Saturday, March 28, 2015

Day 114 a pretty dreadful day

Let me say once again that my comments in no way reflect badly on the guys and girls who are working hard just to try and keep some part of the hill open but there is no point in running away from the fact that in spite of their heroic efforts mother nature has the upper hand and is producing dreadful conditions.

This morning on the way to the hill it was pouring with rain and +5. One look up the hill showed that there was no snow line to be seen although the top of the hill was rather socked in. When we arrived the rain stopped and as it had been forecast to stop around lunch time my calculation was that this was the dry up starting early and I would get away with light rain gear and some reasonably warm weather clothing - a huge mistake on my part which resulted in me getting wet and cold.

Before deciding where to ski I did my research and found out that the Reverse Traverse was reopened so that we could exit the New Side via the Saddles or Easter Bowl with no need to download - this was good enough for me. About half way up Timber it started to rain and then snow ice pellets. By the time I arrived at White Pass load by means of an ok run down Puff the temp was +1, the precip was a mix of icy snow and hard ice pellets and the wind had got up.

I had several runs in White Pass in deteriorating conditions with the viz getting more socked in, the prcip becoming more icy and winds getting stronger to the point that we arrived at full on winter blizzard conditions. I was forced to take shelter in Lost Boys CafĂ© and found that most of the rest of the New Side world had beaten me to it. It was like a scene from a disaster movie with everyone huddled together, kids crying etc and just to make it more fun the fire alarm kept going off.

The root of the problem was that by this time the winds had got up to 100 klicks plus and the Timber chair had stopped so there was no down loading which was the only way down for most of the skiers there. I felt particularly sorry for the Nordic Society who had gone up for some cross country skiing in Lost Boys Pass and were now facing something which looked more as if it were scene from Ice Station Zebra.

 I had options and after checking that the Traverse was open I had another run back down White Pass where by now the runs were covered in untracked soft snow and then headed out along the Reverse Traverse, Viz was poor but conditions were ok although on the final bridge it looked like the surface had collapsed and I only just squeaked through. I had intended to ski Easter but when I looked into Decline it was soft, deep and untracked and I had a very good rip down the top section followed by a slow ski out along the Megasaurus Trail. The final ski out in what was pouring rain low down was very sketchy. The run just below Bear load was through to ground in many places and can't have many days left.

Over lunch I put on the full rubber/plastic waterproof gear. Timber chair was still only down loading by now so my only option was the Old Side. By this time Cedar bowl, North Ridge, Boomerang, Haul Back and Boom chair had been closed for the season due to conditions. I understand the racers on their last weekend had to end up walking to Boom chair which I guess says it all. So all I had was Bear Chair and Lizard bowl which after a couple of runs just proved too wet and sketchy to be worth it. At the base I did cut over to Timber to see if they were loading but they weren't so I called it a day at just after 2:30.

As I was sitting in the Griz Bar things started to clear up a bit but by that stage all enthusiasm from me and pretty well everyone else had evaporated. As I drove out I noticed that they had Timber open again but I couldn't see anyone going up and guess most people were like me - not prepared to swim around on the Old Side for an hour or two waiting for Timber to open.

So in summary a dreadful day with even more of the hill shutting down. I guess tomorrow will be just White Pass and Lizard with the ski out of the latter probably not lasting much longer. The new snow up in White Pass may be worth having a go at if we can just get there.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Day 113 the total melt down that we had been dreading

Yes, today we had the real warm up that we had been threatened (promised ?) with over the last few days. the result was that most of the hill turned to total mush and I (yes, I) had to download on Timber Chair. So here is the story -

Overnight it was warm and was +5 on my deck as we woke, later I heard that it never got colder than + 3 on the hill overnight. During the day it got warmer as the skies cleared so that the base temps got up to  +17 and even at the White Pass load it was +13, the warmest day so far on the hill by a big margin.

On the Old Side only Lizard bowl was open and the near side of  Cedar as far as Cruiser but given the problems with the ski out there were not many who tried this more than once. On the New Side Falling Star was shut down and the only way off the hill was via Easter bowl. Half way through the day the Reverse Traverse was closed due to instability in the Polar Chutes so we only had White Pass, Currie to Trespass Trail and the only exit was to down load Timber so at the end of the day that is what we were forced to do.

