First of all apologies for this late post but my buddies Rob and Katie (and of course Joey) came round tonight and the result was that we drunk far too much beer and things got late.
Today was supposed to be like yesterday but it wasn't for a whole host of reasons. For a start it was supposed to be bluebird but actually it was quite overcast for a lot of the day but it was very warm. Overnight on the hill it didn't freeze like it did the day before. At the base there were minus temps but due to an inversion it never really froze up the mountain meaning that things never got as hard and icy as they did yesterday and as a result they softened much more quickly today even away from the direct sunlight.
On the way to the hill it was +3 and got a lot warmer, during the day I noted temps of +12 at the base and +8 all over the upper mountain as the day wore on. The reports were of a slight inversion with upper mountain temps being a few degrees warmer than lower down and not actually getting below zero up top.
We went to the New Side on the basis that it would be warmer and softer but found that Lift Line was closed as was Knot Chutes so we had a couple of runs back down White Pass. These turned out to be very mushy and hard word as a result. We went up Polar Peak only to find that the Chutes had been opened briefly but then closed due to the wet snow slides which were very evident during our chair ride up. We ran down the Coaster which of course was mellow and then cut out into Concussion which was already turning to mush and getting very unstable all the way down.
We went to the Old Side in search of something better and found that Sunny Side shoulder and China Wall had not over softened - just. We went out down New Lift Line which was a bit crusty but the run back through Kangaroo was soft bumps and easy skiing. After that we just looped Cedar Ridge, Kangaroo, Boom Ridge and Boomerang all of which were a firm base with soft snow on top and therefore easy skiing.
After lunch I went to the New Side hoping that things would have improved and at first was encouraged to find Lift Line open and skiing ok, if not great. That was the high point as at the top of White Pass I saw that Polar Peak had been closed completely presumably for wind and that the sign line was down at the County Line so no Reverse Traverse, Saddles, Currie Chutes, Big 3, Easter Bowl etc. I ran down Currie Powder and Gilmar Trail to get to the Old Side in search of something better.
I found better in the form of a run down Cedar Ridge in some pretty soft snow and then Kangaroo which if anything skied better than this morning with soft mush on a firm base. My epiphany came when I next dropped Boomerang Ridge which was soft melted crystal snow on a firm base and bumps which were just at the perfect interval for fast skiing. In the absence of anything better (and there certainly was an absence) I looped Boom Ridge 7 times which was a record even for me but speaks volumes for just how good this pitch was. In the end The lift was closed and I had to take the run out along Cedar Trail but it was well worth it.
After a few beers we ran home to meet our buddies and had a very enjoyable evening eating lasagna and drinking beer. Totally beyond caring what tomorrow brings - we will just get out there and ski it.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Friday, April 1, 2016
Day 113 full on Summer skiing, no other way to describe it
As anticipated in yesterday's report today got a lot hotter and could only really be described as summer skiing in my book. Overnight temps in the valley fell so that the temp on my deck this morning was -3 which of course was in the valley which meant that temps up the mountain would have been way below that and the surfaces would have frozen very hard indeed which is exactly what they did.
As we drove to the hill it was warming and temps in the parking lot were +1 at 9 o'clock and warming fast. It was a bluebird day and unlike yesterday there was no real atmospheric warming. This meant that where the skiing surfaces were in the direct sunlight the radiation heat meant that they softened very quickly but in the shade (either caused but trees or the angle of the slope) nothing softened at all and even in the late afternoon the shaded areas were still ugly and icy and in many cases closed for safety reasons.
During the day temps rose so that by mid afternoon we had +15 at the base load, +10 at the White Pass load and even +6 at the Polar load. These were temps in the shade so in the direct sunlight (and there was a lot of that) it was several degrees warmer. Despite the very warm temps the shaded areas remained hard and icy and as a result many areas stayed closed all day (Snake Ridge, Saddles, Big 3 and Easter Bowl for example) which meant that we had to tailor our skiing quite carefully. As we drove home it was +18 which just about says it all with a warmer day still to come tomorrow.
We went to the Old Side and just as usual played around initially on groomers looking for soft snow. We tried a couple of runs down the Sunny Side shoulder which skied something like corn snow in the sharply rising temps with nice soft snow on top. China Wall was not groomed and skied much the same which was ok. Bow Trees had softened by the time we got there although they were not great.
We hit the ungroomed surfaces to the skiers left of Cruiser in Cedar Bowl hoping it might have softened but it hadn't so we hit Cedar Centre which for some reason was soft in the ungroomed areas on top getting much harder and icier as you went down. We hit Kangaroo which skied ok for about 90% of the run in the direct sun on the left but really was very icy in the final few turns where the run was in the shade.
After that we just poked around the the Old Side in places such as Kangaroo, Boom Ridge, Boomerang and Cedar Ridge trying to pick up the surfaces as they softened with variable results. There was no better illustration of how things were different today where it was only softening in the direct sunlight than the bottom of Boomerang where the run was very soft but the ski out on the Goat Trail in the shadows was all but leg breaking.
We went to the new Side and found Big Bang, the Saddles, the Big 3 and Easter Bowl all closed because of conditions (they were in the shade) and they remained closed all day which speaks volumes for just how different things were today and the lack of atmospheric warming. We went up Polar Peak which was in the sun and skied Grand Papa Bear. Clown Chutes, Barely Legal and Papa Bear all of which were taking an easy soft edge on a smooth base before running down a mushy Concussion to a late lunch.
In the afternoon we were back up Polar and just looped everything we had been doing in the morning except that we included Shale Slope right side which skied rather mellow. My buddy had finally got his inclinometer app working on his phone and we measured the steepest pitches in the Polar Chutes which came out at just over 45 degrees which at lest proves that what we ski every day does qualify as a "steep" in the classic terms.
