It was a post card picture perfect day today, with blue skies, smooth groomers, and light traffic to greet the folks who turned out.  Mineral Basin was offering stellar Groomer lines, and the off trail was offering dry chalky crud that was demanding, but still felt Winter fresh.  There is a wide spread rumble to deal with, and

deepening troughs in the high traffic interference patterns that make you pay attention.  I was opting for the smooth arcing carpets that just kept me lapping the lines for more perfection.  A new line was worked over for today’s festivities, and here is a shot of Lower Silver Dipper on the right there looking rip roaring ready for fun.  There were few folks out there early, and the brisk wind was transporting some nice fluff to cover the dance floor.  I did not see much in the way of long threads building yet, but there were sections of real Studio velvet here and there.  The trees are getting a lot of traffic and you will find deep interference patters wide spread in those areas.   Still, there are many smooth natural lines to find, but you will have to look a bit.  Here is a shot of the Red Stallion from Australia, who was experiencing Snowbird for the first time, and was getting some seriously great turns out in the Lewis and Clark adventure area.  I know he had a great time because it was so good out there.   All that early season training is paying off these days now that you can trust your turns to hold when you dial it up.  Tomorrow, look for more great cruising on the perfect carpets that are prepared every night, continued cold temps., and more Sun to keep the visibility technicolor bright.  Off trail is fun indeed, but will make you pay close attention.  Most aspects are skiing dry and chalky.   I leave you with this great shot of Norm and Mara from Connecticut, who were really enjoying their time on the hill.  Norm reads this report everyday to keep up to date.  It was great to meet them and hear their stoke about the day.  See you tomorrow for the wide open, hard charging lines.  Syrup Won’t Stop ‘EM!!

The Tram began running at 8:30Am this morning to celebrate pass holder appreciation day.  They had donuts, hot chocolate, and coffee for the faithful to begin the day.  The Crew hit the front of the hill for the first run and got the smooth Groomers feeling perfect and ready for a full court press.  Anderson’s Hill got an extra special treatment, making it good to go for digging into each turn and getting the full rail locked and loaded.  Mineral Basin was bright and sunny when it opened just before 9:00 AM., offering amazing buffed lines that are as good as it gets.  Here is as shot looking down Canyon with the morning light just hitting the big lines in the distance.   Off trail is still soft, but is beginning to stiffen slightly, with low amplitude rumble beginning to be ubiquitous as things get worked over.  I went way out to the far reaches to see how things are progressing, and I was treated to very workable variations through the deep pockets.  Coverage continues to be excellent and is much fatter than just last week.  Here is a shot of the Tram tower and high elevation trees covered with frost in the early morning first Tram light.  The cold temps. are preserving the quality all day long wall to wall.  Even the direct Sun aspects are holding up.  Tomorrow, look for the Groomers to be offering carpets of corduroy on which you can do no wrong.  The Sun should be bright in Mineral for the opening bell, and will be the place to be for maximum R+R!! The morning might be brisk, so check the temps. for the correct layering. IBBY!!

It was clear and cold this morning as the clouds had moved off to the East, leaving the high elevations clear and the Valley shrouded in low hanging fog.  Fresh Groomers were off the chart smooth after all the new snow, and the off trail is feeling good wall to wall.  Those high traffic areas are still sporting those interference patterns, but the new snow is cushioning the ride, and the lines through are long and carve-able.  Later in the day, the Valley clouds began to work up the Canyon, which caused some visibility issues.   My friend Mark sent me this shot of a his sonholding open a hyper dimensional portal just before they stepped through to the OTHER SIDE.  Funny things happen at high altitude here in the Wasatch.   The weather is expected to improve over the next few days, so we can expect good visibility and great turning on the heals of that last cycle.  Tomorrow, look for the fresh Groomers to be unreal and as consistent as one could wish.  The entire hill is open now that things have settled down.  I will be continuing my recon work in the far reaches, seeing how things are shaping up in those places that I have  been putting on hold.  I did go out to the far side of Little Cloud yesterday, but I just could not see through the deep fog, and just had to get off the hill as best I could.  Here is a great shot of my friend Casey that I took in the locker room as we compared notes on our sojourn out in the abyss.  We both had our exciting times finding our way out of the lines we chose.  She is still smiling and had a great day.  See you for the first Bucket in the AM.  Stay Frosty!!

