As anticipated, the Groomers were the most consistent calls for the early risers, though the overnight wind had prepared and buffed some of the off trail as well.  The South wind transported the snow to the North faces, continually filling them in run after run.  I did not cross my own track twice each time I visited my direct line.  “The wind giveth and the wind taketh away”, and for each shot being filled, there was another getting stripped.   These aspects will continue to fill up and be great no matter what.  The High West faces still have been very icy and tough to gain an edge.  Lower down on a shot you will find great snow, but sometimes getting there is a trip.  There is a storm moving in, so there might be some fresh in the morning.  The smooth seems to holding the smooth during these applications, though I did see a brisk build up of interference on the heavily visited areas.  I will be participating in the 12 Hours Of Snowbird tonight. Check the Snowbird site for specifics, as I am unsure on it myself.  Sounds like a cool thing to ski in the dark, and having never done that, I will be digging deep in the muscle memory banks for supplemental reference.   With luck the Moon will shine a bit of light, but it is overcast now, and I have my doubts.  Tomorrow, look for the wind loaded areas for best results, and watch those high West facing entrances for the high glaze. Scary!!   I have been trying to get photos, but the weather is not cooperating.   I will be off tomorrow to rest up, so enjoy some of those tasty runs for me.   Ciao!!

The front moved through the valley at 7:00PM. last night, bringing with it super high winds, lightning, thunder, and the first installment we have seen in quite a stretch.  The mountain accumulated 11 to 12” of medium density product to greet the faithful, who showed up extra early in anticipation of a stellar day.  The higher density was a perfect cushion to cover the rastiness that we have been dealing with as of late. I was going for all the smooth shots that I have been logging to avoid the rumble, and take advantage of the consistent surface below.  Mineral Basin offered bright sunny visibility, an escape from the traffic pressure, and some very nice quality top to bottom.  The high West wind that blew overnight, piled up the goods in pockets and reduced the cover in other places, so a sharp eye was needed to see the subtle evidence of accumulation.  In my case, I chose well, by the looks of some tracks, others did not fair as well.   I was staying out ahead of the crowd by moving further afield to get the untracked that was being neglected by the feeding frenzy.  Sometimes it will buy you a lot if you play the remote card and leave the easy pickings to the hungry ones.  You can enjoy much more relaxed turns by playing the crowd, so keep that in mind as it can pay off in a big way.  Tomorrow, look for the groomers to provide some of the nicest turns of the morning, though the cold overcast day did not set the new snow up to any extent, keeping the crud good to go.  A huge tip of the hat to the Patrol and Lift crew for getting the hill going shortly after 8:30 AM  to the delight of the faithful, who were treated to the creamy essence well ahead of schedule.  Score!!!  This installment will go a long way in the healing  of the hill, and prepare the canvas for the next storm.   See you in the AM.   IBBY!!!

I was kept up all night by the relentless wind rocking the Trailer.  I knew the communication array was taking a beating and would be totally out of alignment.  I got up extra early to try and get a signal before I left for the Hill, but I will have to deal with that situation later.  I did not have too much hope for the Tram, as my vehicle was getting seriously rocked  as I approached the Canyon.   Fortunately, the Tram was up and running into a straight South wind, enabling it to keep running in the serious wind pressure.  As anticipated, the  scouring effect of the wind had stripped even more surface snow away, leaving the frozen Harbor Chop of three weeks ago.   Scoping out the hill on the ride up revealed very scant deposits of transported essence.  Getting to those aspects was the trick, as the traverse had been pummeled, leaving high frequency chatter.  I  slowed down  to avoid the eye ball flapping amplitude I encountered yesterday.  The High North was the only aspect that seemed to be consistently holding the smooth transported snow, though there were glazed areas  to negotiate intermittently.   Those transported deposits were gold, however, delivering the sweetest sugar that lightly covered the wind slab below.  Tomorrow, we can expect some new product to begin the repair of the mountain smooth.  Remember the smooth lines from the past few days and make those the Go To choices to score the smoothest ride.  Also keep in mind the rasty areas that may interrupt the flow.    Hopefully, the new snow will come in a touch on the wet side to stick to the hard pan, and get the ball rolling for the continued deposits.  Remember how quickly things healed up after The Event, so the hill will be on the mend, working it’s way back to great.  I  hope we don’t get too much, so we can get at it and do the preparatory work with no delays.   See you in the AM.. IBBY!!!

