It was a bit brisk on the peak this morning, with the Sun shining in Mineral Basin wall to wall, illuminating a fresh grooming effort on the Lower Downhill course.  The natural snow there was as good as it gets, featuring dry chalky turns with zero ice patches.  Baldy Express was running but vacant, which made it seem like we had a private resort, featuring untracked corduroy, not another person anywhere in sight, and Gun Powder under the Guns that was untracked and blissfully  sumptuous.  We just kept making laps back there all morning, as the temps rose quickly with the solid sunshine and no wind.  The front side of the hill is firming up in a big way, however, there is still natural snow off to the sides and the wind filled gullies are holding the smooth despite the traffic, due to the serious firmness.   The off trail is developing some long frequency, low amplitude interference patterns in the most heavily traveled sections.  There are many lines, especially in Mineral Basin, and Little Cloud, which are work-ably smooth, stretching from the top to the bottom with some variation to follow as the wind deposited the lines as it will.   Upper North West Baldy opened today, with reports of variable conditions, thought the vibe was positive from the participants, who cautioned that the traverse was a bit tricky in places.  Tiger Tail opened as well, but I did not get over there to get a first hand look. Perhaps tomorrow I might find my way over there to check it out, so stay tuned.  Tomorrow, look for the firmness to continue, but extensive tenderization efforts give a very nice early morning ride.  The temps are warming up as the day progresses, making  the afternoon session a solid choice, with back to back Trams kicking the vertical dial way up.  See you there for the first  Boat.   Ciao!!

The light was quite flat this morning for first Tram, but Mineral Basin had some sunshine illuminating the dance floor, so I made a lap out there to start.  The Grooming Crew had done a beautiful job of punching a new line down the lower Downhill section under White Diamonds, offering some of the most sumptuous carving of the season.  It was totally natural, soft, consistent, and skied like Butter.  The peak temp. was 25 degrees, but the stiff breeze coming in ahead of the snow flurries made it seem much colder.  I found myself under dressed riding the chair back up to the peak.   Doh!!! The Snow Guns were blazing on Regulator, where the Gun Powder was deposited all the way down slope, with a soft sensual texture that inspired me to slow down and savor the scrumptulecent quality of the offering.  You have to get the goods were you find them, as we move back into the FIRM ZONE once again.   The interference patterns are building once again in the high traffic zones.  The Upper Cirque has been worked over pretty well, with some serious reefage exposed all the way down the fall line.  The upper entrance into Great Scot is now toast, due to the pent up demand, and the rotten snow pack against the rocks.  The better option is the Rat’s Nest entrance, which is no real bargain itself.  Just so you know going in.   The off trail is getting quite stiff, with some low amplitude, high frequency rumble to deal with, that makes a charging line into the flat light dubious at best.  Tomorrow, look for more cloudiness to keep the flat light going, and bringing no real precipitation.  Today’s inch helped smooth the ride, once again demonstrating what just a little bit of fresh can do.   There is low traffic on the lifts, so make the most of the walk on pace, and get some mega vertical.  See you in the AM. for some righteous Rock And Roll.   IBBY!!!

On the way up the Canyon this morning, another driver encountered the reality of the BLACK ICE, spinning off the road at Lisa Falls.  People were running down to help as I was driving by.   That was the second trip into the creek, as another motorist went off yesterday, just a mile below today’s slide off.  The thing about black ice is that it is really invisible, so this must be kept in mind up and down the Canyon.  This morning offered the opening of the Sunday Cliff area, which had a wide variety of conditions depending on just slight variations in aspect.  I went out too far, finding solid breakable crust to negotiate.  There was just no way to make that pretty, so I just gorilla turned my way out.  Other aspects in Mineral Basin had been blown in by yesterday’s wind, leaving long smooth lines of goodness, with large areas getting covered with transported snow, filling in the low amplitude rumble.  The Upper Cirque is seeing quite a bit of traffic, so the shots are getting sketchy quickly.  Look for exposed rock far down the lines, but the apron is still well covered, though the Cool Whip traverse is well defined and can definitely interrupt the line.   Tomorrow, look for the Grooming crew to have prepared some ripping lines for us, and some of the smooth lines  of natural grooming  are still holding up to traffic.  It is easy to look around and see the lines from a distance.  Remember the Black Ice in the AM.  Peace Out!!