By late afternoon the sun was getting seriously hot even at the top of Polar Peak, We had confirmation that the Saddles and the Big 3 remained closed so there was no chance of skiing our usual Skydive last run, In the event we dashed down and just got the final 3:30 chair up Polar Peak and after a final and very mellow drop down Papa Bear took the Reverse Traverse out to Currie Creek which was as far as we could legally go. The Creek bed was just starting to set up and skied very well as did everything down to the Gilmar Trail - a very mellow end to a great day's summer skiing.
Of course getting a final 3:30 chair instead of my usual 4:00 meant that I was in the Griz a little early and as a result a bit more beer was drunk with my buddies in the hot sunny conditions than might usually be expected - not a major problem in my book. Tomorrow promises to be even warmer and with weekend crowds the hill could be put under some pressure on what is it's penultimate weekend. Tomorrow's band in the Griz is BC/DC (an AC/DC tribute band from BC) and I think I may just listen from my deck as they are supposed to be on of the loudest bands around. Nine days to go this season.
As we drove to the hill it was warming and temps in the parking lot were +1 at 9 o'clock and warming fast. It was a bluebird day and unlike yesterday there was no real atmospheric warming. This meant that where the skiing surfaces were in the direct sunlight the radiation heat meant that they softened very quickly but in the shade (either caused but trees or the angle of the slope) nothing softened at all and even in the late afternoon the shaded areas were still ugly and icy and in many cases closed for safety reasons.
During the day temps rose so that by mid afternoon we had +15 at the base load, +10 at the White Pass load and even +6 at the Polar load. These were temps in the shade so in the direct sunlight (and there was a lot of that) it was several degrees warmer. Despite the very warm temps the shaded areas remained hard and icy and as a result many areas stayed closed all day (Snake Ridge, Saddles, Big 3 and Easter Bowl for example) which meant that we had to tailor our skiing quite carefully. As we drove home it was +18 which just about says it all with a warmer day still to come tomorrow.
We went to the Old Side and just as usual played around initially on groomers looking for soft snow. We tried a couple of runs down the Sunny Side shoulder which skied something like corn snow in the sharply rising temps with nice soft snow on top. China Wall was not groomed and skied much the same which was ok. Bow Trees had softened by the time we got there although they were not great.
We hit the ungroomed surfaces to the skiers left of Cruiser in Cedar Bowl hoping it might have softened but it hadn't so we hit Cedar Centre which for some reason was soft in the ungroomed areas on top getting much harder and icier as you went down. We hit Kangaroo which skied ok for about 90% of the run in the direct sun on the left but really was very icy in the final few turns where the run was in the shade.
After that we just poked around the the Old Side in places such as Kangaroo, Boom Ridge, Boomerang and Cedar Ridge trying to pick up the surfaces as they softened with variable results. There was no better illustration of how things were different today where it was only softening in the direct sunlight than the bottom of Boomerang where the run was very soft but the ski out on the Goat Trail in the shadows was all but leg breaking.
We went to the new Side and found Big Bang, the Saddles, the Big 3 and Easter Bowl all closed because of conditions (they were in the shade) and they remained closed all day which speaks volumes for just how different things were today and the lack of atmospheric warming. We went up Polar Peak which was in the sun and skied Grand Papa Bear. Clown Chutes, Barely Legal and Papa Bear all of which were taking an easy soft edge on a smooth base before running down a mushy Concussion to a late lunch.
In the afternoon we were back up Polar and just looped everything we had been doing in the morning except that we included Shale Slope right side which skied rather mellow. My buddy had finally got his inclinometer app working on his phone and we measured the steepest pitches in the Polar Chutes which came out at just over 45 degrees which at lest proves that what we ski every day does qualify as a "steep" in the classic terms.
By late afternoon the sun was getting seriously hot even at the top of Polar Peak, We had confirmation that the Saddles and the Big 3 remained closed so there was no chance of skiing our usual Skydive last run, In the event we dashed down and just got the final 3:30 chair up Polar Peak and after a final and very mellow drop down Papa Bear took the Reverse Traverse out to Currie Creek which was as far as we could legally go. The Creek bed was just starting to set up and skied very well as did everything down to the Gilmar Trail - a very mellow end to a great day's summer skiing.
Of course getting a final 3:30 chair instead of my usual 4:00 meant that I was in the Griz a little early and as a result a bit more beer was drunk with my buddies in the hot sunny conditions than might usually be expected - not a major problem in my book. Tomorrow promises to be even warmer and with weekend crowds the hill could be put under some pressure on what is it's penultimate weekend. Tomorrow's band in the Griz is BC/DC (an AC/DC tribute band from BC) and I think I may just listen from my deck as they are supposed to be on of the loudest bands around. Nine days to go this season.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Day 112 hot and about to get a lot hotter
Today was forecast to be warm and for once the forecasters got it dead right. The worrying thing is that they are calling for it to get a lot hotter over the next couple of days and all the signs are that they will be equally right about that.
Overnight we appeared to have had some light precip in the valley although there was no sign that any of this had fallen on the hill. On the way to the hill after a late start due to checking on the shutting down of the hot tub it was +4 and all the signs were that it had not frozen on the hill overnight, at least not at lower and mid mountain elevations, Today it was overcast all day except for a brief sunny spell mid afternoon. This didn't matter as the warming was all atmospheric warming which started low down early in the day and just became warmer as the day went on. By mid afternoon we had +12 at the base and +7 up the hill and it was +13 as we drove away tonight.
The result was that everything turned to mush right from the outset and the only good skiing was where it had been pretty hard before. We went to the Old Side and tried Bear Cave Chutes and New Lift line which were heavy and slow all the way down. Kangaroo actually was the best skiing on the Old Side as it had been firm ice so had only softened to nice soft snow on firm bumps and actually very easy skiing. Boom Ridge skied just about ok but slow. After that we looped around Boomerang, Cedar Ridge, Boom Ridge and Kangaroo several times and they all skied almost too soft with the exception of Kangaroo.