WIND BUFF

The wind had subsided for the start of the day’s festivities, so the Tram was off on time.  The wind had indeed left some areas scoured down to the old layer, while other shots had been smoothed and buffed by the wind, offering perfect supportable wind slab carvelocity, and ultra fast ripping top to bottom.  You had to be observant and strategic in the approach to get out to the lines that beckoned, due to the stripped traverses, where the vibrations going through the skis seemed to make their way up to my eye balls, which were flapping around in their sockets.  I had to try to negotiate the section through the blur.  Once I gained the line I was good to go, but be ready to take a  beating along the traverses if you go too fast.  The big Groomed sections at the bottom of the hill are still holding on to the smooth, and offer a nice variety that is steep and challenging.  Tomorrow, the storm is supposed to move in later in the day, so the light will probably be flat, and the general complexion of the hill will have remained unchanged,  though there  may be some additional wind work overnight.  The high North is holding the most consistent lines, so look for those in the limited visibility to find the smoothest line.  The Gad side has some very nice Groomers that have been placed in lines that are rarely if every mowed, so look for those if you want to go farther afield  for adventure.  See you on the first Boat.   Ciao!!

The wind was the big feature this morning as we begin to feel the first fringes of the Powder Vortex predicted for later this week.  Mineral Basin, Gad 2, and the Little Cloud Chair were closed due to the wind, and the wind was certainly threatening the Tram operation as the direction was ripping out of the South.  The wind had stripped all the deposited snow from the High North exposures, carving them down to the old bump layer. To say that surface was interesting is being kind.  There were very thin veins of transported snow  filling some of the bump troughs, but they did not have enough cushion to relieve the rumble that was throwing me all over.  The Wind was blowing so hard out of the South, that the descent down Peruvian Gulch left you keeping up with the wind speed, where it felt as if there was no wind in your face. The Chef says” ski faster than the wind for fun.  That was a tall order  keeping that pace with the present conditions.  Some big Grooming work had been done on the lower mountain, providing some excellent lines to make up for some of the other distortions.  The Tram went down due to wind at 11:30 AM. sending the faithful to the chairs, where the wind made the ride up very uncomfortable.  The air was warm, but the wind just beat you senseless, so I bailed as  I could not handle the lines that backed up on the Chairs and the relentless wind pressure.  Tomorrow, look for the Groomers to provide the best options for fun, and look around to see what the wind did over night.  Even the deep trees were getting scoured out, so I really don’t know where it will all end up.  Little Cloud was getting better by the minute as the snow blew in off the Twins.  Here is a shot of the wind doing it’s thing under Old Reliable.    See you on first Boat.  Peace Out!!

Another beautiful morning, with a North breeze still working the hill.  The overnight wind scoured the high North shots, depositing and compacting areas to a billiard table smoothness.  What a treat, as the few cognoscenti visited time after time to partake of a natural rarity, that is reminiscent of some of the 80’s  snow packs.   As anticipated, the warmth of yesterday played a big part in the increased firmness overall, with even the North facing aspects firming up.  The first few Groomers were a bit crispy, but were softened with traffic and became rather luxurious.  The Groomers had buffed Adager once again, providing another incredible example of big mountain scale sweetness.  Tomorrow, look for another crispy morning, though the North facing sections will still be holding the cold dry chalk. so no worries .  Avoid the direct Sun exposures until later in the day to let them soften a bit.  The mountain seems to be getting smoother, loosing some of the rumble that had developed last week.  Be aware of the old crusty layer poking through in some of the upper steep West facing sections.  Navigating through some of them is somewhat tricky, so beware or go straight!!  Sometimes that is the only option.   Here is a shot of some VERY INTERESTING CLOUD formations that seemed strangely compelling, and here, after doing the down load, is revealed a curious sphere of Violet.  Could be a lens refraction of course, but it also might be …… well I will just let it go at that!!!   Peace Out!!!   Zoom in on this shot and see the Sun rays!!!

VIOLET ORB

Well, the temperature has risen out of the basement to grace the hill with more comfort than we have seen in some time.  The high pressure system is moving through slowly, and the highs are expected to rise as we get closer to the next big change in the pattern.  Keeping this in mind, the aspects that get a lot of Sun will be absorbing the heat and will be morphing into some serious crustiness.  While that snow will be good in the afternoon, the early morning assault will be problematic on those aspects.  Of course the Groomers will be going off, and present little of the difficulties found off trail.  However, there is a bit of hard pan showing through as the traffic scrapes the buff off.  There is soft dust being piled up on the sides of the runs, so be looking there for some traction if you get sideways.  I have been lining up those soft zones, and have been holding a tight line to stay right in the sweet spot.  Look for continued excellence in the Big Groomed sections that the crew has been knocking out, and take advantage of the rarity of that dry dust.  I will be back up on deck for the morning shredfest, so I will see you there.   IBBY!!!