There was a cold North West wind this morning to greet the morning crew.  The stout wind scoured Regulator down to the firm layer, making lines to each side the place to find the natural snow, and filled in lines.  The wind was transporting the goods to long lines of natural grooming, which kept you close to the line, working the transitions as the slope sculpture required.  Tomorrow, look for more of the wind deposited lines as you go up the hill.  The Groomers will also be good for the warm up period, but the mountain is finally offering some more of the naturalaly smoothed sections that are such a rare treat.  Keep a close eye out.  The rocks at the edge of the Upper Cirque have been exposed, making a cautious approach to the edge advisable.  I will have a more detailed assessment of the access point in tomorrow’s post.  One cautionary note, is that despite the new snow cover, appealing lines, the overall appearance of a big base, all mask the  many reefs and spines that are really still in play all about the mountain.  While the  danger of a bodily encounter with a rock reef is becoming less of an issue, they do indeed still exist in many spots, and can be treacherous.  Just check out the North Facing aspects in Mineral Basin, where the wind has stripped large sections clean.  Just scope that out on the ride up Baldy Express for an up close look.  We still do not have that total Devil May Care base that we had last year, so stay safe and don’t get sucked over the falls and drilled into the reef.  I am just sayin’.  See you there in the AM. for the morning JAM!!!   Ciao!!

10 inches of medium density Essence fell late yesterday and overnight, covering the hill in a blanket of the most succulent frosting imaginable.  The turns were near effortless in the smooth consistent cover that had filled in all the variations, leaving the drive lines good to go.  I took my first trips out the Cirque Traverse to check out the cover, finding the Traverse proper well covered, especially the section near the fence, in the middle, that gets so worked.  Wilbre Bowl and the West facing shots had plenty of cover, but I did find some rocks here and there, but over all I was impressed with the quality and cover.   I made several trips out there due to the access cover, with my first run all the way out to Lone Pine for the first run  of the season off the Traverse.  It was excellent, with just a small slough to clear at the very top, leaving the rest of the shot smooth and a gift from the Universe.   Mineral Basin also benefited from the new snow, though the large debris sections still presented issues over a wide area.  The Road to Provo opened this afternoon, looking well covered, and did not have as much debris to mar the lines.   Tomorrow, look for the Groomers to offering some very special goodness, the off trail to still have soft lines, however, the Harbor Chop did begin building quickly with the high traffic.  My knees were just screaming for mercy on the lower mountain where the chop was particularly acute.  The entrances to the favorite spots are improving rapidly, but still need to be taken with care, and a deliberate approach, until it opens up.   The Upper Cirque opened for the first time as well, so check that out early before it gets too worked.  Here is a shot of the perfect cover of Essence just above the traverse to the Bookends.    See you Sunday.   Peace Out!!

PERFECT

This morning was a bit warmer, with a stout breeze transporting the snow, filling in many of the lines on the hill.   This filling feature continued throughout the day, making some of the more peripheral lines continually rebuffed for each run.  Later in the day,  the precipitation began to move in, accumulating quickly, and offering some nice untracked on areas that get little traffic.  Mineral Basin opened around Noon after being closed for such a long stretch.  The ubiquitous slide activity, covered large areas with debris.  The untracked lines were badly wind damaged, offering some serious breakable  crust.  Some of the lines off of the Baldy Express were offering some low angle relief, with some smooth accumulation, but that was the extent of the encouraging reports.  I felt lucky to get out of Mineral with out injury, it was that difficult, not to mention the visibility issues.  Those conditions are only going to improve as we get more snow tonight.  The chunks and debris issues should be kept in mind, no matter how much we get.  Tomorrow, will be a great day, after today’s wind work smoothed the dance floor on the steep sections as well as the trees.  Gad 2 will also be benefiting greatly from the accumulation and wind work.  I got a fair bit of feed back from the Cirque Traverse, with cautionary insight as well as descriptions of better cover than expectations.  I will venture out there with the next installment, but I have to say that most of the sections are filling in nicely and can be approached with confidence.  It could be busy tomorrow, so get there early for the best of the day.   Ciao!!

This morning offered the very first time the consistency factor hit 100% on the Groomed runs.  Even with my woefully tatered skis, I felt like I had a race ready tune, as the hydrovelvet felt like a deep pile shag top to bottom.  I actually got to dig deep and stand on the ski with a bit of audacity.  The wind was nuking out of the North, clearing the cloud cover off the peak as the first Tram arrived.  The Cirque Traverse was open for the first time this morning, with mixed reviews coming from the recon squad.  Wilbre Bowl looked like it was working well, though the entrance and upper section was reported to be thin and sketchy.  I am still going to wait for another installment until I venture out there, due to the extensive sections where the snow pack released,leaving just the thin layer below.  Over all, I think it is good to go out there with some care, but expect some features to negotiate here and there.  The stiff North wind was filling in some of the sections with transported goodness, making some of the off trail, special indeed.  It took a bit of exploration, but rewards were easy to find.  Tomorrow, look for continued smooth grooming, however the warm afternoon temps. thickened the lower elevation slopes, so there may be some crispiness to the mat first thing.  Perhaps we will see Mineral tomorrow. I did not hear any chatter about it today, and the wind was transporting a lot of snow back there, so it will be interesting to get a look soon. The mountain is beginning to come together, so  tomorrow will be  a blast!!   IBBY!!