We decided to try the Sunny Side shoulder on the basis it was usually hard and frozen and might be like Kangaroo. We were wrong it was just as soft and mushy as every where else, no worse but certainly no better. We then tried our luck on the New Side and at least found that Lift Line which had been getting hard and icy was now taking an edge as it did do all day. Polar Peak was open but we needed lunch so we ran down through Low Saddle which was soft as were the chutes to skiers right, Easter Bowl skied nicely on what had been hard packed snow.
After lunch we went back up Polar Peak as the chutes were open and in the atmospheric softening were skiing very mellow indeed and much better than the past two days where the direct sunlight had just got the surfaces to soft and slippery to be much fun. We had numerous loops through Papa Bear, Grand Papa Bear and Barely Legal all of which were very soft and gentle skiing albeit at about a 45 degree pitch in the steepest points. We even cut in from Shale Slope and skied the line directly back under the lift on the shoulder through the rocks which was only the second time conditions have been good enough for me to try that. We just had time for a run to base through Mama Bear where I was bowled over by a slough (not my own) but managed to recover. Low Saddle and Easter were nice and soft.
We did a quick White Pass loop and it was time for Skydive, I have noticed over the past few weeks that the group I ski with tend to jump in quickly behind me when I set off meaning that I spend all my time trying to avoid being cut off and being covered in slough. This afternoon on Skydive a solution that was so obvious I can't believe that I hadn't thought of it before came to me - If I can't get them to give me a decent separation when I set off then why don't I give them that separation. The result was that I set off last by a long distance and had a perfect ski down without encountering anyone getting in my way - that settles how things will go in the future for me. Skydive actually skied just about ok in the top section where it was very soft and got better low down particularly on skiers right where it was a firm base with some slight mush on top.
Beers on the deck and then it was time for a Chinese take away and a quiet night in. Tomorrow promises (is that the right word) to be even hotter.
Overnight we appeared to have had some light precip in the valley although there was no sign that any of this had fallen on the hill. On the way to the hill after a late start due to checking on the shutting down of the hot tub it was +4 and all the signs were that it had not frozen on the hill overnight, at least not at lower and mid mountain elevations, Today it was overcast all day except for a brief sunny spell mid afternoon. This didn't matter as the warming was all atmospheric warming which started low down early in the day and just became warmer as the day went on. By mid afternoon we had +12 at the base and +7 up the hill and it was +13 as we drove away tonight.
The result was that everything turned to mush right from the outset and the only good skiing was where it had been pretty hard before. We went to the Old Side and tried Bear Cave Chutes and New Lift line which were heavy and slow all the way down. Kangaroo actually was the best skiing on the Old Side as it had been firm ice so had only softened to nice soft snow on firm bumps and actually very easy skiing. Boom Ridge skied just about ok but slow. After that we looped around Boomerang, Cedar Ridge, Boom Ridge and Kangaroo several times and they all skied almost too soft with the exception of Kangaroo.
We decided to try the Sunny Side shoulder on the basis it was usually hard and frozen and might be like Kangaroo. We were wrong it was just as soft and mushy as every where else, no worse but certainly no better. We then tried our luck on the New Side and at least found that Lift Line which had been getting hard and icy was now taking an edge as it did do all day. Polar Peak was open but we needed lunch so we ran down through Low Saddle which was soft as were the chutes to skiers right, Easter Bowl skied nicely on what had been hard packed snow.
After lunch we went back up Polar Peak as the chutes were open and in the atmospheric softening were skiing very mellow indeed and much better than the past two days where the direct sunlight had just got the surfaces to soft and slippery to be much fun. We had numerous loops through Papa Bear, Grand Papa Bear and Barely Legal all of which were very soft and gentle skiing albeit at about a 45 degree pitch in the steepest points. We even cut in from Shale Slope and skied the line directly back under the lift on the shoulder through the rocks which was only the second time conditions have been good enough for me to try that. We just had time for a run to base through Mama Bear where I was bowled over by a slough (not my own) but managed to recover. Low Saddle and Easter were nice and soft.
We did a quick White Pass loop and it was time for Skydive, I have noticed over the past few weeks that the group I ski with tend to jump in quickly behind me when I set off meaning that I spend all my time trying to avoid being cut off and being covered in slough. This afternoon on Skydive a solution that was so obvious I can't believe that I hadn't thought of it before came to me - If I can't get them to give me a decent separation when I set off then why don't I give them that separation. The result was that I set off last by a long distance and had a perfect ski down without encountering anyone getting in my way - that settles how things will go in the future for me. Skydive actually skied just about ok in the top section where it was very soft and got better low down particularly on skiers right where it was a firm base with some slight mush on top.
Beers on the deck and then it was time for a Chinese take away and a quiet night in. Tomorrow promises (is that the right word) to be even hotter.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Day 111 you don't need sunshine to get warm
Today we had forecasts for very warm conditions but on the way to the hill it was only +1 at the base and obviously much colder up the hill. We had expected sunshine and spring skiing conditions but up until early afternoon what we got was quite heavy cloud and overcast conditions. The result was that everything was frozen rock solid and the warning signs were out telling us to keep to the groomers. What no one appeared to have allowed for was the effect of atmospheric warming so that despite the lack of sun temps rose sharply so that by late morning it was +5 at Timber Top and surfaces were becoming soft despite the lack of direct sunlight. Of course after lunch the sun came out and it was just super soft mush in the sunlight and still some pretty soft stuff in the shade.
We went to he Old Side where the groomers where initially bullet proof and the ungroomed was very hard icy refrozen crud. We poked around for quite long time looking for something good but we were restricted to groomers in the Lizard Bowl where the best skiing was off the right of Dancer into Freeway. On the advice of buddies we hit Cruiser and Cedar Centre which were very good skiing and well groomed. This of course got us to Haul Back and eventually to Kangaroo. I didn't feel that I had any choice but to ski the Roo and was amazed that it was nowhere near as ugly and icy as I thought it would be (it was still pretty bad) but at least taking an edge in the warming temps.
