Day 27 another New Side day

Yes, I hung around all day today on the New Side hoping for a Polar peak opening which never happened. I promise all fans of the Old Side that I will ski over there tomorrow and give my thoughts on what the conditions are like.

It didn't snow overnight or at least they claimed 2 cms which is much the same thing. Temps were a mild - 10 as we headed for the hill and they got warmer all day so that on the drive back this evening we were looking at -5. We had very light snow off and on all day and the very overcast conditions gave poor light. The new snow had added a slickness to the skiing surface with the hard pack underneath firm but taking an edge. Best of all, although the hill was a bit busier, the crowds still haven't showed up and we didn't have to wait in line at any time today.

Some friends from the UK (Steve and Liz) arrived to stay last night so we decided on a New Side day with a possible Polar Peak if it opened which it didn't. How many ways are there to say that we did what we have been doing for the past three days which was for the most part just looping out towards the big three -

Alpha Centauri - hard packed but the smallish bumps taking a nice edge so a good warm up for our guests.
Cougar Glades - well tracked up but some soft deep stuff in the trees, a hard left cut at the bike trail gave us the bottom half of Stag Leap which had a mixture of hard pack in the middle and soft on the edge.
Siberia Ridge - not a trip into Currie but a great run. After the choke it was like a rolling terrain park in soft snow, perhaps the best on the New Side today.
Skydive - big bumps in the top but then just as good as always with soft tracked snow all the way down.
Decline - on my own as the others had gone for a choccy break. The bumps stayed further down than usual but were taking a nice edge. By the lower pitches ther was loads of soft and even some untracked by the side.
Stag Leap - getting a bit slick in the trees in the top but once in the run really fun soft snow/hard pack mix.
Decline - as before, then a very late lunch.

After lunch I just had time to go back to Cougar Glades which skied just like the morning. This time I took the left exit chute which is still very testing with a lot of deadfall but also some great lightly tracked snow.

I did a filler loop through Surprise Trees which still had a lot of soft but some slick sections in the high traffic areas. After that it was of course a finish on Skydive with the whoopdy - do on the far side of the bridge still not shovelled in and proving a disincentive to anyone who doesn't like surprises. After the bumps the snow was still soft and in the final section I suddenly had an attack of the red mist and ripped it as fast as I can ever remember, maybe the old man still has it in him.

No new snow in forecast but who knows what the Old Side will hold tomorrow.