Skiing ABCs D

Skiing ABCs D — D is for Devil’s Head

Devil’s Head is a ski resort in south-central Wisconsin. Devil’s Head is on the edge of the Driftless Area which is an area of the upper Midwest left untouched by the glaciers of the last ice age. The result is a state known for its gently rolling farmland transforms into an area with deep river valleys which allows for ski resorts.

I have skied at Devil’s Head and I published a review of the day. Devil’s Head for the area was quite a pleasant surprise, it is a bigger both in terms of vertical and acreage than what I thought it would be. Also, there is a vibrant Après Ski scene at the resort. The resort is not too far from Madison WI and pulls quite a crowd from the Chicago-land area too.

Skiing ABCs D — D is for Dynastar

Dynastar is a French manufacturer of skis. Dynastar skis are one of the more common brands and supply a number of competitive skiers with their skis. These athletes include:

1. Dominique Gisin
2. Elena Fanchini
3. Nadia Fanchini
4. Fabienne Suter
5. Romane Miradoli

Skiing ABCs D — D is for Deep Powder

Despite (or perhaps because of it) the city where I was born being dubbed the Frozen Tundra my state has relatively mild winters and we certainly do not get tons of snow. Oh, we get enough, but when the mountains out west receive feet of snow, and I regularly see photos of measuring sticks from the Western resorts showing 10′ (3 meters) of snow or more. Our bases consist of 3′-4′ (maybe a bit more) of natural and manmade snow. Plus the nature of the skiers who support our resorts is that they are not excellent skiers. Sure, some are, but most ski a few times per year and content themselves with skidding down groomers.

However, if you read enough ski-literature you quickly learn ski-heaven for the expert skier is a mountain full of untracked freshly fallen deep powder snow. Oh, we can expect our hills to be blessed with 15″-20″ of fresh overnight once or twice per year and a few more times we will show up to 5″-10″ of fresh. However, our snows are often have more moisture content. The upshot is many of us here in the Midwest are not powder skiers and often times resorts will tame much of the powder with their groomers.

All that said, I have veered off into untracked powder stashes and have found the experience worth pursuing. However, I need to work on the technique because when I have been to hills with substantial amounts of untamed powder I have found the experience to be quite different than skiing on packed powder or groomers.

More challenge is a good thing, never stop growing!

Skiing ABCs D — D Double Black Diamond

The double black diamond is the symbol used at North American snow resorts to mark their most difficult runs. What makes a run difficult? A combination of factors such as pitch, surface conditions, and obstacles. Two runs with identical pitch can be graded differently due to one run being groomed and the other is left as moguls. Also be aware within runs of the same rating there is a variety of challenge as well.

Skiing ABCs D — D is for Dire Wolf

No, Dire Wolf in this case is not my roadie but it is a song by the Grateful Dead. This is a song set in a time and place undergoing a deep winter In the timbers to Fennario, the wolves are running round
The winter was so hard and cold, froze ten feet ‘neath the ground and of course we all love winter, right?

In addition, the song (at least one form of the song) has a good fusion of rock and bluegrass music that suits the typically setting of ski mountains very well.

Skiing ABCs D — D is for Devil’s Crotch

The Devil’s Crotch is the name of a ski run at Breckenridge. The run is a a double black diamond run and is on Breckendridge’s Peak 9 by the E-Chair. According to the link, the run is never groomed and that is a recipe for hard moguls. Maybe there will be deep soft powder the day you show up, but that is just a blanket on stones, have fun and ski well!

This was a devilish article with the the opening and ending entries involving the Devil (who made me do it).

Skiing ABCs D

All right, your turn what D words associated with skiing and snowboarding have I missed?

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