My finger tips were cold today. Temperatures at nine this morning were 26 at the base and 20 at the ridge top. Winds were light at the top of Summit Chair, but clouds hung low. As the morning progressed the cloud cover moved along unveiling a blue sky which is music to an older skiers eyes. Speaking of older skiers, Friday is Larry Heywood’s birthday. We will refrain from divulging his age. (Editor’s note: Heywood was in charge of patrol at Alpine Meadows for many years and also did time as the avalanche forecaster. If you want to know great places to ski, follow Larry.)
As the clouds cleared winds built up. By the noon hour winds were gusting to 51 and as high as 73 at 2 p.m.. Forget the winds, the skiing was exceptional. Windpacked slopes made some people yelp with joy. Soft snow that drifted into the troughs of moguls made me smile. We found plenty of delightful snow below towers 19 and 20, skiers left of the groomed area in Wolverine, and in Fall Line, Rolls and Knolls, and Banana Chute.
Today was surprisingly good.
Snow is falling at the 3 p m. hour. It is light and being driven sideways by local winds.
Perhaps we will have a new layer to track up tomorrow.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Top five for the season! ABC Chairline/Palisades, South Peril, and D7 were exceptional as well—smooth and buttery.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that today was probably my favorite day of the season so far, out of my 52 days. There were absolutely no crowds and due to the constant refreshing with the high winds, pretty much every run was fresh tracks. I told several friends today that I would trade 5 powder days for one great wind buff day like today.