Day 127 Back to spring skiing

Yup, today reverted to spring skiing as we all understand it. It was cool overnight and although the base was +4 at the start and the snow was softening it was zero on top and felt like it might have got a lot colder overnight. The result was good old spring skiing with soft snow down low, boiler plate on top and a melt line moving up the hill during the course of the day. We had a sun/cloud mix which just added to the general spring feel of things.

We went to the New Side and as usual the litmus test of Lift Line told it all - it was hard refrozen icey crud all the way down that shook your filling loose as you jumped each turn. We poked around on the New Side and found everything frozen hard and even the groomers were totally bullet proof. We dropped Currie bowl on the way to the Old Side just to find out where the melt line was and we actually got to the top of the Gilmar Trail before we started to feel any give in the surface.

Going up the Old Side we found that things had softened to the top of Bear which was a bit strange as this was several hundred feet above the melt line on the New Side and I can't think of any reason why the sides should be so different. We ran all over the Old Side all morning with Cedar Ridge (twice) Boom Ridge (twice) Linda's (twice) Boomerang (twice) and Kangaroo (twice). The snow was very varied but as a general rule was a little crusty at the top, soft lower down and the transition line moving up all morning.

We got word that Polar Peak had opened so at the time we would normally have gone to lunch we went back to the New Side and went to the Peak. The chutes were closed so we had to drop Polar Coaster (I don't count this in my Polar totals as only the chutes really count) and the only way we could think of making it interesting was to run non stop from the Peak all the way to the base, 3500 ft vert in a single shot.

After lunch I went back to the New Side and went up the Peak. just as I arrived a patroller buddy was dropping the signs on the chutes. I dropped in and was treated to a hard ugly icey bumpy run down where one mistake would have meant good night Vienna. I looped out to Skydive which after the chutes seemed like a bunny run and which just like yesterday was mushed in soft snow with a bit of a strange crust and skied in great GS turns all the way down.

What a difference 40 minutes make as next time up Polar Peak (164 this season) the surface had softened and was taking a nice edge if still a bit slick. This time I dropped Stag Leap which was just like Skydive but if anything even more mellow.

I just had time for a quick loop out to Decline which was delayed slightly as I had to wait for three skiers who managed to stack it one after another off the bridge in Currie Creek. Decline skied just like the other big three and again maybe even better on the last pitch.

Final run was Skydive which was just starting to set up in the middle section so that I was skiing on what was almost corn snow for part of the run - great skiing.

Beers with friends and Casablanca on TCM, does life get any better. Just two days to go.