FROZEN FINGERS

4-29-12 by dave

I am glad I dressed up for the first Tram this morning, because it was very cold on the peak with temps in the low teens.   Even though I put on my cold weather gloves, they were insufficient to deal with the back to Winter feel.  Mineral Basin offered dry chalky smoothness on the Groomers, but the light was flat with the overcast skies.  The Peruvian Gulch offered Groomers that were Winter smooth and velvety top to bottom, as the cold from yesterday, the cold snow temps, and the sharp grooming crew provided a return to January for the morning session.   The Sun began to take over after 11:00 AM and the softening began to cover the dance floor.  Regulator began to soften last, and that exposure always is a delight when it is set up for smooth cruising.  Got to love the velvet buff.   Tomorrow, look for there to be still good snow up high, but expect the lower elevations to be crispy and noisy.  Mineral Basin will, again, be offering the best shot if the Sun is out, but if there is no softening it could be a touch problematic back there.  The off trail has set up and is not really all that fun, but be adventurous if you feel the need to explore.  There is some melt off on the lower mountain, so look out for some of the rock reefs to be reappearing in the middle of the main runs.  Lower Who Dunnit is going away quickly, so watch the roots and snags that are sprouting up wall to wall with a large island of shrubbery in the middle.  There is some more weather on the way, so expect continued variations in the temps and visibility issues.  See you dark and early.   Ciao!!

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