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Yesterday, I went to Sugar Bowl ski resort for the first time. This is a view of Donner Lake from the top of one of the mountains. As in Donner Pass, and the Donner Party. This place has a history of getting a lot of snow. 
I've skied at four or five ski resorts and never seen this sign on a building before:
In case you can't read it, here's a close-up: 
Then I noticed this at the lift:
You don't have to tell ME more than once. I hated Danger UXB (I had to watch it because I had a crush on Anthony Andrews - I just hid in the hall whenever he was defusing a bomb). After seeing these signs I don't know whether I felt safer or not. On one hand they're doing avalanche control. On the other...they have avalanches??
I got to the top of the lift, and this caught my eye: 
I got closer and found that this was the site of the California's first chairlift. 
Then just a little way down the slope I saw that they actually still use one of these: 
Yes, that is a huge chunk-O-concrete counterweight. This lift wasn't running today, but obviously still does.
Partway up the lift I also saw this: 
It was on a black diamond (expert) slope, and I don't generally go down those on purpose, so I couldn't see what it's plaque said.
They also had an example of a much newer lift that is still fairly common at many resorts: 
But they are generally being replaced by these high speed lifts: 
The chairs actually come off the high speed cable, slow down so they don't whack you in the back of the knees (like some of the older ones do), and then reattach to whisk you up (or down in some instances) the mountain. I've always thought riding these big lifts is like riding a ride at Disneyland, and just as fun. And looky here at the name on this lift: 
Yes, Walt Disney was one of Sugar Bowl's founding fathers mentioned in the above plaque.
A day just isn't complete without an Elvis sighting.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Historic Sugar Bowl
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4 comments:
Regarding your "unherdable cat"...
As an icthyologist shouldn't you be promoting my new catchy corporate speak "It's like herding catfish." Oh, and do something about the silly way you guys spell Icthyologist.
Oh no, I've gotten started on a rant about corporate buzzwords...
In the future going forward, we should dialogue about this... leverage, ah, maximize um... [large portion of meandering irrational rant removed] actually heard president of my company say "from a go-forward perspective..." I mean what the hell is that?
Brother Phil,
It's Ichthyologist. Please spell it correctly next time. I don't misspell electrical enginerd. Now try and spell Oncorhynchus tshawytscha without looking.
Catfish would school, not herd, and "It's like schooling catfish" just doesn't work nearly as well.
We sometimes have a hard time not yelling BINGO at work, especially if someone says, "Low hanging fruit," or "robust."
Shouldn't you be in a monastery somewhere?
I love your skiing photos. We hardly ever get proper snow here, and when it does, the roads to the ski resorts are the first to be blocked by snow.
Is an ickyologist someone who studies snot and earwax? 'Cos those are quite icky.
Mr. Farty,
I saw your photos of Edinburgh Castle right after that blizzard in January. I'm sure they shut down the schools for a snow day.
Yes, I study the earwax and snot--and all other parts of fish. I took after my father who is a helminthologist. He studied (he's retired) intestinal worms. We had very interesting dinner conversations while I was growing up. Helminthology jobs were few and far between in England (hard to believe, I know), so we moved to the States for five years. Back in 1967. February 23rd will be 41 years.
My brother Phil, the engineer (as you may have guessed) is the black sheep.
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