More Fluffulescence covered the dance floor overnight, adding up yet another layer to this week’s daily installments.  The Faithful were on deck for the early Trams, but were dispersed quickly, leaving walk on Trams all day long.  Out in Mineral Basin, the push was for the big wide open pitches after the rope drop, with hoots and ecstatic hollering that could be heard continually as the Faithful were rewarded with real deal Utah Light.  I opted to work the Lewis and Clark area for the un tracked lines that were there for the taking as everyone was otherwise occupied.  Here is a shot of my tracks down the center pitch that I have been waiting to fill in sufficiently.  While the off trail was excellent wall to wall, the Groomers were offering some off the chart sensual carpets that demanded full attention to the unreal quality.  Here is a shot of a pristine line of corduroy for your consideration.  The Sun was out for the early runs, but became shrouded as clouds and snow fall filled in the day.  I am glad I got these early runs as they really capped off the day even as it was getting started.  All day long the conditions remained excellent as the snow quality remained consistent with the still cold temps.  Tomorrow, look for some additional accumulation of the righteous Utah Light to kick off the day.  The quality will remain good all day long, and you can still expect some weather to be part of the mix.  Dress for the cold, but the temps. are not nearly as cold as a week ago.  I am pealing the tip of my nose now from the frost bite that got me during that spell.    The Summit at Hidden Peak is still amazing me as I see it from different vantage points.  Here is a shot of the East facing stair case that hangs out over the air.  It is great having the Bird on the move and looking forward to the next stage of life.  Plans were just released for the expansion into Mary Ellen Gulch, which is next in line for the Bird experience.  I will look forward to all of this as we move ahead.  Peace Out!!

As anticipated, there was a very nice over night accumulation of Essence that was the real deal Utah light.  Even though the report was only 4”, the combination of recent accumulation over that last days, and some wind transport of product, made for some real knee deep lines that were smooth and free of any rumble at all.  The delayed opening of Mineral Basin let me get some very nice lines down the front side of the hill, and then get the line drop for the Basin.  That was a real double bonus for the morning.  All of the hill was offering similar goodness with little in the way of static, though there were a couple new spots that opened that were still feeling the reverberations of some of those rime event layers.  No real issues there, but could be felt non the less.  Here is a shot of the morning Sun trying to make a break for it.  Very light traffic on the hill made this a real sleeper powder day, and I took advantage of the slow pace to get some very nice un tracked lines that were still holding up when I left them for others to find.  Folks have been coming here from elsewhere to get the goods as they are delivered.  Here is a shot of J2 from Beaver Creek, who joined the Morning Crew for the Forklift traditional breakfast gathering.  She was really stoked to get such great conditions with no real pressure on the hill.  While the interference patterns are still holding up in the high traffic areas, the cushion is markedly improved, making working your way through the troughs much easier.  Tomorrow, look for a bit more accumulation to work though, so we will have to wait and see what shakes out.  You can be assured that it is going to be great anywhere you go on the hill.  Here is one of the new photographers who is working with Powder Shots.  Erica was excited to be on deck and was getting her locker set up for the season.  You  can see the stoke in her eyes.  Check the road conditions in the AM for restrictions, as the forecast is for a tricky commute.  Speed Safely!!

The visibility was challenging once again this morning, but that did not dissuade the Morning Crew as we headed out into the Abyss of Mineral Basin once again.  Visibility improved below the first couple hundred feet, and we were greeted with another 4 inches of sumptuous Essence covering the dance floor.  I put a line right down the middle gut that had been getting a lot of traffic  recently, but found it to be nicely filled in and as smooth as you would want.  The Groomers out there were covered with the goods as well, and you could do no wrong on the perfect carpets.  We wrapped numerous laps out there despite the vis. and then began working the front of the hill, where sweet frosting greeted  us top to bottom.  Here, again, you could do no wrong on the super consistent lines that had been prepared.  Off trail was much better today, with nice cushion buffering the interference patterns.  Here is a shot of a frozen shrubbery, that is living at the top of the Baldy Chair.  Snow continued all day, and the conditions continued to improve as the light accumulation kept adding to the cushion.  A fair breeze filled in a lot of the tracks, and I found fresh lines aplenty after I came out of the Breakfast Break.  Tomorrow, look for some more significant accumulation to be on tap as it is raining briskly here at the Trailer with a constant patter on the aluminum skin.  I will sleep well tonight to that sound.  The hill is in great shape wall to wall, and you will find nice lines were ever you go now.  Dress for storm riding as this system is slow moving and should continue all day.  Traffic should be light once again in the AM., but I do not expect any real pressure to be backing things up.  See you there for the freshness.  See the line, Be the line!!

