At 6:00AM this Monday morning the sky was clear, and I got up super charged, as I am able to get the last week of the full season before I have to leave the real world.  There were few hard corps takers for first Tram and that was to be expected as the clouds had rolled in, though they clung only to the highest peaks.  I went out into Mineral Basin to start out the day, as the Tram was running on a 15 minute schedule and there is no way to make it .  The back was very velvety as the new snow had been tilled into the old surface, making a very skiable surface.  I ventured off trail on 3 occasions, just to test the water, and found it to be about 4” of grabby snow, so I moved quickly back out to safer terrain.  My knees, at this late stage of the season, are getting fatigued and I am not going to push it.  Jumping back to the front side found Chips to be velvety as well with the till mixture prepared in the same fashion.  The grooming had been cutback significantly,  and  care needed to be taken to avoid meandering into some gnarly section.  Moving over to the Gad side  found the new snow deposited on top of the groom job from last night.  Being only 2 to 3” deep made the grabbiness negotiable and down right enjoyable.  I went back for more.  The underlayment was certainly crusty, but the quality on top gave it a very carvable feeling.  The sun came out occasionally, now and again, making the freeze let up, and a nice corny essence prevailed.  The clouds moved in and out all day and the temps. were a tad on the cold side.  I did finally, in fact, wise up and put on a hat before I left the locker…. Pain instructs.  More unsettled weather on the way so you just have to show up to know.  Only a few days left of the regular season so get it while the getting is good!!!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 1:43 pm and is filed under Snow Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.