We went to the Old Side and found everything soft and getting softer, After a few loops through Lizard which were very mushy we hit out into Cedar via Cruiser which was soft even on the groomed surfaces and just so slow on the ungroomed. Lower Cedar Centre which hadn't been skied for a couple of days due to the closure of Haul Back (now open) skied ok but soft. The ski back to Boom round Cedar Trail was sketchy in the extreme and only just skiable. We thought that after a day of temps like this it would have been gone but amazingly reports in the bar suggest it was just about passable even at the end of the day - amazing.

The good news in all this was that Boom skied ok particularly on the skiers right where the base had been pounded in. We looped it several times before it started to get just a bit too soft on top. We went to the New Side where things were just as soft and had a good run down Puff which was soft on a firm base, We looked for Polar Peak to open but from the top of White Pass you could see the slides that had come from the cornices were sliding across the cat track and with that level of instability it was obvious to the lowest of intelligences that we were not going to get Polar Peak today - and given the forecast it has already been called red for tomorrow. We had a few White Pass loops through Gun bowl, Quite Right and Highline under the lift which were all good but super soft. One run back through Surprise Trees showed that it was better than expected or in the words of a buddy "it didn't suck anything like as much as I expected" - it was that kind of a day.

We decide to run down for a late lunch vie Easter bowl which was shown as open. On the way out the sign lines got a bit confusing as they were in the process of shutting down the Reverse Traverse. As sometimes happens in these circumstances we accidentally found ourselves on the wrong side of the sign line but as soon as we realised our mistake we traversed down to where the opening appeared to be - apologies to all involved for any misunderstanding. The traverse out was super mushy and unstable although the drop down Easter was probably the best soft spring skiing on the hill.

After lunch we went back to the New Side and found that all of Currie beyond Currie Powder was now closed so the only way off the hill was a Timber download. We looped White Pass through the Gun Bowl (soft but skiable) Quite Right/Highline (ok soft skiing particularly under the lift) Surprise Trees ( three times as it was so good, or at least it was soft and didn't suck too much ) and that was the end of the day. It's worth mentioning that in the morning I had ditched my jacket and was just skiing in my fleece. By this afternoon I was in thin inner gloves, I had ditched my fleece and was just skiing in my cotton top, the helmet vents were open and the zips on the side of my pants were undone exposing bare legs and underpants - in other words it was hot and I did not feel at all cold even in my reduced gear.

So it came to last run and we had to down load off Timber. I got a bit pissed off with the number of people riding me over the fact I had to down load. If there is any way I can ski off the hill I will. When everything is closed as hard closures with rope lines then you simply have to download, there is no other way, if there was I would use it. What do they expect me to do, fly, or crash closures in Currie while bombing is taking place ? Give me some credit !

Beers in the sun on the locals deck at the Griz. Tomorrow they are calling for rain in similar temps to today, in my opinion that would more or less finish off the hill other than White Pass. Should that happen I will be there to witness last rites, and if not I will be pleasantly surprised.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Day 112 from hero to zero in 24 hours

Well. of course the heading isn't entirely accurate in that yesterdays snow wasn't exactly hero although it was pretty good, and today's wasn't exactly zero, although it did suck quite significantly in comparison with yesterday's conditions. So let me try and explain what happened to the hill in the last 24 hours.

At the close yesterday we had cold conditions and good winter snow over the whole hill. Overnight we appeared to have had some more snow to the extent of about 4 cms, or if not we had some good blow in. Somewhere overnight things warmed up so that the new snow just mushed back into itself giving some very sticky skiing and because conditions were overcast all day we didn't even get spring skiing as a result of direct sunlight. The overall result was that everywhere except the groomers (and even there where the grooming had taken place early) we had soft sticky snow which grabbed you, twisted you round where the skis hit a different surface, and either had you coming out of each turn going head first over the tips where the snow was soft or struggling in the back seat if you found some soft icy surface swept clean by skier traffic. If that sounds pretty crappy then there you have it as a summary of todays skiing, in my opinion. To be fair it got better as the day went on.

We arrived at the hill with temps of +6 and the +5 temps continued over all the upper hill all day and from the skiing surface seemed to have been there for most of the night. The sock in line was at the top of Bear on the Old Side and about half way up White Pass on the New Side until late afternoon when things started to lift. There was no new precip and as we drove away tonight it was +12 in the valley which at least accounts for why everything on the hill was so soft.

