It was another very nice morning with a quiet crew on the ride up.  Again, Mineral Basin was so perfect, with White Diamonds rebuffed and offering perfect turns all the way down.   The front side was crispy, but the tenderizing was good enough to keep an edge.  The rest of the day went off like clock work, with a huge crowd showing up later in the day, dressed in costumes, bikinis, and all sorts of flair to celebrate the day.   The upper elevations held the quality all day, with the lower elevations sticky and very slow.  The Skimming Pond was going off with a huge group of folks encouraging the sliders as they crossed the span.  Such fun indeed.    This has been a great seasons despite the snow fall, with some very memorable days and times on the hill.  The BIG CYCLE returns the snow pack to the liquid and gaseous state, which it must do in order for it to return to us in it’s time.  We too will move into the cycle, which will once again bring us back again to be on deck for the next accumulation season.  I have spent the past few afternoons getting the Trailer ready to head up to the High Desert, where I am going to following all the rabbit hole entrances I uncovered during the season, but could not pursue.  I have had great time this season, and am looking forward to the next one as it will be here shortly.  Thanks to all of you for reading my posts, it has been exciting meeting all the folks who read the posts.  I will be posting now and again all Summer long, with some updates and shots of the hill in the Summer coat, so stay tuned for that.  Have a great Summer and I will see you on First Tram.  IBBY!!!

It was perfect once again this morning as the overnight freeze solidified the pack.  Mineral Basin, once again, was ready to go as the First Tram let out, but White Diamonds was left off the groom list, but the prepared areas were carpet smooth and already had the soft going.  The traffic was light, but there were many more folks showing up as the morning progressed.   The front side began breaking at 10:30 AM, following the same timing as most of the mornings.  The added coolness extended the goodness a bit longer before the sticky factor kicked in.   The cover is still holding on, though there is an area on Bass Highway where we may have to walk tomorrow, but it will be short, and I am betting the Grooming Crew has a stash of extra product to push over the section, but it still will be short lived.   Tomorrow, expect another excellent morning session, with back to back chairs on the back side, but the Tram runs on a 20 minute schedule, so unless you push the diamond plate hard you will miss the lap.    Off trail still has quite a bit of rumble, and only gets good when things get very soft, but the goods are really on the Groomers, where the corn stays velvet smooth and sumptuous.   Tomorrow will be the last of the season, so get up there for the festivities.  See you there for the early runs.  I was honored to meet the Powder Mafia today and I got to get this shot with them.  They all read the Blog and were stoked about the conditions today.  They rocked it!!!    Peace out!!

There was a high cloud cover this morning as the first Tram hit the dock.   Though it was 40 Degrees on the peak it seemed colder, and a wind was blowing lightly, making it feel that much colder.  Of course I dressed for how I wanted it to be and was caught short once again.   Brrrr!    Mineral Basin offered White Diamonds, once again having been treated to the skilled hands of the Grooming Crew, who left that shot so smooth top to bottom.  The quality of the crystalline corn was as good as it gets with no exaggeration.  Rounding out with speed at the bottom was buttery smooth.   Lapped that line for the first hour to get as much of that rarity as possible.  The front of the hill held of till 10:30 AM, when the magic time happens, when it is corn goodness smooth top to bottom.   Regulator did not break until 11:30 AM, with some beautiful corn crystals cascading below your edge set.  Nice!   Another shout out to the Cat Crew for Mark Malu, which is just so nice when it gets the break.   Tomorrow, look for another excellent morning.  An early start has not yet been disappointing, but that 10:00 Am window is the start on the front side.  Good cover remains to the bottom, but the Gad Valley below the Little Cloud chair is now designated as Back Country, with no markings  and unexpected melt off sections.  There should be no problem getting to the Plaza from both sides of the hill, but the Bass Highway has very sticky conditions late in the day, so expect some slogging.  See you in the AM!     IBBY!!

