I did not dress for cold this morning, but I most certainly should have. Never the less I toughed it out, working the Mineral Basin lines that had been nicely prepared and were very consistent. The light was flat with the high overcast, but there were plenty of details to keep the reference points easy to read. On the front of the hill, tenderized lines were provided to get around the very firm sections that seemed to affect just the middle elevations. The lower elevations were firm, but had plenty of traction to make any turn come off without too much slippage. Lower Silver Fox and Lower Primrose Path both had fresh tills going, and it was great to be able to toggle between both pitches with each lap. With the cold temps., the pack was very slow to soften up much, but by Noon there was full on corn feel as the granular consistency made turns fun and easy. Here is a shot taken by Neil of a waterfall in the lower Canyon getting blown back up hill by the nuking wind late yesterday afternoon. I have never seen this happen, so this is a very rare shot. 
Tomorrow, look for more great Grooming on all sides of the hill. The Sun should be out in force as this impulse moves East. Temps. are predicted to still be cold, so dress for the weather and don’t make the same mistake I made this morning. Softening will be quite slow to happen, so choose those tenderized lines to get the best traction. The off trail is very stiff and difficult, but I bet they put a fresh buff on the Peruvian Trifecta to complement the nice treatment today. Thanks so much to the Cat Crew for keeping it fun and fast. 
FLASH!!!! TrenchZilla, Mineral Basin’s resident Carvesaurus Rex, has been taken from his lair by some dastardly agent. This has caused much distress to the Faithful who have been given so much stoke by his presence. Please return our mascot to his lair. Karma is a bitch. IBBY!!!
MUCH COLDER
4-14-17 by dave