We went to the Old Side and after a quick run back down Bear we started to loop Cedar Ridge and found things very soft, heavy, slow and producing big sun ball snow rolls all the way across Cedar Ridge. Haul Back T bar was still down temporarily for the day but for the reasons explored yesterday this didn't matter. The run back to Boom chair was through Cedar trail which was even sketchier than yesterday - the only track off was one ski track width wide (no, I don't mean a cat track wide I mean just the width of my skis)  and then a run down Lower Kodiak. We looped it all several times in very sticky ugly conditions and in truth the only half way acceptable run was Boom due to the pounded in snow from skier traffic, but don't kid yourselves, it was no better than ok.

We went to the New Side and found that Lift Line/Big Bang were ok in the steep sections but in the lower parts they were so sticky you could hardly move. Anywhere above mid White Pass was totally socked in so we just did a few Heartland/Quite Right loops and then ran to lunch via Easter bowl as Polar Peak was closed for the day. The traverse out to Easter was very sticky and ugly but when we got there the bowl skied surprisingly well (in comparative terms) in soft but not mushy snow. Time for lunch in the ever excellent Big Bang Bagels - Mr Fernie bagel with bacon on an onion and garlic bagel is just so sweet.

After lunch it was back to the New Side as the Old Side had just been so ugly and sticky. It was still socked in at the top so I just went straight to Easter bowl and looped it, and it was ok, just like before. Next time round things had started to lift so I looped back through Gun Bowl and Quite Right which were ok but sticky. The run to base was through Decline top and Megasauraus and it skied quite nicely but with some heavy sections. Next loop things had cleared a lot and I hit the Knot Chutes, not because I thought they would be good but because I just needed something to do - they we ok and soft as was the I bowl underneath them.

It was time for another run to base and again this was through Easter bowl which remained probably the run of the day with soft easy skiing. The Reverse Traverse  was still sticky but at least in the improving light you could see things. Final loop, and after another Knot Chute (still soft but indifferent skiing) it was time for Skydive. Ok, we could only take the top section which was tracked but some soft lines if you cut it really tight to the trees on the right. The exit via Megasaurus was slow but anything else just looked too ugly.

Good beers with buddies and then a hot tub as this has now been repaired, just what I needed after today. Looks like more of the same tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Day 111 more good skiing but only on the upper moauntain and if you looked for it

The hill reported no new snow overnight although we seemed to have had some slight dusting down in the valley by the time we got up - perhaps the snow came after the measurement was taken first thing this morning, it would certainly be out of character to under claim any snowfall, particularly in this most desperate of all years.

When we arrived at the hill it was +1 and snowing, or at least white icy stuff was coming down and settling. These conditions persisted most of the day all over the hill with temps staying at or about zero and snow coming down off and on in flurries. By my reckoning we must have had at least 5 cms of fresh snow during the day and maybe a little more. Only by late afternoon did the snow stop and things started to warm up to a temp of +7 as we drove away and by then we were getting some rain showers in the base but probably they were coming down white at some point up the hill.

We went to the Old Side to check out some of yesterday's reports and had a great morning's skiing. The viz wasn't great but the new snow was giving a good covering on yesterday's snow which was giving some quite acceptable powder in places. Surprisingly the under base was not as hard and ribby as I would have expected given the temps and the snow cover and where it remained soft (for what ever reason) the skiing was very good powder on a soft deep base.

We spent all morning looping Cedar Ridge from Cruiser on the left to King Fir on the right and it was all nice untracked soft snow with just a little crust on the last couple of turns. It seemed to me that mine were the only tracks in there which quite possibly could be true given the total lack of people on the hill, even by Fernie standards. Haul Back T bar was temporarily closed all day so the only way to get out of Cedar was along Cedar Trail which was no great problem as this was the only way out even if you got to the top of the T bar. To get to Boom chair you had to trail all the way across to lower Kodiak and take a pretty sketchy run down to the Boom load. This took way more time than usual resulting in fewer laps than we might have hope for.

We started running out into Cedar to ski the Cedar Centre Trees and had a couple of very nice runs down through those in deep powder, particularly in the places that were not opened yesterday. All returns to Bear Chair to complete the loop were through Boomerang which skied ok with a rather scratchy base but more soft snow accumulating all the time. I think it was 6 times we ran back through Boom and whilst it never was awesome, it never sucked either. Somewhere in there we did run down Linda's which was ok but with the tracks from yesterday proving very icy and bumpy. We went for a very late lunch.