I took this as my sign and skied a lot of ungroomed runs on the Old Side which everyone was avoiding because the sun hadn't come out to soften them and they all skied just about the right side of acceptable with the hard icy tufts softening just a little. The runs included Kangaroo (twice) Bear Cave Chutes, New Lift Line, Cedar Ridge, Boom Ridge and Boomerang (also twice) which were all much the same. No one followed us into them and we didn't encounter anyone else skiing them. A classic case of people not taking the risk to find out that skiing was ok if not stellar.
We went to the New Side and found Lift line quite soft and 1-2-3s getting soft in all the pitches with the atmospheric warming. This is the first time that the high north facing slopes had softened and if we now go into an overnight freezing trend it will mean that pretty well everything will become unskiable until it gets warmed in the morning. Bootleg Glades were soft in the top and very soft by the time you got down to Gilmar Trail. It was time for a late lunch.
After lunch we went up Polar Peak as Lynda wanted to ski it top to base without stopping and so could justifiably treat herself to a "Peak to Pint" T shirt from the Griz Bar. It turns out that if she snaps herself in it on top of Polar Peak and publishes the pic on social media then we (I) get a free pint - that looks like tomorrow's mission. On a more mundane note I hitched up with my buddy Rob skiing on his split shift from the mine and we hit the newly opened Polar Chutes. We looped Papa and Grand Papa bear 4 times and it is interesting that in those loops it went from marginal crusty to marginal slushy - the sun had just come out and this just shows how quickly things wee getting hot. The skiing in the chutes was ok but mot great.
We had intended to try Low Saddle as it might have softened in the top but as it turned out we didn't get past High Saddle which skied as easy soft bumps and the fan underneath was ok but getting very mushy low down. We cut into Easter and found it was also getting more mushy than was really fun. I ran to base in the sun to ditch my jacket and pick up my light fleece and even then I did feel a bit over dressed.
Getting back up White Pass it was just too late to head up Polar Peak so we looped the Knot Chutes which had only opened late in the day. The chutes all skied very soft and mellow and surprisingly almost no one else seemed interested in skiing them. I had time for a late drop of Tight Knot which was starting to slide out under the skis and then Anaconda which was way softer than it had been over the past few days. The push back round Trespass Trail was very slow and I only just about made the last White Pass chair to get up for the final run down Skydive.
I got to Skydive to find myself alone although I was later assured that at least one other (Rod) was there and left just before I arrived. Skydive was very soft and challenging in the top but in a reversal from previous days things actually got better as you went down and by the final section it was a soft surface on a firm base and skiing very easily.
A pretty good day's skiing and with much warmer temps forecast for the next few days things could get very interesting.
We went to he Old Side where the groomers where initially bullet proof and the ungroomed was very hard icy refrozen crud. We poked around for quite long time looking for something good but we were restricted to groomers in the Lizard Bowl where the best skiing was off the right of Dancer into Freeway. On the advice of buddies we hit Cruiser and Cedar Centre which were very good skiing and well groomed. This of course got us to Haul Back and eventually to Kangaroo. I didn't feel that I had any choice but to ski the Roo and was amazed that it was nowhere near as ugly and icy as I thought it would be (it was still pretty bad) but at least taking an edge in the warming temps.
I took this as my sign and skied a lot of ungroomed runs on the Old Side which everyone was avoiding because the sun hadn't come out to soften them and they all skied just about the right side of acceptable with the hard icy tufts softening just a little. The runs included Kangaroo (twice) Bear Cave Chutes, New Lift Line, Cedar Ridge, Boom Ridge and Boomerang (also twice) which were all much the same. No one followed us into them and we didn't encounter anyone else skiing them. A classic case of people not taking the risk to find out that skiing was ok if not stellar.
We went to the New Side and found Lift line quite soft and 1-2-3s getting soft in all the pitches with the atmospheric warming. This is the first time that the high north facing slopes had softened and if we now go into an overnight freezing trend it will mean that pretty well everything will become unskiable until it gets warmed in the morning. Bootleg Glades were soft in the top and very soft by the time you got down to Gilmar Trail. It was time for a late lunch.
After lunch we went up Polar Peak as Lynda wanted to ski it top to base without stopping and so could justifiably treat herself to a "Peak to Pint" T shirt from the Griz Bar. It turns out that if she snaps herself in it on top of Polar Peak and publishes the pic on social media then we (I) get a free pint - that looks like tomorrow's mission. On a more mundane note I hitched up with my buddy Rob skiing on his split shift from the mine and we hit the newly opened Polar Chutes. We looped Papa and Grand Papa bear 4 times and it is interesting that in those loops it went from marginal crusty to marginal slushy - the sun had just come out and this just shows how quickly things wee getting hot. The skiing in the chutes was ok but mot great.
We had intended to try Low Saddle as it might have softened in the top but as it turned out we didn't get past High Saddle which skied as easy soft bumps and the fan underneath was ok but getting very mushy low down. We cut into Easter and found it was also getting more mushy than was really fun. I ran to base in the sun to ditch my jacket and pick up my light fleece and even then I did feel a bit over dressed.
Getting back up White Pass it was just too late to head up Polar Peak so we looped the Knot Chutes which had only opened late in the day. The chutes all skied very soft and mellow and surprisingly almost no one else seemed interested in skiing them. I had time for a late drop of Tight Knot which was starting to slide out under the skis and then Anaconda which was way softer than it had been over the past few days. The push back round Trespass Trail was very slow and I only just about made the last White Pass chair to get up for the final run down Skydive.
