Winter or Spring?
Was it NOAA that promised today would be a warm, windless, spring day in the Sierra, or was it Mark? No matter who made the promise, winds were cool and very brisk over the ridge tops his morning. You know, the cool winds that blow bits of ice into your face giving you a free dermabrasion treatment.
We spent a good amount of time taking advantage of the wonderful grooming job completed by the overnight crew. Multiple runs up and down Summit Chair were completed while waiting for conditions to soften on Sherwood side of the mountain. A few slick, skier-shaved, spots could be found in places on certain runs, and a few areas on different trails sported death cookies (I wish cookies that are found on nicely groomed slopes were edible, but they are not recommended for human consumption). I do not think there was a groomed run on the Summit side of the mountain that I can say was better than others. Personally, I enjoyed Wolverine (it was not easy to enter the run with the high winds blowing up the slope, but it was fun spreading my arms while heading straight down the hill and not getting anywhere). The two best locations to get the free dermabrasion treatments were on the way to Sunspot, and along the road toward the ABC Barn before dropping into Alpine Bowl. Sunspot and Alpine Bowl were topped with delightful winter corduroy. D8, along with all the other lower slopes off Roundhouse and Summit, were just fun. The only problem is that these slopes that are groomed and fun do get somewhat boring after multiple days of racing up and down the trails (a problem for skiers with the everyday addiction).
Thus, the front side of the mountain offered what I would consider winter conditions. At approximately 11 am I arrived at the upper TLC terminal. Spring snow was just arriving, a little later than I would have expected given the original NOAA forecast. However, spring snow met my skis on the way down the main Sherwood Run. In search of non-groomed surfaces, we skied the moguls on Sherwood Face. They were not quite fully softened after the overnight cool down that turns them into a very firm surface early in the day, but enough of the surface was soft spring snow to make me forget the remaining firm spots.
Run number three took me to South Face, just beyond West Gully. The moguls are somewhat smaller on this slope, and the snow was just about right. It was good for a pleasant run from top to bottom.
Have I mentioned that I do love spring snow as much as I enjoy winter snow.
Lastly, I skied a couple times down Bobby’s Run from the top of Lakeview and Scott Chairs. The skiers right of this trail was just beautiful smooth corn snow. A perfect end to an enjoyable morning of skiing. I would guess that the spring conditions improved even more in the early afternoon.
Tomorrow looks as if it will be a repeat of today, but a little warmer. I do not see that winds will be as strong, but I will just wait and see. According to the Palisades forecast for the remainder of the week, Friday will be partly cloudy to mostly cloudy with temperatures still reaching a high of 40. Saturday arrives with mostly cloudy skies and cold temperatures (high 22 and low 16). Saturday and Sunday do not look very inviting. Sunday the high will again be 22 with the low being 18, but winds will join the forecast.
Snow is the forecast for Saturday and Saturday night, but the estimate is for only 1 inch during the day and 1 inch at night. Let’s hope that NOAA is wrong.
Enjoy your day,
Andy