After lunch my buddy Brad and I hit the New Side and found that Lift Line had lots of blow in at the top which skied easily but got tougher towards the bottom as the chunky skied up snow was setting up a bit. Brad dragged me to Cobra Rock which I hadn't skied before - you traverse above the Knot Chutes and drop over into Currie in the chute after Gotta Go. It was hardly tracked and great steep soft snow although we did have to slow a bit in the choke - the only thing that sucked was getting back to White Pass along Trespass Trail.

My turn to lead Brad astray so we hiked Cornice Ridge and hit Lone Fir. It was ok in most of the chute but with a few icy turns in the tight sections. Below the fan was as good as I can remember with soft deep untracked snow and we carried our speed all the way through lower Easter Bowl - even Freeway skied soft and easy at the end. Getting back to White Pass we just had time for a quick loop out through Anaconda via the Gun Bowl which was good soft snow but poor viz. Anaconda over the hump was just like yesterday - untracked but with today the added bonus of some serious blow in, do I need to say how good it was.

Last run and we headed out to the Big 3 and had spectacular run through the trees on the very far right of Skydive which were deep and untracked but rather twiggy towards the end. We traversed out along the Megasarus Trail respecting the closure signs at that level and ran to base off the trail via Freeway which was still skiing well.

So all in all some very mellow skiing in the morning and some quite spectacular tougher skiing in the afternoon but all in new snow and a number of good untracked runs obtained by sheer hard work and not just by paying for it - don't get me started.

Beers and good ski banter followed by a hot tub and a quiet night in, a very good day. There still seems to be some off and on precip in the valley so maybe we will be getting another slight covering of snow overnight just to freshen things up - we can but hope,

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Day 110 another surprisingly good day

Overnight it rained in the valley so yet again we expected some snow up on top but a deterioration on the lower hill - this is becoming a bit repetitive, just like every other weather pattern we have had this winter.

On the way to the hill it was +4 and light rain. As we looked up the hill we could see the snow line quite low down and by the time we actually got skiing it was stopping precipitating in any form and stayed that way for most of the day with the odd flurries as an exception. The overnight report called about another 8 cms on top which felt about right but lower down it had arrived as rain and the accumulation was big fat zero - maybe even a minus figure. During the day temps rose to about +5 mid mountain and way warmer at the base, although as direct sunlight came and went the snow softened but didn't get to mushy. As we drove away from the hill tonight it was down to +2 and coming down as sleet although I see that looking out on to the deck this appears to have stopped and things are warming up again - crazy weather.

We made our usual decision to go high and stay high on the New Side. Although this was not a bad decision it does not appear to have been the slam dunk of the past few days when the Old Side just sucked. Reports suggest that there was some very good skiing to be had on the Old Side in soft new snow so perhaps we should have tried it but over all we were not disappointed.

Lift Line (the only way we ever took from Timber Top to White Pass load) was covered in soft new snow with a firm chunky base which softened as the day went on so that by the end it was very easy and mellow soft snow skiing which was hardly tracked. We spent the morning looping White Pass through a variety of different ways which was socked in at the top with viz only becoming really good after lunch  - Knot Chutes (soft snow and about as easy and mellow as I can remember) Surprise Trees (cut first tracks out there and found them a little chunky at first but they softened all day to give easy skiing) Gun Bowl (a bit of a grope in the poor viz but good soft untracked snow) Quite Right, High Line, Lift Line, all great soft lightly tracked snow on a firm base becoming softer as the day went on.

Last loop before lunch we hit the chute just before Surprise and found great untracked deep soft snow. Last run before lunch was Decline which just seemed to ski even better than yesterday with untracked lines in soft deep snow and super fast GS turns. During lunch we heard that White Pass lift was down so it looked like we timed that right as well.

After lunch we went back to the New Side where lift Line was just as good as before. We cut across the top of Knot Chutes to investigate Gotta Go and had an amazing result. It looked to us as if Gotta Go had not been skied for weeks (maybe it hadn't) and was totally untracked. We soon changed that with the most amazing deep powder rip down to the bottom and then a just about ok push back along Trespass Trail - a very good experience.

We spent some more time looping Knot Chutes or the untracked lines in Gun bowl followed by some good soft stuff in Surprise Trees or Pillow Talk all of which was soft and with plenty of untracked lines - there were other people on the hill today but for some reason they just didn't seem to be interested in skiing the good stuff - thank goodness. Next we looped out to Skydive and had a really good run down the right side of the top section before respecting the closure signs and skiing out along the Megasaurus Trail. the ski to base in Lizard bowl was bumpy slick refrozen artificial snow which was at least fast !