I got to Skydive to find myself alone although I was later assured that at least one other (Rod) was there and left just before I arrived. Skydive was very soft and challenging in the top but in a reversal from previous days things actually got better as you went down and by the final section it was a soft surface on a firm base and skiing very easily.
A pretty good day's skiing and with much warmer temps forecast for the next few days things could get very interesting.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Day 110 the head wall better late than never
Today was the day I hit the Currie head wall for the first time this season and after 110 days many people would say " about bloody time". I had been thinking about the Lizard head wall after closing time but the conditions in the Polar Chutes made me think that maybe these would be a bit sketchy and conversations with buddies who had skied confirmed that maybe I was right.
On the way to the hill today it was +2 at the base and just about zero when we got up the hill. For the morning with quite a lot of cloud cover things stayed pretty much the same and south facing slopes which had softened were hard and icy. Around lunch time the cloud cleared and we got a bluebird finish to the day and temps became very warm in the direct sunlight and even quite warm from atmospheric warming. As we drove away from the hill it was +12 and unsurprisingly we had softening snow and spring skiing conditions particularly on the lower parts of the hill and on any slopes in the direct sunlight.
I went to the New side with my full back country pack on just to make sure I could ski with it in case I decided to hit Lizard head wall at the end of the day - this made for some very hot and sweaty skiing during the day. Lift Line was a bit harder than usual but ok. I tried a few loops of White Pass and found the Gun bowl was very icy but Pillow Talk skied nicely. Polar Peak hadn't opened so I ran to base via Anaconda Glades which were still good soft deep snow and Bootleg Glades which skied ok if a bit chunky in the last couple of turns.
Next time up Polar had opened but only in the Coaster so I dropped it and it was crusty but ok. Next I made my big mistake of the day by traversing across to under the lift from the Coaster/Cat Track intersection. It might have looked ok from the lift but it was hard ugly icy crust and the nastiest skiing on the hill all day. I went back up Polar and tried the Coaster which was better but not much on ungroomed crust. I had intended to run out to the Saddles but as I skied under the chair my buddy Brad was shouting "head wall" at me so being easily led I went back up and we took the long hard and very crusty hike out along the Currie head wall. We dropped Up Right which I have to say was steep and mellow with only about 4 tracks in front of us in soft deep snow.
We ran to base through High Saddle which was still skiing very mellow with edge to edge jumps and the fan underneath still having untracked lines. The cut into lower Easter was not a success as it was hard ugly refrozen crud. Next time up I ran out to Anaconda and dropped the shoulder just over the hump for the first time this year and got some very tight steep tree skiing in there. I took Bootleg down to lunch which was still skiing ok if a bit chunky.
After lunch it was back up Polar Peak where the Chutes had just been opened. Obviously they had previously been ugly crust and now were softening quickly in the direct sunlight. We ran Papa Bear and in my opinion the skiing was not that good. The surface had softened but was separating from the underbase and the skiing was subject the wet snow sloughs, ugly tufted wet snow and the surface sliding out under you when you least expected it. Three loops were quite enough to convince us it was time to move on and that the Lizard head wall was not going to be much fun and so was off the agenda.
We ran to base through Lone Fir which was ok but a bit scratchy in the chute and then good skiing in the fan below. This time the cut into Easter found that the surface had softened and it was ok slightly mushy skiing. Next loop we tried Gotta Go which in the Google Earth chute was untracked and very good skiing down to the bottom of 3's. Boot Leg continued to be good skiing down to Gilmar Trail.
We just had time for a White Pass loop through a softening Gun Bowl and an ok Pillow Talk and a very icy Morgan's Dilemma before it was time for a last run through Skydive. Skydive skied pretty well all things considered as it was quite soft in the top, setting up a bit in the mid section, setting up a lot at the top of the final section and then getting very mellow and soft in the last six turns or so.
With temps of +12 and a lot of sun the locals deck was a good place to have a few beers after a hard day which included a head wall run. No new snow forecast so tomorrow could be the first day of summer skiing.
On the way to the hill today it was +2 at the base and just about zero when we got up the hill. For the morning with quite a lot of cloud cover things stayed pretty much the same and south facing slopes which had softened were hard and icy. Around lunch time the cloud cleared and we got a bluebird finish to the day and temps became very warm in the direct sunlight and even quite warm from atmospheric warming. As we drove away from the hill it was +12 and unsurprisingly we had softening snow and spring skiing conditions particularly on the lower parts of the hill and on any slopes in the direct sunlight.
I went to the New side with my full back country pack on just to make sure I could ski with it in case I decided to hit Lizard head wall at the end of the day - this made for some very hot and sweaty skiing during the day. Lift Line was a bit harder than usual but ok. I tried a few loops of White Pass and found the Gun bowl was very icy but Pillow Talk skied nicely. Polar Peak hadn't opened so I ran to base via Anaconda Glades which were still good soft deep snow and Bootleg Glades which skied ok if a bit chunky in the last couple of turns.
Next time up Polar had opened but only in the Coaster so I dropped it and it was crusty but ok. Next I made my big mistake of the day by traversing across to under the lift from the Coaster/Cat Track intersection. It might have looked ok from the lift but it was hard ugly icy crust and the nastiest skiing on the hill all day. I went back up Polar and tried the Coaster which was better but not much on ungroomed crust. I had intended to run out to the Saddles but as I skied under the chair my buddy Brad was shouting "head wall" at me so being easily led I went back up and we took the long hard and very crusty hike out along the Currie head wall. We dropped Up Right which I have to say was steep and mellow with only about 4 tracks in front of us in soft deep snow.
We ran to base through High Saddle which was still skiing very mellow with edge to edge jumps and the fan underneath still having untracked lines. The cut into lower Easter was not a success as it was hard ugly refrozen crud. Next time up I ran out to Anaconda and dropped the shoulder just over the hump for the first time this year and got some very tight steep tree skiing in there. I took Bootleg down to lunch which was still skiing ok if a bit chunky.
