Was it a One or a Six?

It was hot today on the mountain. I noted the temperature rose to 57 degrees at the base and 47 degrees at the top of Summit. The warmth arrived yesterday and continued through the night and into the daylight hours

Very warm temperatures during the day without a good cold night mean that the snow did not transition to corn. It means the snow surface will be sticky (for sure in the flat areas) and very soft in areas where it had been skied the past few days. Most people do not like these conditions. A good reason to dislike these conditions is the higher risk of damage to a persons knees. In many places on the mountain where the surface is flatter, or at a low slope, sticky conditions lead to a jerky ride. It was described as trying to drive your car with the parking brake on. I arrived at the hill late, somewhere around 10:30. Sitting at my locker putting my boots on I was visited by friends who were leaving. They claimed conditions were very sticky and not high on the list of best days of the season. I went out to see for myself.
Hooking up with some friends who had been out earlier and were riding the chair did not increase my expectations that had been set pretty low in the locker room. I will say it was warm and the sky was blue. Many locals have been praying for some spring weather after a long winter. As we rode Summit Chair my friends related their recent trip through Seldom Slides. Basically they indicated it was a One on a scale of One to Ten. Terrible.

I skied a few runs with this crowd and never found the really horrible conditions they were relating to me. Full disclosure: I like almost all conditions and often report them to be better than most people would rate them. We skied Pygmy Forest followed by Red/Green. I did not hate it. North Peril and Waterfall were not all that bad. What I enjoy about this type of skiing is that you can ski steeper slopes slowly. Soft moguls are fun to ride as you never get going to fast. Most of group left after awhile leaving Barbara and I skiing together. We are both long time skiers and both really enjoy spring skiing. As I have indicated above, this was not the best spring snow, but it can be fun if you know how to ski it. We skied Palisades and High Yellow after which Barbara, who rated Seldom Slides a One, rated Palisades a Six. We skied D7 close to the rock and then The Face. Neither got below a 5 rating. Soft, mushy, moguls made up both trails. Kangaroo Ridge, Sandy’s Corner, and the run-out between the Alpine Chalet and the base of TLC were sticky enough to stop a person in their tracks.

Riding up TLC I noticed the lack of people on the slope.  Midweek, without great spring skiing meant lifts and slopes that were basically empty.

Weasel Trail looking empty

I dropped Barbara off, who was sweating from the heat, and headed up TLC for an Art’s Knob tour. It was not bad, but made up of both soft moguls and deeper lightly skied snow.

Art’s Knob

At 1pm I rode up Scott Chair thinking I would just try Ridge Run, but then I changed my mind and headed for Juniper Face. It was soft, but not deep mushy snow. I liked it.

Looking down Scott Chute from Juniper Face

Every one rates snow and skiing differently. Perhaps today was on the lower end of the scale for many people, but if you compare it to a day where the entire mountain is rock hard and full of rubble from the previous days this was a Ten. Rock hard rubble and moguls are not fun for me. Even groomed runs, or smooth hard ice, in cold weather that does not allow the conditions to soften is not in wheel house. Perhaps today was not a Ten, but it was at least a Five or Six in my mind.

Enjoy your day,

Andy