Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011 - (Page 54)

by Jimmy Petterson I I loaded my Salomon Tornados into the basket under the helicopter. They are 76 millimeters under the boot—an excellent all-mountain ski in almost all conditions. The chopper quickly deposited us onto a distant peak, and I followed my guide intrepidly downward. After only a short distance, it was clear that this was the wrong ski for these conditions. The snow was too deep. After one run, I exchanged my boards for a pair of Scott skis belonging to the helicopter operation—a big-mountain ski measuring 89 mm. under the boot. Now, at least I could turn in the copious amounts of snow, but it was still not easy. The watchword of the day was “lean back”, an improper powder technique reserved for only the most unusual of circumstances. It was just such a day. Only by placing one’s weight entirely on one’s heels was it possible to negotiate some turns that left a track more rounded than a squiggle. Steeper slopes would have been perfect for this amount of snow—we were sinking about 8090 centimeters into the powder, even with fatter skis—but the steep slopes were much too avalanche prone such a short time after a snowfall. This storm had dumped close to a meter-and-a54 half of fresh powder onto the upper slopes, and we would have to do the best we could on descents of 20-25 degrees. Experienced skiers were all leaning against the backs of their boots looking somewhat like water skiers. Some in the group were using much more upper-body motion than they normally would, to try to help the turns around. After each slope, our thighs were burning. One time, I got my weight a tad forward, dug a tip and almost drowned in snow. I poked my head back up spitting and coughing. It was really that deep. By afternoon, Hervé, George, and Trevor, our three guides, felt the snow had settled enough to attempt a few slopes that were somewhat steeper. We could see by the snow texture where sloughs had self-released during the storm, and we surmised that skiing the locations that had sloughed might mean that the snow would be somewhat more compacted. Pay dirt! Now, instead of sinking in to our waists, we could get a bounce back from the skis at about 60 centimeters of depth. By the time the ski day was finished, we had done 11 runs and skied about 5,500 vertical meters of extremely deep snow, and the hotel bar was full of tired thighs and happy faces. Where was this heliskiing taking place? The Chugach Mountains of Alaska? The Monashees of Canada? Maybe the Caucasus of Russia? Perhaps the Himalayas of India? All wrong. We were up to our eyeballs in powder in the Kaçkar Range of Turkey! When I first traveled to Turkey for skiing close to 20 years ago, various friends thought I was nuts. When I returned to this exotic land where Europe meets Asia to heliski in 2010, nuts was just the introduction to my description, which also included crazy and insane. While many friends were perplexed why I would choose Turkey for heliskiing rather than one of the more conventional heliski countries, I was ultimately joined by my Danish friend, watchmaker Jorn Werdelin, another skier with a pioneer spirit. In the end, insane and crazy were appropriate descriptive words—the two of us enjoyed a week of insane powder, which was crazy deep. Turkey is one of very few countries that have everything — beautiful seashore, spectacular desert, stunning mountains, rich culture, long and interesting history, delicious food and extremely hospitable inhabitants. Most people know about Far West Skier’s Guide 2O1O - 2O11 / See the Digital Edition of the Far West Skier’s Guide at www.fwsa.org. http://www.fwsa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011

Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011
Contents
Board of Directors, Trustees
President’s Message: FWSA Offers Many Benefits, Activities & Travel
FWSA Committee Chairmen and Other Representatives
Far West Benefits from National Ski Council Federation
2011: A Season to Remember
Council Information
Communications: The Key to Success
FWSA 2010 Newsletter & Website Winners
Get the Most of Your Snowsports Program
FWSA Individual Membership Form
Order Form / FWSG
FWSA Travel Program
FWRA Board of Directors
FWRA Program
FWRA League Race Chairs
FWRA Race Schedule
FWSA Athletic Scholarship Program
Far West Ski Foundation Announces Partnership Program
FWSA 2010 Convention
FWSA Convention Industry Programs
FWSA 2010 Man & Woman of the Year
FWSA 2010 Convention Sponsors
Silent Auction & Travel Expo Participants - 2010
FWSA Recognizes Clubs with Over 50 Years of Service
FWSA Club History Recognition - 2010
FWSA 2010 Safety Person of the Year
FWSA Western Ski Heritage Award
FWSA Snowsports Builder Award
Snowsports Leadership Academy
FWSA 2011 Convention
Public Affairs - 2010 Update
Club Charity Involvement
But, Where Are The Other 9O%?
Common Snowsport Injuries
Far Off The Beaten Path
FWSA Plans Future Conventions
Facebook!? MeetUp? LinkedIn!? Tweeter?
Lodging Guide
FWSA Council & Club Information
Regional Ski Shows

Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011

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