute hike or skate-ski. Doing one lap requires AT LEAST two chair lift rides. This makes it difficult for people to do multiple laps.
You have to access the Cirque from the top of the new Panoramic Express. With views like this, it’s no wonder why the chair bears its name.
Couple of shots of me skiing the Cirque.
I wish I had remembered to buckle my boots before I actually skied it! Oh well, such is life 
Susan
Dad on the way out of the Cirque.
Winter Park is a whole different ski area on a day like this day. It was a good day and I’m glad I brought my camera
