I love Heavenly, I try to get there every year. Last year, one of the days I went had freezing fog and drizzle above 8500' in the morning, so the hill was empty. I mean as in I was one of 8 people on the entire lift sometimes. I am a speed freak, have been sking since I could remember, and was in the ski patrol for a while. I use ski's that are a foot taller than I am, except when feel like doing moguls or skiing off groomed trails. Same with poles, I only use them when I am off grommed trails so that there is less wind resistance.
Here's a pic from the day before, and then during the fog/freezing drizzle the next day. This is the start of Ridge Run, at about 10,000 feet at heavenly, and are in about the same spot.
That day, I was bored because there was pretty much no one on the mountain. A bunch of snowboarders were talking about having a race because of the ice, so I asked if I could join them. If I remember correctly, we went down Elle's, which has a vertical of around 1,500 feet. It took me less than 45 seconds according to my watch, and was easily the fastest I have ever gone. The run was basically a sheet of groomed ice the entire way, and I could see forever. The only reason I did it is because there was no one else above 8500 because if I would have hit someone, we would both have been dead. Going fast on a full mountain is bonkers. Trust me, falling still hurts on snow. Fall wrong, and you will be leaving the hill in a sled.
And if you want air at Heavenly, there is a 20' flat spot from Ridge to Mombo as you cross the trail. You can easily fly a hundred feet horizontal, about 5' above the ground. The arc of the ground is perfect if you hit it right. There's a better one on Sam, but if you hit it wrong, you will be screwed up. I broke a ski across the middle of my binding there a few years ago because I didn't have enough speed. I hit the ridge dead center under my left boot, and my ski broke about half way between the bindings, along with cracking my boot. I'm lucky I didn't break my leg at the same time.
