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This new blog can be found at www.boston.com/sports or www.boston.com/egan

More About Dan Egan

Dan Egan thrives on action and has been at the forefront of the extreme sports scene since the mid 1980s. As a pro athlete, Egan pioneered extreme skiing and the extreme sports industry. He has led adventure trips around the world from the Alps to the Arctic. His company skiclinics.com runs camps and clinics across North America, Europe and South America. Dan Egan is a writer, world- renowned extreme skiing pioneer and an award-winning and Emmy nominated media producer.

Lucas skis France

So you want to take a ski clinic… Well here is what our clients are saying about us….

“Thank you so much for an amazing, enlightening clinic. i ended the program feeling that my love for skiing had been rejuvenated, even as my body tried to hold…on…to…that…last...turn… unbuckled boots and all! I loved the program. Your enthusiasm is infectious and motivating. So are your love and respect for skiing and the mountains.”  - Annie

Well the storm came in as promised and it delivered one of those great powder days where your tracks are just filling in between every run.

After some self-arrest drills for steep terrain, Grant, Aleksi, and Mimi showed us what Montanans are made of, braving the bitter wind to shred lap after lap on Thunderwolf’s trees and open meadows.

We broke for lunch and the storm kicked up something fierce! It took some creative route finding to get back to our choice lines as most of the mountain was on wind hold. We made a snap decision to ski down the road back towards town to get back to Thunderwolf and man was that a good idea. The place was deserted; we had run after run of soft and smooth turns through the bumps and trees.

All in all this was a great clinic and we are now even more stoked for our next steep camp at Big Sky March 15 – 17. Check out the short video for more stoke!

We spent the morning honing our skills, focusing on tip pressure and edging so that when we got on the Tram to the top of Lone Peak after an early lunch to dodge the crowds, we were all ready to rip some turns on the steep chutes on the south summit.

The Tram at Big Sky is unique among North American ski lifts. With it’s base station on an alpine glacier and it’s summit house perched on the airy summit of lone peak, overlooking the notorious Big Couloir, it delivers a heavy dose of respect for the extreme terrain it services. Groups of 15 people are whisked up to the summit on a short ride where it feels like you are flying straight into a wall of rock and snow as the peak approaches.

Once on top, we skied down Lenin, a wide chute that cuts a beautiful line down the side of the peak for at least 1000 vert. Big turns through creamy wind buff and corn kept everyone smiling and wanting more. It was so good we just had to lap it all afternoon.

After some tasty runs off the summit, we headed back over to the steeps on Challenger lift and got a few more great runs in to finish the day before heading to the bar for a video review session. Everyone in the clinic made big progress and that was made clear in the video.

Today should be another great day as we’ve got 6 – 10″ in the forecast. Check back tomorrow to see how it goes.

Sure enough, when we got to the hill this morning and met up with Mimi, Grant, Alexi and the gracious hosts at Big Sky’s Snowsports School, all signs were pointing to a great day of ripping the creamy wind buff.

Up on the mountain, we weren’t disappointed. The wind had groomed the hill perfectly for us and we spent the morning laying down arcs on the Thunder Wolf and Lone Moose chairs. This place is so big, even though it was vacation week, we barely ran into anyone!

After lunch, the crew kept up the pace and shredded the Challenger chair all afternoon until the lifties kicked us off. It was soft and smooth in the trees and we couldn’t resist farming the pow.

Tomorrow looks like it’s gonna be another great day. Check back to see what new stoke Big Sky will drum up.

The Ravine has gone from winter to complete spring conditions over the last 10 days, there is now open water on the head wall and small cracks showing on the head wall.  With that said, the skiing is excellent spring conditions from the snowfields down to the head wall and chute.  You have to hike into both right and left gully if skiing from the snowfields.

The Lobster Claw, Right, Left, Chute and Head Wall are all skiing great, the hiking conditions are fine but watch for undermining snow around all rocks outcroppings. It is no longer an option to ski from the bowl to Hermit Lake Hut. The hike up from the AMC Parking lot is completely snow covered. Skinning from the bottom and skiing down the Sherburne trail is great.  The Sherburne is showing signs of dirt on the last few corners but other than that skiing is spring conditions and FUN.

So come on up and ski this spring, its been a great winter with lots of snow making spring skiing on Mount Washington the best its been in April in May in a long time.  Please come on up and join me on Fridays in the May and on other day upon request.

I’ll be up there again 4/29/11 and will report back.

The www.skiclinics.com team found soft moguls at Cannon and Loon today.  With most ski area hosting spring parties and pond skimming events this weekend will be one to remember.  Plus this added snow will be adding weeks to the Mount Washington season so plan now for your trip up to the ravine with us. See you on the slopes!