Final time up White Pass and we had yet another good drop of the Knot Chutes which were still in good shape. We had thought of doing Surprise Trees but got side tracked by Anaconda Glades where we hiked the hump to the first chute and amazingly put first tracks in there for some great skiing - who ever heard of getting first tracks at 3:50 in the afternoon. Last run was rip out to Decline which was a little softer than earlier in the day but still some great untracked skiing particularly in the trees on the side.

I haven't done the White Pass skiing justice as we had many different lines up there in soft snow, actually too many to remember after a few beers so just trust me it was good. Beers and an early night with sleet falling as we left the hill which may mean some new stuff to play with tomorrow. I can't help but wonder how good we would have rated a day like today in a normal snow year, I suspect nowhere near as highly as we have in grim year like this but then that's how things go.

Monday, March 23, 2015

109 a bit more challenging but still fun if you know where to look

First of all the usual apologies for a late report on Monday as I have been at the Rusty Edge taking advantage of their excellent 10 bucks for a beer and burger offer on Mondays, you really should try it. The apology is not only for the lateness of the report but also for any potential errors or typos which may occur as a result of the beers with the burger reacting with the beers I hoisted on board after skiing at the Griz - after the kind of day we had the need to rehydrate as quickly as possible was rather pressing.

It was raining on the way to the hill today and temps were +2 as we arrived at the base. Obviously they were calling some of this as new snow on top (about 7 cms from memory) but of course the rain at the base was just eroding the existing thin coverage. Just as I started skiing (Lynda said to hell with this) the snow started coming down white at the base although it didn't settle in the warm temps. Up the mountain it was snowing quite hard all morning with the snow getting quite wintery above the White Pass load. Shortly after lunch the snow stopped and the cloud which had been socking in Polar Peak descended down the slope so that by late afternoon we had very white conditions all the way down to the White pass load. Temps up the mountain fluctuated so that in the morning they were up to + 4, falling to +1 early afternoon and rising again to +4 later in the day. By the very end we were back to icy snow on top and rain below so we pretty well had something for everyone today.

As you will have detected from the above saga I went to the New Side and stayed there all day on the basis that snow was wet and getting better the higher you got and the New Side is as high as we can get without assistance from illegal substances. Lift line showed that we had had 5-8 cms of fresh snow but the base was hard and chunky although it did soften with each run during the day. I looped White Pass a couple of times in some very socked in conditions where I found Gun Bowl, Quite Right and I bowl all good new snow but on a chunky hard base,

Next time up I noticed that against all expectations in the current conditions Polar Peak was open. It may well have been open all along but I was so certain that it wouldn't have been that I simply didn't look. It was very socked in  on Polar Peak and the only run off was the ridge to the Coaster. After that I traversed out to the Lift Line through some very dodgy cat debris that I could not see. The final pitch was ok soft snow on a hard bumpy base. I was told that I was the only one (stupid enough ?) to have ridden the lift more than once - I did 5 loops before heading out along the Reverse Traverse.

When I got to the top of the Big 3 I had a nice surprise to find Decline open and had an awesome first track run down. Next loop up things seemed to be getting softer in Lift Line, all over Polar Peak and even on the Reverse Traverse. This time I hit Skydive down to the Megasaurus Trail where it was closed. The run was rather tracked up and as I discovered later from my buddy Andy it was because he took his Non Stop group in there. To their credit they showed respect for the hill and for other skiers by trashing the minimum amount of slope needed on the left hand side of Skydive (others could learn from this) leaving the right completely untracked for me to have an awesome rip just by the trees all the way down.

After lunch it stopped precipitating but by that time many skiers and riders were soaked to the skin and were heading for home. As I have said so many times it's just about having the right equipment and my rubber gloves and pants and a big plastic garbage sack came up trumps yet again to keep me warm and dry. I met up with Dan and we looped White Pass with a particularly good run through Surprise Trees which was soft and hardly tracked. By this time everything above White Pass load was super socked in but that didn't prevent us giving Polar Peak (amazingly still open) a go and groping out way down to the Reverse Traverse.

