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i skied it years ago maybe it is "easier" since they put the new chair in.

This trail has always been one of the easier double black diamonds at a-basin. I don't think it changed much when they replaced the chair.

@@daneg it's true, you always need to be prepared for a few little surprises in terrain like this.

Haha true... on the steeper parts I definitely got down to some crusty snow.

Thanks. Couldn't say no to one of the last storms of the season.

@@allenskis dude I’m thinking I’m slamming the last ones too, but this is another thing. U do the night run a lot?

I usually only ski at night if I had to work in the day and there was fresh snow. Started doing it this year and I've gone 4-5 times I think.

Nice.

Not sure, but I'd guess that it's around 35 degrees, with the top section being quite a bit steeper because of the cornice.

Hard to really say about SG4 vs. 1st Notch as they are fairly close in difficulty. 1st Notch is certainly harder than some other upper east wall runs, like north pole and narrow north pole... When I skied it a few years ago it wasn't very rocky, but it was quite icy... I skied it twice this year and it was less icy but a lot more rocky. It can be hard to tell from the top how rocky it is. Steep Gully #4 and 1st Notch might be be pretty similar in difficulty, but it can be hard to figure out what the conditions are on the 1st Notch until you are actually skiing the run. If the rest of the east wall is icy, 1st notch probably is too, but 1st notch might be rocky even if north pole has plenty of snow. I think that is the hardest part about 1st notch. The conditions on SG-4 can vary as well, but skiing down some other pali runs will give you a decent sense of what the snow conditions are like - for example, you can do Pali to Gauthier without even needing to hike and the snow conditions there will probably be similar to the snow conditions on SG-4. SG-4 does frequently have mounds of heavy snow or patches of powder mixed with hard pack that almost border on moguls sometimes - this can make skiing SG-4 rather tiring (although the moguls tend to mostly be in the less steep lower section). In comparison, 1st notch rarely has heavy clumps of snow that cause fatigue.

Thanks. I have been working on my pole plants over the last year or two and I am getting a bit better. I still have room to improve, though. I mostly learned my watching other skiers on youtube lol.

Buddy. Go pros make things lot WAY less steep. If it looks even somewhat steep then its like a straight drop. The steep gullies are 45-50 degrees. You fall and you dont stop until youre at the bottom or all the way up ifykwim.

my man grew up skiing el capitan

Orcs is probably one of the easiest doubles black diamonds in Mirkwood. Could be a good first choice among double black diamonds.

This was a few years ago... I probably have different technique problems now lol.

man don't we all post pandemic@@allenskis

@@steven7650 haha yeah it definitely cut down on the amount of times I went to the resorts for a few years. On the plus side, I did pick up backcountry skiing, so my powder technique has improved slightly.

That's what I want to know. Was up at Monarch yesterday, groomers were packed and hard. Wanting to grow into a skillset where I can get more powder and a different experience. Trying to understand from the video why the "trails" are marked diamond and double diamond. Assume it's way steeper than it looks? Or trees count as obstacles, or some combo thereof?

Supposedly GoPros make everything look less steep than it is. This is according to many people who watch a video and then go up there themselves only to find it to be a bit more intimidating. I think it might be a combination of the unnaturally wide FOV of the GoPro, the lack feedback from your inner ear, and sometimes just the fact that nothing really looks scary on camera. I'm not really affected by this perception anymore because I've watched enough of my own videos that my sense of steepness has become calibrated, but I remember thinking things looks less steep on camera when I got my first GoPro about 5 years ago. These double black diamonds in Mirkwood aren't particularly intimidating compared to some at other resorts like Arapahoe Basin, but they are still fairly steep. None of them are groomed either, and I can't think of a single resort where a fairly steep ungroomed run would be considered a blue square. I would say that the double black diamonds are on the easier side compared to other double black diamonds in Colorado.

Hey I’m back, we went there, they kicked me off Mirkwood bc they closed it right when I got tot the top and I wasn’t allowed to ski down. I saw orcs it didn’t look too hard, but is it actually hard?

Kinda. This is the furthest to the skiiers left among the first group of chutes. You can actually keep going left through some trees and then there are a few more chutes. Those ones have a narrow choke but there aren't as many rocks to hit with your skis. That part didn't seem to open last weekend, but it will probably open soon.

Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful!

True. Not the freshest pow, but better than the resorts.

Yeah I live in Denver. The drive can be a bummer with traffic but it's worth it. I don't have an Instagram... I've been thinking about creating one, though.

Yeah people say that GoPro footage makes it look less steep... I think its a combination of the wide angle lens and the fact that sliding down a mountain is much more intimidating in person haha. Gauthier is one of my favorites too. It wasn't open when I was there a few weeks ago, but I'm looking forward to when it opens.

I think it's usually a bit later in the season before the more extreme terrain opens - they don't make any snow for the double black diamonds and there are a lot of rocks that need to get covered up before the skiing is any good.

The Gully Section looks good..

Yeah, M5s. Love 'em. I've scratched them on a few rocks, but after a full tune they look like new. Not sure I'd fare as well if I hit the rocks myself though, haha.

@@allenskis Nice.. Hopefully with the storm moving in that the Mountains get a good amount of snow..

I'm a not a particularly fast hiker so probably about 30 minutes.

16 min

This is a GoPro hero 10 black, shooting in 4k with hyper smooth. Not certain about the frame rate but I *think* it's about 60.

The entire lower east wall is an epic playground.

@@allenskis I love Land of the Giants!

Haha yeah I still remember this one. Not a place that I'd want to have an uncontrolled fall.

Yeah, these are the Mantra M5 96... Still my favorite skis for a typical day at a Colorado resort. I do have a wider pair of skis that I will use if the powder is extremely deep, though...

@@allenskis i will have to try to get on a pair of those this season..

This is not steep at all. Man's making it look more difficult than it actually is. I posted a video hammering this line on my park skis.

Haha nice. One nice thing about putting a hip down on a steep run is that it's easier to stand back up.

That little gully is sneaky, but is the only way to get to some really fun rock drops!

I don't think so. These are from a Thursday, a Wednesday and a Saturday.