Dwindling Opportunities

The ski season is not over yet, but it is becoming more limited each day. This morning, we learned that Lakeview Chair is closed for the season. The degradation of snow on all trails accessed via Lakeview is to the point where a skier or rider would have to pick their way down to the base carefully. The reality is that each day, additional bare ground is being exposed. Skiing down would likely involve sliding over dirt, rocks, and bushes. It might even involve removing equipment and walking over dirt patches to find a way from top to bottom.

Scott’s chair was open today, but the fact is that slopes accessed from Scott are in the same condition as those at Lakeview. You can still ski Ridge Run. Bobby’s can also be skied, but the skiable line is very narrow.

We skied both today and enjoyed both of them, but we do not represent the average skier. Hunting for a place to turn that has enough snow covering to keep me upright and retain some of the ski base is not an easy task. Bobby’s is basically down for the season. We scooted over to Standard and made a few turns in corn snow in the bottom two-thirds of the run.

At this time of year, temperatures in the upper forties and low fifties bring increasingly bare slopes to our beautiful mountain. We do not think the Scott Chair will be open for many more days. The same is true of Sherwood. It looks almost impossible to ski down the main Sherwood Run; however, the Bowls accessed via the High Traverse still have a decent amount covering their slopes. Walking up the road that the mountain crew cut in for access to Upper Saddle is in excellent condition and rather easy to hike. However, a short trek across dirt and mud is required to access snow deep enough to allow a person to reattach their skis.

We toured areas between the Sun Bowl and SP Bowl this morning a couple of times. I thoroughly enjoyed the snow. Hot, long days tend to melt the surface in the late afternoon. This eliminates some of the skier tracks made during the day and flattens out the surface for the coming morning. I found the spring corn delightful this morning.

Back to the early morning. We were aware of the fact that warm temperatures would soften slopes relatively quickly today. Thus, we headed out just before nine to jump on the Summit Chair. Alas, Summit and Roundhouse were not open. The website indicated a delayed opening. It did not take long for someone to let us know that the delay was due to a broken grooming machine that was stuck on Rock Garden. Oil had spilled and required proper cleanup. We were stuck riding TLC, Meadow, or Subway.

Eventually, both opened, and we took advantage of soft corduroy for a couple of laps before heading over the High Traverse. After a short break around 11:30, we went back out and discovered corn growing on Ladies Slalom. We skied Gunner’s Knob and Tiegel Chutes.

Today was a wonderful, warm, sunny spring day with opportunities to ski excellent corn snow even if the available terrain is dwindling.

Enjoy your day.

Andy