The news regarding Cochran-Siegle’s repeat performance is, predictably, satisfactory. Silver is a muted tone, a compromise. Better than bronze, certainly, though the gold, as always, remains the ideal. One notes the familial connection to the 1972 Sapporo games, a legacy meticulously maintained. The athlete speaks of ‘skiing how he wants to ski,’ a sentiment easily dismissed as athletic cliché, yet containing a kernel of truth. Control, after all, is everything.
Here, at Deer Valley, control is precisely what one strives for. This morning’s grooming on Bald Mountain has yielded corduroy of exceptional quality; the texture approximates a freshly pressed linen suit, cool and precise. The cerulean sky, however, is being encroached upon by mercury-colored clouds, suggesting a shift in conditions before noon. The Sultan Express, predictably, is accumulating a minor queue. One observes the predictable influx of The Ikon Pass crowd, their brightly colored outerwear a garish intrusion upon the otherwise restrained landscape.
The lower slopes, naturally, are becoming compromised. The uninvited are congregating near the base of Silver Lake, practicing their… maneuvers. Carpenter lift is experiencing a moderate but steady flow, but the real sanctuary remains Empire Link, though even that is becoming less predictable. There is a quiet dignity to skiing Stein’s Alley, when one has the expanse to oneself. A perfectly arced turn, a seamless transition, a brief communion with the mountain. These are the moments that justify the expense, the altitude, the persistent chill.
Should you choose to participate, begin on Daly Chutes. Arrive no later than 9:15 a.m. to avoid the inevitable degradation of the snow surface and the increased probability of unwanted proximity to… others.