With 3 to 5 inches of fresh Essence covering the dance floor, the morning was looking promising.  The visibility was a bit of a challenge, and the morning crew took the bold step into the abyss of Mineral Basin, which required a sixth sense indeed.  Fortunately, the visibility after the upper 200′ was quite good and the un tracked perfection of the Lewis and Clark area felt like frosting a cake with a paper knife.  We had to make numerous laps out there to get as much of that bit of goodness as was possible.  On the front of the hill, a bit shorter accumulation was in evidence, but the medium density product cushioned the ride and made carving full depth arcs easy and predictable.  Off trail, the rumble was still working, but the new cushion really improved the lines that I checked out.  We got as much as we could pack into the morning session and convened at the Forklift where the Chairman of the Board was holding court and all data points were shared and collated.  Snow continued to fall all day long and just a couple of patches of blue passed by teasing us with visibility.  I ran into TEAM KILLINGTON, who were enjoying the Summit at Hidden Peak.  Come to find out, we all know the same people, which is an interesting evidence of just a few degrees of separation.  If we had dug a bit deeper we might have made the Kevin Bacon connection.  Tomorrow, look for more Essence to have fallen overnight, more stormy conditions all day long, and great snow to be had where ever  you look.  Coverage continues to be good overall, but keep your eyes pealed for those features that have been uncovered  and then re covered by the recent snow.  Get ready for a few days of this storm cycle to keep things interesting and fresh.  Syrup Won’t Stop ‘EM!!

With warmer morning temps. at the base, I thought it might be warmer up high, but the clouds that wrapped the peak made the temps. cold, and I am glad I still dressed for the cold.  The visibility was a bit touchy as the details were hard to come by with the fog that was ubiquitous all over the hill. Mineral Basin was offering some nice Groomers but you had to trust the FORCE to feel  your way down the prepared lines.  The Sun was trying to come out, and did in fact light one section of the Lewis and Clark area just in time for me to dial in a ripping right hand round house turn that I have been having fun with all week.  The off trail continues to consolidate, though that static rumble is keeping the ride a bit rough.  The interference patterns continue to build, but the lines through them seem to have an easy cadence.  The far section of the Exotic Trees opened for the first time of the season, and the intrepid Chuckster did the recon out there and reported very variable conditions.  The interference patterns have not built up yet, as it just opened, but the long time sitting after the storm worked it over pretty well.  I will get out there next time it snows now that it has seen some traffic.   Since the visibility was so tough today, I offer this piece of art that I did last Summer just to add some color to the day.  Tomorrow, look for continued weather to be keeping the visibility interesting, some overnight accumulation to give a very small bit of cushion to the dance floor, and light traffic on the hill.  The Groomers will be offering the best feel in the variable light, and will make the lines that much smoother.   I will be doing a bit of recon out to some of the far out rope lines to see how things are looking farther out of the way.  See you there for the morning fun.  Don’t forget to SIZZLE!!

There were smooth runnings out on Mineral Basin for the morning session.  The Sun was out, and the corduroy was carvelicious with the natural snow out there offering dialable arcs.  The warmer temps. were a nice change, but there still was a bit of wind, and I am glad that I still wore my cold weather coat.  Traffic was light and the laps were fast and easy.  I was sticking with some of the side lines to get as much of the snow that had been pushed to the edges to get the frosting effect in each turn. Here is a shot of Superior I took while I was checking out the cover. This pitch is filling up, but is going to take quite a bit more to fill the steep chutes up high.  The fat noses have been getting traffic and looks good over there.  The off trail continues to offer good dry chalk, but the static relief will be quite bouncy if you charge it too hard.  Tomorrow, look for more great Grooming to be the hard charging call for the morning session.  The temps. will be moderate as well, but I will wait and see what the wind speed is looking like before I choose a coat for the first Boat.  I am still waiting for those last sections of the hill to open, but they will open in due time and will be worth the wait.  I will keep you posted.  The traffic should be quite light for the morning session, and I don’t expect much pressure all day long.  I might think about bringing out The Wings for the first time of the season.  Clean runways are always a treat.  IBBY!!

With the inversion firmly in place, the temps. up high are beginning to warm up, especially as the Sun gets higher in the afternoon.  Today, those wind buffed lines from yesterday’s wind event was the place to get the early goodness, and the Groomers were good to go with great visibility out in Mineral Basin.  The early turns out there have been just stunning with traction that you can trust even with less than stellar edges.  The light was variable as some high clouds and a few lower clouds moved through during the day.  Here is a shot from the Tram Rat during yesterday’s wind event, with the snow blowing up off the top of the Twins and the Sun back lighting the ridge.  Off trail, the conditions continue to consolidate with the wind and traffic.  High frequency, low amplitude static is becoming more wide spread, with higher amplitude interference patters getting solidly set up in the high traffic areas.  There are still lots of lines farther out on the traverses that still offer good charging crud.  The entrances to the big steep lines have become very sketchy, and you can expect to take your time getting into some of them.  Tomorrow, look for even warmer temps. to be a nice change after all this cold weather.  There may be some clouds moving through that may flatten the lighting a touch.  Look for those smooth grooming lines to be offering some ripping good corduroy for the morning session.  The hill is in great shape now, and it is fun to start exploring the far reaches.  Stay Frosty!!