After lunch it was back up Polar Peak where the Chutes had just been opened. Obviously they had previously been ugly crust and now were softening quickly in the direct sunlight. We ran Papa Bear and in my opinion the skiing was not that good. The surface had softened but was separating from the underbase and the skiing was subject the wet snow sloughs, ugly tufted wet snow and the surface sliding out under you when you least expected it. Three loops were quite enough to convince us it was time to move on and that the Lizard head wall was not going to be much fun and so was off the agenda.
We ran to base through Lone Fir which was ok but a bit scratchy in the chute and then good skiing in the fan below. This time the cut into Easter found that the surface had softened and it was ok slightly mushy skiing. Next loop we tried Gotta Go which in the Google Earth chute was untracked and very good skiing down to the bottom of 3's. Boot Leg continued to be good skiing down to Gilmar Trail.
We just had time for a White Pass loop through a softening Gun Bowl and an ok Pillow Talk and a very icy Morgan's Dilemma before it was time for a last run through Skydive. Skydive skied pretty well all things considered as it was quite soft in the top, setting up a bit in the mid section, setting up a lot at the top of the final section and then getting very mellow and soft in the last six turns or so.
With temps of +12 and a lot of sun the locals deck was a good place to have a few beers after a hard day which included a head wall run. No new snow forecast so tomorrow could be the first day of summer skiing.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Day 109 maybe our last blast of winter
Yes, today we had some very full on winter conditions but by the end of the day we were sitting on the locals deck at the Griz drinking beer in the sun - almost a case of all 4 seasons in just one day. Given the very full on winter conditions that we had for a significant part of the day we managed to have some very good skiing which was way better than we had any right to expect.
Overnight the hill was reporting 8 cms in the last 24 hours which seemed about right and as I drove to the hill it was -1 and snowing. It was a day of two halves with the snow continuing right down to the base until just after lunch and temps stayed well below zero up the hill so we had a continuing accumulation during the day which had to be at least another 5 cms on top of what had already been reported. During the afternoon things cleared up and we had sun between misty cloud cover and base temps rose to +6 with it getting up to +3 in White Pass and a lot of the new snow (particularly on the south facing slopes) starting to soften and get quite chunky. Something for everyone.
We took the view that the snow low down would eventually turn to rain (we were wrong as it turned out) so we went high with the intention of only running to base as long as we found it wasn't raining down there. Up in White Pass it was full on winter conditions with pretty poor viz and snow falling hard. Polar Peak remained closed all day and Knot Chutes were closed in the morning until the new snow had provided a soft base over the chopped up refrozen crud of a few days ago.
We were late to the hill (9:30) because with only two weeks of the season left we found that real life was starting to intrude and such things as shutting down the hot tub, booking the truck in for a service and suspending the cable and wifi for 6 months had to be attended to before we could start to trash the new snow which was building on the hill.
Lift Line was well filled in as was all he lines through the trees and into Big Bang which was the way we dropped to White Pass load all day. We did a couple of loops of White Pass and found that Gun Bowl was ugly and crusty even with the new snow covering and in any event you couldn't see anything. I bowl was similar but Pillow Talk and the chutes skied very nicely in lots of soft new snow.
Our first run to base was down Anaconda which was untracked in Chute 2 and the only problem was beating out your own slough. Bootleg Glades were untracked in the near side trees so I cut the helter skelter through the trees which was very mellow and easy. The run down through Gilmar Trail and the Meadow was easy skiing in poor light. Next I hiked Lone Fir which had one track in ahead of me and was awesome and deep. The only problem was a large group of snow boarders who had chosen to sit in the fan and I have to apologise for covering hem in deep snow but if you sit there what do you expect. Lower Easter and Freeway were very soft deep skiing.
Next loop we tried the hike up to Easter Bowl and found only two tracks in front of us, a flat surface and not too bad viz. It was so good that Lynda grabbed tracks ahead of me and I had to cut left to get fresh lines - great skiing. The exit via Freeway was just starting to get a little chunky low down. Last loop before lunch I dropped High Saddle which was skiing just as well as yesterday with very mellow edge to edge jumps all the way through. The fan underneath was untracked and deep and the cut across into lower Easter was just as previously described.
After lunch it stopped snowing,the sun came out off and on and things started to soften. I had been tipped off that the High IT above Knot Chutes had just been opened so I took it (it was a bit lumpy) and got to Gotta Go just in time to get first tracks in the Chute which had been closed for several days. It was spectacular ( the best run of the day) and I could even hock off the bump in the middle of the choke and throw in some easy turns in the tight section - slough management was again an issue. Bootleg was the standard exit which skied ok in the near steep chutes and was used all afternoon as the route to the base.
I had decided to hit Cobra Rock next time across the High IT but found it closed. I took the steep shoulder above Anaconda 1 as a consolation prize as it was steep and untracked. I spoke to a patroller buddy as to why Cobra was closed and it turned out that it was just an error so next time the signs had been flipped. Cobra was steep and deep and great skiing. Things were so mellow that instead of cutting out through the left fan as usual I cut right into the very steep tree chutes (I would guess the steepest tree skiing on the hill) and had a really awesome heart stopping run down to the track below.
Back up White Pass we had time for a long loop so I took the Tight Knot Chute but skied the left hand shoulder and tight chute which were all very soft and mellow. A last run through Anaconda was very good in tracked soft snow but the push back round Trespass Trail was predictably hard work and very slow. Last run of course was Skydive.
We approached Skydive fairly carefully as we were not sure what to expect. In the event we got soft new snow in the top and a rather firmer base with ice chunks lower down. It was nowhere near as bad as it has been and perhaps we could have pushed it harder than we did had we known how the surfaces would have worked out.
Beers on the locals deck in what was now warm evening sunshine and a chance to watch the head wall skiers and make plans for tomorrow - watch this space.
