Thursday, March 31, 2011

Day 109 ugly a bear's ass

In keeping with the way conditions have swung from one extreme to the other, following on from yesterdays pretty good if wet powder then today most of the hill was destroyed by rain and as I said, ugly as a bear's ass, and thats being rather unfair to bears asses. It was warm at +3 and raining as we headed for the hill. The official site claimed 10 cms of fresh but the warning signs were there for those who know, the run of the day was Hollow Hike, a lower mountain run which wouldn't even be on the radar if the upper mountain was open. Sure enough the whole of the New side was shut down due to avi risk with an initial estimate of an 11 o'clock opening quickly revised to closed all day. On the Old side the Bear was down for avi control and the Boom down for mechanical problems so the only lifts running were the Elk and the Deer (I don't count the Mighty Moose) giving sking well below the snow/rain line on mushy groomers. We had a coffee and decided to take a quick run just to see how it was. By the time we got up both Bear and Boom were running but with sign lines at either side of the Bear run and I guess the only way down to Boom being on Kodiak although I didn't attempt it not having an aqualung with me. The sign at the foot of Bear said no easy way down and that was dead right. It was raining pretty well to the top on about 10 cms of mushy snow so the result was pure ACL ripping elephant snot. There was hardly anyone out, only a few ski school groups who had no choice and the smart guys who were buying a cheap ticket today and then going to exchange it for a snow check on what should be a full priced day tomorrow. By lunch we were soaked even if the surface was skiing a little better - couldn't decide whether our crud skiing technique was improving or the surface was a little more chopped up and easier to push around. We decided that as we were soaking and there are only so many different ways you can ski down Bear then lunch time was as good a point as any to call it a day. Relaxing afternoon and now up to the hill again for Ski Patrol appreciation day in the Corner pocket (the bar not the chute) for the rest of the evening. Things due to cool tonight which should stabalize the upper mountain at least, then a significant snow event Saturday, we will see.

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