ANGEL LIGHT

The Grooming crew had been turned loose overnight, preparing a potpourri of ultra smooth big mountain shots for the few faithful, who showed up for the high octane morning.  I chose Mineral Basin to start things out, where Lone Star and White Diamonds had been buffed to carevlicious consistency top to bottom.  I made 3 laps out there before the seekers began to crowd the runs.  I moved back to the front side, where Lower Silver fox and Lower Mach Schnell were worked to bring up the smooth and luxurious cold smoke that had been hiding under the crust.  MMMMM!!!  The off trail was beginning to get set up a bit in different locations, but overall the crud was blastable with a low deflection quotient, letting you arc through the turns with smooth agility.  The temps. remained cold all day, though  the  pleasant warmth of the Sun made it seem warmer than it was.  Tomorrow, look for continued Grooming efforts to provide perfection for the early risers.  Once again, Perfect is Perfect.  Yeah, so it is just a Groomer, but it is a perfect Groomer and it is up to you to put the WOW in it, as opposed to the Ho Hum!!.  How much angulation can you get in to your turn and not get chatter and break away?  Try getting more out of each turn, and see the pop you will get.  You might find yourself launched out of a turn grasping for center as you are thrown into the next one.  Just a thought.  I will be off tomorrow, so please rip it up for me and take advantage of the excellence that abounds wall to wall. Here is a shot I took on the fly out in Little Cloud.  I could not resist!!   Ciao!!

THE COMET

What does a computer illiterate do when the DSL goes out?   I went to bed and hoped that it would come back on, and it did sometime overnight.  Yesterday offered yet another chance to step up the pace, as unreal Groomers were on tap for consideration and shralpage.  Adager got the buff nod, where you could find the smoothest, cold, dust imaginable, just adding to the delight.  Mineral Basin was also offering some of the buff features as well as some still soft and approachable off trail.  The day remained cold preserving the quality of most aspects.  The bump features are still building on the high traffic areas, but the mountain smooth is holding up nicely overall.  Tomorrow, look for continued excellence and improving temps. The West facing holds some very nice lines after all these days, and forays out the Traverse will be rewarded on both sides of the hill.  Little Cloud is soft and refrigerated, but there are still some areas of crust to be aware of as you go long on the traverse.   I want to send a big Shout Out to all the folks I have been meeting, who read my musings, and show up on the Tram dock.  I really enjoy meeting everyone, and personally

Stairway to Heaven

get the energy and feedback on this site.  I keep trying to keep pushing the content and am trying to do the video thing.  Soon.  Here is a shot of Pipeline Bowl looking a bit like heaven, or maybe that is where it begins.  Ciao!!

The air continued cold this morning, and did not really warm up all that much as the Sun got high in the sky, which kept the snow quality refrigerated and fluffy for the duration.  The wind had begun to set the off trail snow up in places.  One East facing shot in Mineral Basin looked good, but was not yet supportable and left me doing the survival dance down the entire line looking for some consistency.  Meanwhile, just 500′ further North the buff was in full effect and offering smooth goodness.  I should have dropped in there… shoulda woulda coulda…, but that is what keeps you guessing, I guess.  There is some medium amplitude interference developing in the high traffic areas, as the new snow begins to get worked.  The spacing is fairly long and round, creating a good line line through the troughs for those of us with knee issues.  Younger knees can just blast’em, mine… not so much.  Tomorrow look for the Groomers to, again, offer ripping smooth lines top to bottom.  The old crust is still in play here and there, but the Groomers seem to have homogenized the majority of slick spots, eliminating those pesky tiles.  Off trail, I have been using the larger averaged turns to mitigate the few surprises that  can be found, though those spots do not really pose any problems.  The continued cold will be keeping the snow soft and blastable, but , as I found out today, just a few feet of aspect change can make a huge difference, so look around for a better line if there is room to move.  Here is a shot of Thirteen Turns looking as pristine as it really is.   Yumm!!!   IBBY!!

THIRTEEN TURNS