Slopes were relatively empty this morning. Perhaps it was the weather that kept many people away from the hill. I got a fantastic parking space early this morning because there just were not many people heading for the slopes. Clear water was falling out of the sky before and after the opening bell. There is no argument for the fact that I am a spoiled brat who is able to ski almost every everyday of the year. Thus, one would wonder why I found myself sitting on a wet chair riding into the clouds on Roundhouse at 9 this morning. The ride and skiing were better than anticipated when we were booting up in the locker room, but it was not perfect.
We skied a few runs on Roundhouse, TLC, and Sherwood, but none of us had the nerve to ride Summit Chair. It was not the rain that kept us off Summit Chair, but it was the cloud that engulfed the upper bowls. We had a hard enough time seeing the ground skiing off Roundhouse, but if we had ridden Summit Chair, we surmised we would not have found our way back down to the base.
It turned out that groomed runs were pretty good. The groomed surface was soft and smooth and pleasant for making sweeping or quick turns. The only tricky part of skiing the groomed runs with limited visibility occurred on Yellow Trail. Some pretty good-sized snowballs were frozen onto the slope in the middle of the trail. We found these obstacles without much notice. All the groomed areas off Roundhouse, TLC, and Sherwood offered us the delightful spring surface we long for this time of year. If we just could have seen it, we would have been much happier.
Slopes were basically vacant, and lift lines were nonexistent. As I mentioned, the groomed areas were pretty good, but off-piste was another story. We tried Rolls and Knolls. I fought my way two-thirds of the way done the short run, trying to make turns in the grabby snow. My mates only lasted one or two turns before traversing back to the groomed area. I am not sure how to describe the condition off-piste, but it appeared to be the same everywhere we visited today. Stiff wet snow that was a few inches deep. It just wanted to keep me from turning.
The result was that we did not venture off the groomed slopes. I did see some snowboarders trying it. Perhaps having one plank underfoot would have made a difference. The off-piste snow just wanted to split those with two planks underfoot in half.
Today was a short day for us. Those in the group that have a five-run minimum took off after completing five runs. Those of us that have a higher minimum lasted a little longer and took a break for hot chocolate or tea and a cinnamon roll at the Alpine Chalet. We took a few more runs, but not many.
A short day and a short report.
Enjoy your day,
Andy