Better Than Expected

Last night was disappointing. We went out for dinner, indoors nonetheless, and watched rain fall from the sky at lake level. At 9-ish we returned home, and it was still raining at my house in Alpine Meadows. We were not enthused about the possibilities of skiing this morning.

Even after peeking out the windows early this morning and seeing a few inches of snow on my deck railing, we did not expect much. Our first thoughts were those of mushy wet snow. I must admit that we were not in a hurry to hit the slopes. In fact no one in my locker room seemed to be in a hurry.

Snow was falling at the lodge level and winds were blowing stiffly. TLC was on hold, as ice had formed on the sheaves, and Summit was not ready to rock and roll. We hiked up to Kangaroo to take a run or two while waiting for the other lifts to begin accepting skiers, only to be told it was off the schedule today. It was turning but not open.

We stood in line at Roundhouse, for longer than we wanted, but it really was not that long. Once our skis sank into the dense new snow our spirits rose. It was not that bad, instead it was pretty good. We zipped down Yellow Trail leaving squiggles on the fresh surface and found ourselves riding Scott Chair shortly thereafter. An untouched scoot down Standard Run and then it was off to Gentian. Where else would we go when Summit was not running and the bowls were in a cloud?

Yahoo! It was wonderful. Not light powder, but enough new snow to cover yesterdays tracks. The snow was just right. Better than expected by a long shot. We repeated Gentian two more times with an interval at Sherwood which was also lovely. It was a fun morning of scattered showers and pretty good breezes, at least at the top of Scott. This afternoon, the roads are dry and the sun is trying to come out.

Enjoy your day,

Andy