It was another perfect Spring morning, with Mineral Basin offering unreal perfection, with the  big steep White Diamonds buffed, it offered the back country feel of a hiked for aspect.   The front side of the hill held off until 10:30 AM before breaking and was another top to bottom corn festival.   The snow quality has taken on a well defined granularity that skied as well as any other shade of perfection, any time of year. Plus, there was the added bonus of warm air.  It was like getting perfect waves in warm water.   MMMMM Goood!!!    The rest of the day did not disappoint, with the Little Cloud area going off, followed by Regulator, making the upper laps the place to stay to avoid the stickiness down low.   Sticky it was down on the lower mountain, but the upper shots made up for the slogg.  Tomorrow, look for another great snow sport sliding extravaganza.  There is still plenty of snow down low to get you to the Plaza, but too far off the prepared runs will get you into the melt off.  You can easily see the patterns, so no worries, but expect melt off hazards was we go into these last days.   Here is a shot of the LCC  South Gate shining in the Sun.  I love this time of year when the light falls on this section of the Canyon wall.   IBBY!!

With 40 degrees on the peak, the morning offered some of the best corn conditions of the year.   Corn is rare really, taken for granted in the shadow of Powder, but it really has all the elements that make it another kind of perfect that only lasts for short windows of time in the year, and in the day.   After the corn goes past prime it becomes glop, but while it is in the sorbet zone there is nothing better.   It has that velvet smooth quality that supports any kind of edge angle you throw at it and saying ” Oh Yeah!!! White Diamonds was buffed again for the early risers, offering back country smoothness that just takes me back to the days when working these lines was a dream.   Slowing down to get more of each rare turn, gave you all the juice the mountain could return back in each release of the turn.   Tomorrow, look for another nice morning, with the early lines still offering the goods from the first bell.   Tenderizing efforts make the front side a fair call in case you wanted to work the front.   At 10:30 AM. the front began to break, with the Peruvian side just smooth and inviting as the softness filled in.  Last to go off was Regulator, where it too offered perfect corn till the closing bell, with the upper elevations holding off the sticky factor that the lowest elevations presented after 1:00 PM.  Cover is still holding up, and the grooming crew has done a great job keeping the runs smooth and cookie free.  There were only occasional roller balls that had rolled down from above, so keep your eyes on the hill for slight avoidance moves.   Here is a shot of Regulator looking smooth at 1:30 PM, still holding the perfection.   Sooo Goood!!    Ciao!!

It was 33 degrees on the peak this morning, with a very light breeze.  The front of the hill was frozen solid, but tenderizing had been done, so it was approachable though dark in the early morning.  Elizabeth Taylor would have been proud as they buffed White Diamonds and we worked a deep carpet of white diamonds of corn goodness all the way down to the bottom.   There were very few takers for the early hours, so back to back rippers were fun, taking advantage of the perfect corn.  This quality was every bit a good as any Powder Day, as it was smooth, consistent, seemingly slow motion, and really is like what you would find had you hiked for it.   The front of the hill broke about 10:30 AM. working it’s way up the hill.  An eye toward aspect caught you some yummy lines that were full throttle smooth, and all the fast movers were taking advantage of the smooth high speed lines before the sticky sections developed. Tomorrow, look for another good morning to be early, but if you want the front side wait a bit.  Mineral Basin has good lines early, and the low traffic makes the hill seem all to yourself.   The off trail is smoothing out in the high North sections, but the other aspects are heavily Sun cupped, making them approachable only after serious softening.   The Grooming Crew did a nice job healing up the Goblin Gully section, covering the gnar with a solid layer, but later in the day the traffic does begin to find the underlying stuff, so go in there with caution.   Mark Malu was fully down hill perfect, letting you pull out all the stops, getting to high mark the bowl coming out.   That was fun indeed.  Here is a shot of Great Scott from the Cirque Traverse, as I did a recon run to see how it was out there.   Don’t go…. ’nuff said.   IBBY!!

