Not Corn Yet

As I stood in the Summit line this morning, waiting for the clock to strike nine, I was sure I was overdressed. A bright sun was shining out of a clear blue sky, making me feel the warmth of spring. However, my tune quickly changed when I unloaded at the top of Summit Chair. Just enough wind was blowing to cool me down and blast my face with tiny particles of ice that were being lifted off the lip of the Alpine Bowl access road. It was cool enough overnight to freeze most of the slope that had softened in yesterday afternoon’s sun.

Grooming was well done during the night, leaving us more smooth runs than we had yesterday. We took advantage of these firm trails in hopes of completing a few turns before lines formed at the base of each lift. Under the heading of “Nothing is Perfect,” I noted a few disappointed faces within our group of friends when they discovered Sunspot was not groomed. A number of us like to ski Sunspot first run in the morning when it has been groomed overnight. I spotted a couple of frowns this morning, but they disappeared as we raced down Wolverine and Alpine Bowl. Sunspot is often our test for the trails at Sherwood. The slope looked rough and bumpy, but we tried it anyway in hopes of finding soft spring snow. Skiing firm rubble is not particularly helpful to the back, neck, and knees. Need I say more?

After skiing Palisades West, where the snow was more winter-like but stiffer than yesterday, we headed to Sherwood. We were not the only people who thought the surface at Sherwood would be softer than many other places on the mountain. The main run was overcrowded but somewhat softer.

Off-piste was really not all that enjoyable. Firm snow on Sherwood Face and on other off-piste trails was a rough ride.

I did not ski Art’s Knob or Expert Short Cut, nor did we ski Our Father or Sherwood Cliff, but I imagine the snow was more winter-like in these shaded trails. I am sure later in the day the snow softened on Sherwood Face and South Face, turning frowns to smiles.

From Sherwood we headed to Lakeview to see how hard the groomed surfaces were on those trails. Outer Limits was pretty firm, but I could set an edge and safely gain some speed without losing control.

The other slopes looked firmer, so we headed to the Scott side. I was surprised that both Bobby’s Run and Ridge Run had softened just enough to give us a spring surface to make fast, wide turns all the way down to Weasel Trail.

We took advantage of the small crowd on Scott to make a few more turns on these slopes. Eventually we returned to Summit Chair to retry Sunspot. Although the surface had melted, it was really no better than our earlier in the day. Mushy, rubble, with small moguls, did not beg us to ski it a second time.

We did enjoy groomed slopes on the lower mountain. Werner’s Schuss, Charity, and Dance Floor offered a pleasurable experience.

The warm sunshine enticed many people to hang out on the deck of the Alpine Chalet or the main lodge. I did not see many empty tables on either deck. Live music was being played on the main lodge deck this afternoon at the 2pm. It felt like spring on the hill today with the exception that the surface has not yet turned to spring corn.

This afternoon the temperature at the Crest was 32 degrees with light winds. The weather at the base warmed to 46 degrees with very light winds. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be sunny in the morning and cloudy in the later afternoon. A high of 49 is expected tomorrow, according to the Palisades app.

Tomorrow is the last day of operation for the Lakeview Chair. It is being closed to facilitate the removal of trees required by the Forest Service Management Plan.

Enjoy your day,

Andy