I slept twelve hours last night, and sleep is a relative term; I guess I should say I was in bed twelve hours and logged about 8h:24m sleep, according to my Whoop strap. The 17,907 vertical feet we skied yesterday were by far the most vertical I've skied all year, and my body, especially my knee, is feeling it. The puffy underside of my knee pokes out through the hole in my brace like dough overflowing its pan. I take some Tylenol and hope it will help.
Linda and I stuff the truck full of skis and bags as we will not be returning to the Airbnb for another night. The sky is gray, the wind is cold, and a light flurry of snow is falling. We are running about an hour later than yesterday on our commute into Park City. The traffic is moving nicely, and we make good time to The Canyons Ski Resort.
The resort offers remote parking with the Cabriolet gondola lift running between the lot and the central hub. Linda is the first to comment regarding the long line waiting for the buses to Park City Resort and that people are returning from the central hub. Not a good sign as these things go. Before we board the gondola, Guest Services informs us that the Orange Bubble Express lift is on wind hold and that the Red Pine Gondola has over an hour wait. Not wanting to fight a long line for the bus to Park City Resort, we board the Cabriolet gondola and ride to the central hub.
It is a madhouse; the line has overflowed the chained area and leads along in front of the shops to the center's far end. Another Guest Services individual explains that while bad, the wind is not affecting all lifts. Many runs on the mountain are open and protected from the worst of the windy gusts. Getting up this initial hump is what is causing the long wait times. Linda wants to return and get in line to Park City. My knee is killing me from the already long walk and standing, still trying to decide what to do. We choose to sit by the fire for a little while and see if conditions change.
Linda excited to finally be on the mountain
Ten minutes later, another individual sitting around the fire jumps up and says the Orange Bubble Express lift is running. We watch and wait a few more minutes before deciding to get our gear and walk that way. As soon as we arrive, they start loading chairs, and we click into our bindings and jump in line. It's cold and windy, but the bubble lift has heated seats! We don't know where we are going, but we know that we will have many more options than down below once we get to the top.
Deep bumps under Peak 5 chairlift and “Whispering Pines” run
We spend most of the day skiing off of the Tombstone Express lift. The lift provides access to many blue runs and several black diamond runs, including "The Drop." A steep but groomed route that takes us back to the base of the lift. Lunch was an expensive but delicious BBQ pulled pork sandwich and chips. We skied off the Peak 5 chairlift, which included one too-long run called "Sanctuary." A few more times down "The Drop," with Linda hitting the bumps on "Tranquility," and we were done for the day. Day 12 ended with 15,929 vertical feet, 13 runs, and 18 miles of distance. Another massive day.
Linda in blue jacket and yellow pants waiting in line while I give my knee a rest and save our seats