Overnight the hill was reporting 8 cms in the last 24 hours which seemed about right and as I drove to the hill it was -1 and snowing. It was a day of two halves with the snow continuing right down to the base until just after lunch and temps stayed well below zero up the hill so we had a continuing accumulation during the day which had to be at least another 5 cms on top of what had already been reported. During the afternoon things cleared up and we had sun between misty cloud cover and base temps rose to +6 with it getting up to +3 in White Pass and a lot of the new snow (particularly on the south facing slopes) starting to soften and get quite chunky. Something for everyone.
We took the view that the snow low down would eventually turn to rain (we were wrong as it turned out) so we went high with the intention of only running to base as long as we found it wasn't raining down there. Up in White Pass it was full on winter conditions with pretty poor viz and snow falling hard. Polar Peak remained closed all day and Knot Chutes were closed in the morning until the new snow had provided a soft base over the chopped up refrozen crud of a few days ago.
We were late to the hill (9:30) because with only two weeks of the season left we found that real life was starting to intrude and such things as shutting down the hot tub, booking the truck in for a service and suspending the cable and wifi for 6 months had to be attended to before we could start to trash the new snow which was building on the hill.
Lift Line was well filled in as was all he lines through the trees and into Big Bang which was the way we dropped to White Pass load all day. We did a couple of loops of White Pass and found that Gun Bowl was ugly and crusty even with the new snow covering and in any event you couldn't see anything. I bowl was similar but Pillow Talk and the chutes skied very nicely in lots of soft new snow.
Our first run to base was down Anaconda which was untracked in Chute 2 and the only problem was beating out your own slough. Bootleg Glades were untracked in the near side trees so I cut the helter skelter through the trees which was very mellow and easy. The run down through Gilmar Trail and the Meadow was easy skiing in poor light. Next I hiked Lone Fir which had one track in ahead of me and was awesome and deep. The only problem was a large group of snow boarders who had chosen to sit in the fan and I have to apologise for covering hem in deep snow but if you sit there what do you expect. Lower Easter and Freeway were very soft deep skiing.
Next loop we tried the hike up to Easter Bowl and found only two tracks in front of us, a flat surface and not too bad viz. It was so good that Lynda grabbed tracks ahead of me and I had to cut left to get fresh lines - great skiing. The exit via Freeway was just starting to get a little chunky low down. Last loop before lunch I dropped High Saddle which was skiing just as well as yesterday with very mellow edge to edge jumps all the way through. The fan underneath was untracked and deep and the cut across into lower Easter was just as previously described.
After lunch it stopped snowing,the sun came out off and on and things started to soften. I had been tipped off that the High IT above Knot Chutes had just been opened so I took it (it was a bit lumpy) and got to Gotta Go just in time to get first tracks in the Chute which had been closed for several days. It was spectacular ( the best run of the day) and I could even hock off the bump in the middle of the choke and throw in some easy turns in the tight section - slough management was again an issue. Bootleg was the standard exit which skied ok in the near steep chutes and was used all afternoon as the route to the base.
I had decided to hit Cobra Rock next time across the High IT but found it closed. I took the steep shoulder above Anaconda 1 as a consolation prize as it was steep and untracked. I spoke to a patroller buddy as to why Cobra was closed and it turned out that it was just an error so next time the signs had been flipped. Cobra was steep and deep and great skiing. Things were so mellow that instead of cutting out through the left fan as usual I cut right into the very steep tree chutes (I would guess the steepest tree skiing on the hill) and had a really awesome heart stopping run down to the track below.
Back up White Pass we had time for a long loop so I took the Tight Knot Chute but skied the left hand shoulder and tight chute which were all very soft and mellow. A last run through Anaconda was very good in tracked soft snow but the push back round Trespass Trail was predictably hard work and very slow. Last run of course was Skydive.
We approached Skydive fairly carefully as we were not sure what to expect. In the event we got soft new snow in the top and a rather firmer base with ice chunks lower down. It was nowhere near as bad as it has been and perhaps we could have pushed it harder than we did had we known how the surfaces would have worked out.
Beers on the locals deck in what was now warm evening sunshine and a chance to watch the head wall skiers and make plans for tomorrow - watch this space.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Day 108 happy Easter - who turned the lights out
Yes, today was day when a weather system moved in that gave us some fresh snow but with overcast conditions, fog, snow and generally a lot of white atmosphere with white stuff falling it was a tough day to see anything on the hill anywhere above about the half way point up the hill. We did however get some good skiing although it has to be admitted that if you weren't careful you could have got some pretty dreadful skiing from almost the same areas.
Overnight we had no new snow and the temps when we arrived at the hill were in the zero/-1 region which meant that the starting conditions were going to be just like yesterday, hard refrozen crud where the surfaces had melted in the last few days and good winter conditions where they hadn't. Things were forecast to warm up a bit but with cloud cover anticipated all day it was not thought that things would change that much and initially that is how things looked.
What changed the game was that it started snowing quite early on and kept on snowing for most of the day although not all that heavily. Temps did warm up to about +3 at the base but stayed at zero over the rest of the hill and as a result the underlying snow stayed firm and the new snow provided a good surface cushion. The strange thing was that the new snow which could only have amounted to about 3 cms seemed to have a transforming effect on the crusted off piste snow and as a result by the end of the afternoon a number of areas that had been skiing rather sketchy actually were skiing very nicely indeed.
Lynda wasn't skiing today having skied 4 days in a row on the new hip so I headed to the Old Side on my own to poke around and see if I could find anything soft. Nothing had softened and the overnight freezing had hardened every surface and early on the snow which was falling all day had not by that time had the chance to accumulate on the surfaces. I looped out along Lizard High Traverse several times to get into lower Easter Bowl and that skied very hard and bumpy to begin with but got softer each time round as the new snow started to accumulate. By late morning I was even able to start exiting through Freeway which was crusty and ungroomed before the snow had started to settle.
