It was another beautiful morning, even though there were clouds hanging over the Valley, making it appear that it was going to be gloomy.  The front of the hill was frozen solid, helped only by the tenderizing efforts, which made Mineral Basin the go to place to get the goods in the back that were smooth and unpressured.  The Tram was running on a twenty minute schedule, so you could lap a back to back with no problem, but the back was so good there was no reason to deal with the diamond plate. I took advantage of the short window before the front broke to visit the Forklift Chair, after which the front was good to go with fast smooth corn goodness.  Regulator waited until Noon to break, so that sequence stretched out the quality all morning long.  Tomorrow, look for some weather to have moved in, so I don’t expect things to soften as fast, and there might even be some precip of some kind.   The cover remains good to the bottom, but there are some rocks popping up here and there, so be on the look out for them.  It might require a bit more clothing as well for the morning session, so go prepared for variation.  Here is a shot of the morning crew on the ride up first Tram.  They had Mineral all to themselves.  See you in the AM.  Ciao!!

There was a pea soup fog shrouding the hill this morning as the first Tram left the dock.  The visibility looked problematic, and the prospects seemed dim, but as we pushed off to Mineral Basin it was evident that the Basin had it’s own micro climate going on, with bright Sun, a fresh coat of frosting, and some of the best carving of the recent past.  The small accumulation seemed like butter as the covered groomers provided absolute perfection for the very few faithful who showed up for the festivities.  Off Trail was also soft, but there was a slight touch of crust, that gave way to a bit more forceful approach.  The front side of the hill was still frozen solid, but the clouds were breaking up, letting the Sun begin to work the dance floor.  Regulator did not break until Noon, before which it was a real test of edge control to deal with the diamond plate surface.  The lower mountain is melting off very quickly, with lower Silver Fox and Primrose Path beginning to look mighty peaked. The pack got very soft as it will, so tomorrow, look for the same basic timing on the hill, with Mineral Basin offering approachable groomers for first Tram.  10:00 AM. will begin the front side softening, so plan for that if the early program does not thrill you.  There is still plenty of snow on the hill and those few melted off places are not ubiquitous, so you are good to go for the bottom.  Here is a shot of Macaroni looking good, with the lower section smoothing out nicely.   See you in the AM.  IBBY!!

It was  very noisy in the trailer as the rain pelted it last night, which translated to a fresh installment on the hill.  Unfortunately, I had to miss today’s festivities to deal with the perturbations from the Galactic Core that was slamming my interface unit, but that is the nature of the beast.  Up on the hill, there was a sparse turn out given the murky morning skies and low report on the web.  My inside source said the upper mountain was offering some creamy cover, with plenty of lines to be found in the peripheral areas.  The lower mountain was sticky and grabby, making the upper elevations the place to stay.  The weather system is slow moving and will remain unsettled for the next bit, so bring the appropriate gear to be able to deal with whatever you find.  The interference patterns have been going away as the traffic has abated largely, but the underlying rumble is still problematic when frozen, so wait till significant softening occurs before venturing off the prepared lines.  I did some poking around here and there, just to see if I could, and I found it unpleasant, except for the smoothest lines.  In the frozen state the off trail can be treacherous, so tread lightly.  I will be on deck for the festivities in the AM., so I will have a first hand look and report. Things on the Galactic front is a different matter, and that does not really affect the snow quality, though maybe a little.   Here is a shot I took the other day with the Sun refracting through the mist, revealing light’s circular nature.   IBBY!!