We applied some logic and worked out that If Skydive top and Decline were open the top pitch of the Brain also had to be open. We had a spectacular untracked run through the trees in the top section of the Brain with huge wet snow sloughs trying to take you out, particularly as you aired it out of the choke just above the trail out. Decline was similarly rather wet and full of sloughs lower down.

The final loops through White Pass were quick double back through the core then a white stick job through the Gun Bowl so we could have run down Surprise Trees which was starting to set up and if anything was skiing a bit better than it had earlier in the day. Last run we had to be driven by tradition and had a great right side run  down Skydive in lightly tracked snow but respecting the closure signs we exited via the Megasaurus Trail and ran to base.

Huge beers in respect of some great spring new snow skiing and the then out burger treat. Not sure what tomorrow will hold.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Day 108 limited terrain but good skiing on what there was

Before we get started it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves of what we should really be getting at this time of year. One year ago Lynda wrote in her journal (about as near to an official record as you are going to get)  "skied Snake and Boom in deep powder after a fall of 30 cms, base 378 cms...." Today we had some new snow and the base was 170 cms, what a difference a year makes.

It was raining as we left the hill last night and continued to rain into the evening which given the temps of around +4 meant that we must have been getting snow at some point up the hill. Snow of this type at this time of year is a bit of a two edged sword. On one level we will be getting more snow on the upper mountain which goodness knows we need but at another level it means we will be getting rain over most of the lower mountain (in fact almost everywhere below the snow plot) reducing what little snow we have there. This is exactly what happened last night.

On the way to the hill it was +4 and slightly overcast although it cleared during the morning. Cloud rolled in again around the middle of the day which had the effect of preserving the skiing surfaces quite well. In the afternoon the sun was out again and temps got to +7 at the White Pass load and even +4 at the Polar load. Over all things softened pretty quickly but on the north facing slopes such as Easter even though things got soft they never got mushy.

The official snow fall figure was for 8 cms at the snow plot but from my observations on the New Side it looked as if the snow there had accumulated to little more than 5 cms if that. We went to the New Side as we decided what snow we had got would be best high up and the higher the better. Puff had some very icy grooming so we stayed on the ungroomed bumps which were covered in soft untracked snow and with the surface starting to soften in the warming temps.

We looped White Pass several times, always finding new lines back through the Gun Bowl or Knot chutes which were soft snow on a softening base and very mellow skiing. Runs down were Quite Right and Highline which again skied well away from the groomed areas. We then saw that Polar Peak was open and that was it for the rest of the morning.

Polar was open on the Coaster side including Shale Slope and it was Shale Slope that we skied repeatedly in the soft mellow gentle bumps with no sign of rocks - great easy skiing. Below Shale we cut across under the chair and either dropped the chair line or cut across to the left hand fence and had great soft skiing before cutting back to the chair. After a while the Clown Chutes opened and we had a good run down Crusty Chute with a very interesting entrance which involved you hanging the back of your skis out over a cliff - great fun. They then opened the traverse into lower Grand Papa Bear which was soft and smooth and very good skiing.

After numerous laps of all of the above it was time for a late lunch so we traversed out into lower Mamma Bear (only just opened) and had a great untracked run down to the Reverse Traverse. Obviously we were going to ski off through Easter (as I have said before, I may be getting on but I am not so decrepit that I have to download - at least not yet) Easter was a bit crisp in the top and bit mushy low down but over all skied ok and although hard work, it was a good way to go to lunch.

After lunch it was back up the New Side for more of the same. A couple of White Pass laps showed that things had set up a little in the middle of the day overcast conditions but everywhere was skiing rather better for that. Polar Peak was much as before but with surfaces starting to get a little unstable in the afternoon sunshine. Shale Slope (still mellow with soft bumps) Grand Papa Bear (favourite run with some great soft steep skiing) Crusty Chute ( entrance more testing every time but soft and easy in the chute) Lift Line soft and good for really fast GS turns, many other ways down back to the chair through the trees etc.

Finally it was last run off Polar so we had another rip through lower Mama Bear and then and even faster rip through Currie Powder which was soft and then a rather slower return to White Pass through Trespass Trail which was slow and sticky. One last run down off White Pass top was through Easter Bowl where things had set up so it was skiing soft snow on a firm base and made me rather wish I had looped it a bit more during the afternoon.

A nice Sunday night in the Griz with all the usual suspects. Temps were +8 as we drove away from the hill but they are calling for snow over the next few days, hard to believe but lets hope they are right.