Late morning I got word that Snake Ridge had opened and was ok. I traversed out to the Ridge but my arrival coincided with the snow storm becoming it's most intensive. As a result the light flattened to the whitest flat light I have ever experienced and Snake Ridge was just a pool of undefined white light. I groped my way down in what might actually have been ok skiing conditions but I was in no position to tell. Kangaroo was hard ugly icy bumps just as usual and as usual was a great run as far as I was concerned. Boomerang was a bit scratchy but skied ok with the new snow starting to react with the old hard surface. It was actually so good that I went back and did it again before heading to lunch.
After lunch I decided to head up the New Side as I had a feeling that the snow which had been falling as wet snow low down might actually turn to rain low down so going high would be a good choice. I had tried to go high during the morning but when I got to Timber it had broken down (again) and with a long delay promised I had headed back to the Old Side. In the afternoon the mechanical problems appeared to have been sorted out and I headed of the New Side.
Lift Line and the variations into Big Bang skied well and late in the afternoon I even found myself on the top of Hollywood Rock but thought better of it, at least until we get a bit more soft snow on the landing. By this time the light had socked in and the snow was starting to come down harder. I hit 1-2-3s and then Bootleg Glades which both skied in very nice winter conditions and even the viz became ok half way down.
I had noticed that Polar Peak had been open but in the totally socked in conditions I found it hard to believe that it had been running. I went up just for the crack of it and by chance I was the last one to go up before they closed the chair. The run down was on the Coaster which was all that was open but the viz was very poor. To restore my faith in the skiing on the hill I hit out to High Saddle which skied ok but was a bit tricky with not much viz even in the chute. The fans, Easter Bowl and Freeway were getting really good skiing in the new snow.
We just had time for one more High Saddle which was just like before plus the exits were getting better in the new snow. We had time to kill so hit a drop down Anaconda which was very good soft deep snow with very few tracks and then a run back round Trespass Trail. This got us back in time for the final Skydive run.
Skydive was looking like it might have been as bad as yesterday but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised. It skied really soft in the top and ok in the mid section. Even the lower part skied better than yesterday with the surface taking an edge which was big improvement. A tough but satisfying final run.
Looks like we may get some more snow overnight so fingers crossed for a good day tomorrow.
Overnight we had no new snow and the temps when we arrived at the hill were in the zero/-1 region which meant that the starting conditions were going to be just like yesterday, hard refrozen crud where the surfaces had melted in the last few days and good winter conditions where they hadn't. Things were forecast to warm up a bit but with cloud cover anticipated all day it was not thought that things would change that much and initially that is how things looked.
What changed the game was that it started snowing quite early on and kept on snowing for most of the day although not all that heavily. Temps did warm up to about +3 at the base but stayed at zero over the rest of the hill and as a result the underlying snow stayed firm and the new snow provided a good surface cushion. The strange thing was that the new snow which could only have amounted to about 3 cms seemed to have a transforming effect on the crusted off piste snow and as a result by the end of the afternoon a number of areas that had been skiing rather sketchy actually were skiing very nicely indeed.
Lynda wasn't skiing today having skied 4 days in a row on the new hip so I headed to the Old Side on my own to poke around and see if I could find anything soft. Nothing had softened and the overnight freezing had hardened every surface and early on the snow which was falling all day had not by that time had the chance to accumulate on the surfaces. I looped out along Lizard High Traverse several times to get into lower Easter Bowl and that skied very hard and bumpy to begin with but got softer each time round as the new snow started to accumulate. By late morning I was even able to start exiting through Freeway which was crusty and ungroomed before the snow had started to settle.
Late morning I got word that Snake Ridge had opened and was ok. I traversed out to the Ridge but my arrival coincided with the snow storm becoming it's most intensive. As a result the light flattened to the whitest flat light I have ever experienced and Snake Ridge was just a pool of undefined white light. I groped my way down in what might actually have been ok skiing conditions but I was in no position to tell. Kangaroo was hard ugly icy bumps just as usual and as usual was a great run as far as I was concerned. Boomerang was a bit scratchy but skied ok with the new snow starting to react with the old hard surface. It was actually so good that I went back and did it again before heading to lunch.
After lunch I decided to head up the New Side as I had a feeling that the snow which had been falling as wet snow low down might actually turn to rain low down so going high would be a good choice. I had tried to go high during the morning but when I got to Timber it had broken down (again) and with a long delay promised I had headed back to the Old Side. In the afternoon the mechanical problems appeared to have been sorted out and I headed of the New Side.
Lift Line and the variations into Big Bang skied well and late in the afternoon I even found myself on the top of Hollywood Rock but thought better of it, at least until we get a bit more soft snow on the landing. By this time the light had socked in and the snow was starting to come down harder. I hit 1-2-3s and then Bootleg Glades which both skied in very nice winter conditions and even the viz became ok half way down.
I had noticed that Polar Peak had been open but in the totally socked in conditions I found it hard to believe that it had been running. I went up just for the crack of it and by chance I was the last one to go up before they closed the chair. The run down was on the Coaster which was all that was open but the viz was very poor. To restore my faith in the skiing on the hill I hit out to High Saddle which skied ok but was a bit tricky with not much viz even in the chute. The fans, Easter Bowl and Freeway were getting really good skiing in the new snow.
We just had time for one more High Saddle which was just like before plus the exits were getting better in the new snow. We had time to kill so hit a drop down Anaconda which was very good soft deep snow with very few tracks and then a run back round Trespass Trail. This got us back in time for the final Skydive run.
Skydive was looking like it might have been as bad as yesterday but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised. It skied really soft in the top and ok in the mid section. Even the lower part skied better than yesterday with the surface taking an edge which was big improvement. A tough but satisfying final run.
Looks like we may get some more snow overnight so fingers crossed for a good day tomorrow.
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