Strange Day

Hello Skiers and Snowboarders,

Today was one of the strangest days I have experienced in quite a while. We received a few inches of snow overnight that was plastered onto the mountain by high winds. Winds at the top of the mountain were variable, beginning at 6pm last night. They seemed to be steady between 50 and 70 miles per hour with gusts between 70 and 137 miles per hour. Temperatures were not much below freezing overnight. The fresh snow that awaited us this morning had a little crust on the top and skied as if it were stiff and dense. It was tricky skiing requiring concentration to keep my skis together instead of each one seeking its own path. Concentration and work described my experience today.

Winds were blowing strong enough to require most lifts to be placed on Wind Hold for most of the day. I understood the reason for Summit and Alpine Bowl Chair to be placed on Wind Hold, but I scratched my head wondering why Yellow, Scott, and Lakeview were on Wind Hold. Sherwood eventually opened (just when I decided to quit), as did Yellow Chair. Although, I wondered why certain lifts were on Wind Hold, I am not second guessing the lift operations crew. With very few lifts operating on a holiday, you can imagine the size of the lines at Roundhouse and TLC. They were fairly massive. I will say that they moved along at a steady pace, and those in line were polite, making the wait tolerable.

The Roundhouse line looked similar, but longer this morning.  The sky was gray today so I used this old photo to describe the line.

Of course, the issue was that the amount of time skiing down was out of proportion to the amount of time we stood in line.
Seeking the less tracked slopes in hopes of scoring a blank palette on which to etch a squiggly line or two was difficult. We found a space or two under Alpine Bowl Chair, in the trees below Seldom Slides, and below Shuttle Cornice. These were short shots and reaching them required effort. I did notice a number of people traversing from the top of Roundhouse out to The Face and well beyond. A long traverse for a few fresh turns in stiff and dense snow, but there really not many options.
It has been snowing off and on all day. Perhaps the lift lines were not so long in the afternoon, and hopefully the snow conditions improved for those that stayed to the end. At this moment, 3 pm., it is not snowing and roads are wet, but not white.
Today made me think of yesterday, when the sky was blue, all lifts were operating, lines were not excessive, and snow conditions were devine.

Just a memory of good skiing on a sunny day.

Enjoy your day,
Andy