If you were not on the slopes today, you missed a stellar day. At first it appeared that we would have another gray day. Clouds covered the upper mountain, and a cool wind was blowing. The weather people promised it would be a sunny day, but I saw a few sad faces when they walked out of the lodge heading to one lift or another.
Snow being whipped up at the top of Summit Chair
We made a few turns on Roundhouse hoping the sun would come out of its hiding place. Groomed runs were in excellent condition so we hit them first. Sherwood was pleasant enough in the morning, but we wanted off-piste. We skied two runs down Gentian where the skiers left was good for the first 2/3rds of the slope, after which it became slightly crispy. The snow was better skiing down from Broccoli Tree.
Scott Chute was not perfect as some of it was pretty firm
The sun did come out fairly soon after opening. This lifted our spirts and gave us full visibility. We skied Sympathy where winds had already blown new snow into the troughs of moguls. Skiing Sympathy was perfect. We realized, as we stared up from the base, we should be at the top of Summit skiing Palisades, even if strong winds were blowing snow high into the sky. After a morning of wandering around looking for warmth, and wind protected slopes, we hopped on to Summit Chair.
Clear sky and winds blowing at the top
Winds at the very top were strong enough to keep us from raising the safety bar until we were just about to exit the chair. Although the winds were strongly blowing in our faces as we left the chair, they did not include hard crystals. You know, the kind of crystal that sting your face trying to get to a place that is protected. We skied Pygmy Forest and Palisades where winds had deposited enough snow to just about flatten the entire slope. IT WAS HEAVENLY!. We repeated this a number of times inserting a diversion by skiing down D7 for variety. Both were great, but I think Palisades was the best ever. Many people seemed to be hiking over the High Traverse, but we did not do that today so I cannot report on the conditions on those trails.
Palisades filled with wind blown snow that made it soft and smooth
Slopes that face North were the best. Slopes that received good sun yesterday were crispy.
God’s Knob was too firm in the morning. Deer Camp was soft enough, but still crispy with some rubble piled up from previous day skiers. We enjoyed The Face, and Medium Yellow in addition to the other non-groomed trails we skied. Bobby’s, Yellow, Ladies Slalom, Werner’s, and Charity that were groomed received our approval.
At the beginning it did not seem like it would be a memorable day, but in the end it turned out to be stellar.
Enjoy your day,
Andy