It was 21 Degrees on the peak with a brisk wind blowing out of the North East.  I had dressed for how I wanted it to be and was found wanting.  With  a short sleeve shirt, a light shell, no hat and spring gloves left me wishing I had paid attention to the fact sheet.  There was tenderizing passes in Mineral Basin, but the only slightly velvety feel needed another hour to mature.  I took a run on the front side to get to the Forklift Chair to let softening occur, and I found fun tenderizing lines that made the descent a delight, especially since I was in a hurry to get out of the cold.  I had the ice cream head ache going when I walked in the door of the Forklift, glad to have the warmth of the fire.    Tomorrow, look for another cold morning, and I won’t be caught un clothed again.  The cold of the day made the quality of the snow stand up all day until closing, when there was only the last lowest sections that got sticky.  11:00 Am was the beginning of the quality softening so a later start is not a bad idea, but I will be there for the first Boat non the less, and I will make another decision to stay or hit the Chair to let the day warm up.    On note of caution;   the exit out of Mark Malu through Gobblin Gully has melted off in a big way, with a rock reef exposed in the middle.  The Grooming crew did what they could to put some cover there, but the roots and rocks were problematic.   I backed off on the knoll to sus the situation, only to have three fast movers go ripping into the turbulence at high speed.  DOH!!!!   That was interesting watching that backpedal.    Late season snow pack requires a bit of caution, so look first then blast.   IBBY!!

It was 21 Degrees on the peak as first Tram hit the dock, with the front side as hard as a rock.   Mineral Basin had been given a very nice fresh tenderizing treatment, making the low traffic early laps fun and very fast.  The tenderizing had the consistency  of deep sugar granules, which felt luxurious underfoot, and made me want to slow down and experience the back country feel of corn goodness.   Off trail is still quite bouncy, but becomes more accessible as  the Sun works the sections.   The front side of the hill started breaking at 11:00 AM and the cold air kept the softening rate from gaining too much, which extended the quality until the closing bell.   Everyone was wishing for a couple more Trams, but there will be more tomorrow.  I expect another cold night, so another 11:00 AM break time will be in the ball park, but once again the morning laps in Mineral will offer the goods early.   The Grooming Crew did a great job repairing the funky section in the Lower Men’s Downhill Chute, so now it is good to go, and it is a nice steep pitch at that.  There are a lot of rocks on the Cat tracks out on Lupine Loop that are falling from the melted off sections above, so keep an eye out for falling rocks on those upper Cat Tracks, and watch your path as you go.  I caught a rock with one tip and it almost sent me down, but didn’t quite.    Here is a shot of the Sunday Cliffs waiting for softening to occur.   See you there for the morning session.   Peace Out.

A cold front moved through last night, but did not leave any accumulation.   I took the day off to rest my knees from last weeks spring fest, and back to back tram pace.  The cold morning and cloud shrouded peaks did not motivate me from taking the day of rest.   The thaw was probably very slow in coming, so the timing of the past week was not working out, but the cold air helped slow the melt.  There was music on the Plaza this afternoon, so the festivities are happening in fine form.  I am sorry I missed the band, as I so love the music on the Plaza.  Tomorrow, look for a return to the spring timing, though I bet it is going to be a bit slower still.  Mineral Basin might also prove to be a bit crispy in the AM, but I will just have to hit it on first Tram just to see if I am correct.  I can always ride the Forklift Chair until softening occurs.  Here is a shot of the clouds moving off the peak the other morning, just when I thought it was going to be murky the clouds shredded and left a beautiful morning.  Goes to show, you never know till you go.   See you for the crispy runs in the AM.    IBBY!!

The front that was predicted stalled short of the Wasatch Front as it stood off in the distance looking a bit grim.  On the Hill the temps were quite a bit cooler this morning, with a brisk South Wind that was blowing out ahead of the front.  Mineral Basin was slow to  soften, but there was enough of a thaw to make the first laps out there velvety but firm.  The Lupine Loop section was rock solid, with only the low angle sections absorbing enough Sun to soften early.  The front of the hill was very firm, but tenderizing efforts had been implemented for grip, but every thing else needed a couple hours to break.  I, once again, hit the Forklift Chair to await the softening of the front side of the hill.  By 11:00 AM. things were beginning to break as the morning warmed up, but the cold temps. pushed the break time back quite a bit.  I am not listening to the weather presenter anymore, as they have got it wrong as of late, so I am showing up for the early Boats just for drill, then I will make my decision.  The early morning has paid off for the most part, so why waste the time, but if you are looking for the break, 10:00 Am is a good target, giving you the most window for over all softness, but the Mineral option will be gone by then, but that is the trade off.  The lower mountain continues to melt off quickly, with the Lower Men’s Downhill Chute having  the central reef expanding rapidly, making that line a dubious route now.  Fun times are to be had, even though it is not powder, it still offers another kind of perfection, just different.   Here is a shot of the Knife Edge in the early light.   IBBY!!!