There was a flash turn out for the first few Trams this morning, but as the crowd got spread out, the Tram line disappeared  for the rest of the day.

FIRST LOOK

I took advantage of the Little Cloud chair to circumvent the Tram line, getting a couple very nice lines down Regulator, which had 4 to 5″ of very light density snow, that resisted clumping into the harbor chop for most of the day.  The Patrol was working snow safety in Mineral basin, and this shot of the Basin shows the view before the charges were dropped from the helicopter.  Huge sections of the snow pack released with the control efforts, which left large sections of the Basin covered in debris.  Mineral Basin is rumored to open first thing in the morning, but there is precious little left  for tomorrow’s opening.  Some of the low angle aspects missed the damage of the slide debris, but expect to have to look around for a clean line.  The high traffic of the past couple of days has begun to develop some serious interference patterns in the  popular lines, with the most serious traffic coming from the Peruvian Chair.  The available traverses have improved markedly with the new snow, making access a bit better, though still touchy on some of the exposed sections.  At least the rock and root situation is improving on those sections.  Gad 2 is getting worked over on all of the lines, building the chop again, so be careful with the snags that are beginning to get uncovered.  Tomorrow, look for the the Groomers to offer some velvet smoothness.  Anderson’s Hill got the Grooming nod for the first time of the season, making that line worth a look on first Tram.  There is still some crustiness here and there, but it does not present much of an issue to the direct line approach.   Be there for the early lines.   Ciao!!!

After  I bailed on yesterday’s blue skies and fresh snow, I had hoped that today would have made up for what I missed, but a stout South wind had scoured Regulator leaving only  variable consistency, marginal visibility, and another fine turnout by the Faithful, but clearly the swell was blown out.  There was a slight delay on the Tram opening, with only Regulator open for the morning session.   At 12:45, the Peruvian Gulch opened, so I made a bee line to Rat’s Nest, to get into Great Scott for the first time this season.  The plastic carpet, the patrol placed in the upper section, was a welcome buffer to the rocks and the extraneous spleefage that inhabits that section.   Scott proper was very nice with the wind blowing all the cover into that exposure.  The traffic was brisk going into the entrance, so I just got out of the way as the fast movers dropped in without regard to the exposed scree in the upper section of the run.  Below the upper section the cover was quite good.  Extensive slide activity has stripped much of the Middle Cirque,  and many other high angle aspects, leaving the slope exposed down to the rocks, and depositing the debris down the slope to the bottom of the fall line.  There were sections that had some serious chunks and slabs to work through, so keep those in mind when you drop into some of the lines.   Gad 2 offered the best snow of the day, with boot top deep frosting that covered the dance floor, and smoothed all the interference patterns. Snow is moving in now, so tomorrow, expect more accumulation to add to the fun.  Check the road report for closure if we get a substantial amount, but I am betting on a good access morning.  The hill is shaping up, and soon all the sections will be open, but there is still much to be covered first.   See you there dark and early!!   IBBY!!!

Did you ever have one of those dreams, where you could just never get to what you wanted to get to?  I have these dreams where I am at the beach, the surf is picture perfect, I am ready to go out, and no matter what, I can never get to the point of paddling out.  Well, today was one of those dream days, where the Sun was shining, a mega dose of fresh Essence building the excitement level, new skis ready to make me feel like a rock star, but we just could not get to the line up, and when we did, all we could do was stare at the perfection unfolding in front of our eyes.  Here is a shot of Harper’s East looking dream like, except this is no dream. This is the real deal.  I could not find any where to park, the chairs were still on hold, and the faithful were standing around looking at the tubes pealing off in the line up, so I was relegated to drive back down the Canyon to watch the New England game.  What are you going to do?   The FB chatter indicated that the lifts began operation just before 2:00 PM and were going to run a little longer.  The Tram was offering just Regulator only to start, so an afternoon on the couch was a fine alternative.  The faithful will be having a great time, if the turns in this photo are any indication.  The density is still high, but the quality is very sweet and tasty, so there is no doubt that the day was worth the wait on all levels.  A big THANK YOU to all the snow safety folks,  grooming crew, and everyone who worked so hard to get things started in this most unusual cycle!!

HARPER'S EAST

I will have a more detailed assessment for tomorrow, as I get a first hand look at the hill up close and personal, as opposed to a frustrating tour of the parking lot looking for a landing spot….., but…… NO!   Tomorrow, my dreams, and yours will come true!!  Peace Out!!