Ski Bumming in Utah

Elko was bitter cold. Being inland desert must have made it vulnerable to quick heat dissipation in the winter just as it is vulnerable to heat buildup in the summer. But I was not stopping too long over here. The Chinese takeout that I ate the last time I was here was conveniently located in the shopping center, but it was only 4 PM and I was going to eat when I get to Salt Lake City. I was only stopping to charge my car and I was moving on. 

So, I made it to Utah, after all. The snow forecast in Donner Pass on Friday 2/3 looked iffy and it appeared that I'd have a good chance to make it back over the pass on Saturday. (Turned out, there was only a slight flurry on Friday Morning and the road was clear by Saturday morning.) So I packed up on 1/30 and headed west the next day.

Who knew Nevada in winter was so beautiful? During the summer, the brown mountains look more like extensions of the desert: they are hills rather than mountains. In the winter, their peaks turn white and majestic making them look a lot bigger. The never-ending white peaks make you realize Nevada is indeed the most mountainous state.

The cold weather shrank the range of my Tesla. I could see the battery draining about 25% faster than normal. In the summer, 70 mph would consume 280 wh/m. In the cold of Nevada, it was more like 350 wh/m.  I had to charge 150 miles and then stop after 100 miles for recharge. After what seemed like a half dozen stops (Lovelock, Winnemucca, Elko, West Wendover, Tooele), I was finally in Salt Lake City after 9PM. King Chinese Buffet that I drove so long for closed at 10PM, so I went to a hole-in-the -wall place called Little World instead. It was the worst Chinese food I've eaten, bar none. The vegetables were raw and sauce absolutely tasteless. After that, I went to Tesla store, charged the car and then slept there. 

The next morning, I went through the usual commotion of Electric Hobo -- stop at Mcdonald for coffee, $1 McMuffin and bathroom. Then I was on my way to Park City. Being there for the first time, I suspected I would end up spending a lot of time finding my way. And I did. The main lot of the park city now required $25 for a single driver. You have to have 4 people in the car and reservation for free parking. I had to drive back to Canyon Village side to find a free parking. To make it worse, they botched the signage to the parking, and I ended way up in the gated village. I came back and managed to find my way to the free parking. By the time I on the slope after taking the standing gondola to Pine Express and and Pine Express gondola to the bottom of Saddleback, it was 10AM.

I spend the first day on the Canyon Village side. Park City was a big mountain and just going over to the main side and coming back would take a half a day. I figured I'd go over to the main Park City side on the second day and then spend the 3rd day on the Canyon Village side again before driving back in the afternoon. 

That's right, I spent 3 days skiing Park City. I originally planned to take the second day off and spend time in Salt Lake City. But then, I drove all the way and I had to get my money's worth. I didn't spend any, to tell the truth, but the time and distance were as valuable as money. I was naturally apprehensive as I haven't done back-to-back skiing in 15 years. The 3 days of skiing in Whistler in 2017 knocked me out and nobody in the group wanted to ski more after that. And back-to-back judo practice used to trigger overtraining syndrome that eventually turned into MECFS, and 3 days of skiing could bring it back. But then, I've been doing find with back-to-back hiking and the apprehension never materialized. So, the chances were, I'd be fine.

That was a lot of skiing. I was all over Tombstone on the Canyon Village side, Dream Catcher in the middle mountain and then Motherlode on the Park City side. The second day was a full day that started at 9 AM and ended at 3 PM. It wasn't as hard, however, as I spent half the time practicing short turns on groomed runs. Still, full day skiing was exhausting, and I needed refuel. The lunch hour was over when I got to King Buffet, so I couldn't load up. I went to Ramen Bar in downtown instead -- I felt like warm broth after all day skiing anyway -- and had Donkatsu Ramen that hit the spot just right. It was getting dark by then and I drove to Super 8 by the airport to sleep. I slept in the car for 2 nights by then and I needed a shower. And some comfort after the hard day of skiing.

The 3rd day was meant to be a half day, but I ended up skiing till past 1 PM and was back in Salt Lake City at 2. I charged the car and then was at King Buffer for $13 all-you-can-eat lunch. I then had to stop at Tesla Service to see if they can quickly fix the trunk latch that refused to close again. They couldn't -- it would take several hours for them to get to it and then fix -- so I left fruitlessly at 4 PM for Winnemucca 400 miles away. It would be well past 9 PM when I plugged the car in and climbed the back to sleep.

The Utah in winter was an absolute stunner. I didn't get to see it on the way in because it was past 8 PM by the time I crossed the borderline from Nevada. On the way out, however, I could see Wasatch mountains in my back mirror and the peaks spilled over from it in the front. Then it was the desert leading to Bonneville Salt Flat. The flat was flooded and frozen: it reflected the distant peaks in perfect symmetry. 

In all, The Utah expedition was a resounding success. I discovered Nevada and Utah in winter as well as skiing for 3 days.