Better Than Good

Lines were long today, but they seemed to move at a steady pace. Normally I would be complaining about long lines, but today I accepted them without a peep. When skiing is as good as it was today, there is no reason to complain about lines. The fact that many lifts were not running on the Palisades side of the resort, and a couple on our side, did not help the overcrowding situation at the base of most lifts. High winds were most likely the reason for lift closures on both sides of the resort. The situation would have been even worse if the shiny boxes had been transporting people from one side to another. However, high winds also closed the gondola today.

As one could easily see this morning, winds were blowing stiffly from mid-mountain up to the ridge top. Plumes of snow were rising high into the sky and/or blowing across slopes. Snow was being deposited from one area of the mountain to another in a fascinating display that held my attention for most of the morning hours. The strong winds created a wonderful smooth wind buff over much of the mountain. Skiing on smooth, soft winter snow created by high winds is a special event.

Surface winds blowing snow in the Rolls and Knolls area.

I did not have one or two good runs today. Every run was a good run. Perhaps the most enjoyable slopes I skied today included D7, Peter’s Peril, North Peril, Waterfall, Quinn’s Chute, Palisades, High Yellow Gully, Sympathy Face, and Banana Chute. I did not find anything that I did not like while traveling around the mountain. I did not hike over to the Keyhole Slopes, or Lower Saddle, as many others were doing all day long. I did stand for a minute below the Keyhole Slopes and High Yellow Face, watching a boatload of people navigating the trail. I do not remember seeing so many people skiing in the Keyhole and High Yellow Face areas at one time. Perfect snow conditions attracted a lot of people to these steeper slopes. I heard of a couple of people that needed assistance exiting from Keyhole slope.

The sun was out for a good portion of the day. Slopes facing the sun changed in texture as the morning moved into afternoon. The lovely winter pack began to turn into a heavier “spring-like” consistency. Today was a day to ski the winter pack. Our Father, Sherwood Cliffs, and the lower sections of High Yellow Face and High Yellow Gully were filled with good-sized moguls, but they were soft and fun to ski. I even enjoyed a tour through Hot Wheels Gully.

I hope everyone enjoyed their day. It was one for the books.

Enjoy your day,

Andy