Day 31 still no snow but the hill stays in ok shape

As I said considering that we have had no real new snow for about a week and in the intervening time we have had the busiest holiday period of the year the hill is in remarkably ok shape. Of course everything has been skied in but there are still places where some soft snow can be found. For the most part it has been packed in pretty well and big bumps are forming but those bumps are taking an edge and not hard and icey as we have had in years past.

This report may be a bit brief as after all it is New Years Eve and there is some serious celebrating to be done. On the way to the hill temps were -10 and during the day they may have risen a degree or two but they remained there or thereabouts for most of the day - it was -10 on the way home. There was no new snow and the base is down to around 210 cms. It was overcast all day despite the forecasts of sunny periods so the light remained pretty flat all day.

As promised we went to the Old Side and poked around to see what we could find. It panned out as -

Sunnyside Shoulder - bumps and some tricky lines on the left. The chutes beyond China Wall were bumpy and a bit twiggy.
Steep and Deep - we hiked out to the fence and found Steep and Deep with soft bumps and some fluff on top. We exited through the skiers right chute which was firm bumps.
Boom Ridge - Bumps with some slick sections where it had been previously groomed
Boomerang - Big bumps in the top and smaller bumps lower down, exit on the Goat Trail was a little sketchy.
Steep and Deep again - as before but we exited through the left chute which was tight bumps between the alders.
Linda's - quite tracked and bumpy but soft on the right.
Cedar Ridge Right - just like everywhere else, bumps taking a nice edge.
Boomerang - found a much better line in the bumps this time which are getting quite big.

We exited on the Goat Trail then went to base for lunch. Every drop from Haul Back top (3 times) we went through Kangaroo from top to bottom. It was very varied and it took me until the final time to work out the best lines in all sections and then it was great.

In the afternoon we tried Polar Peak which was tolly socked in. We had the slowest drop in the whitest conditions of the season yet, it's not often you have to check and send snow down the slope before turning in order to see the surface below you.

We then ripped Concussion, Currie Creek, Cougar Glades, and Stag Leap in New Side loops all of which had a lot of hard packed bumps at the top and some soft stuff low down. The White Pass loop to fill in time was Knot chutes (surprisingly good) and Surprise Trees (getting well tracked) before we headed out to Skydive for the 4 o'clock run. Big bumps in the top getting smaller as you went down until the bottom section was quite mellow.

Beers and a quiet night in for New Year. The crowds today were, as all holiday, evident on the lower slopes and day lodge but missing on the upper hill. Things should start to get quieter from now on in and snow is called for at the end of the week.