Just as I had surmised the canyon was closed this AM for control but opened in good time. A very long string of seekers backed up the road to La Caille and it was slow going. Not one to be caught up in the crush I just took it in stride. The new snow and wind combined to make a very diverse spectrum of consistency. The over night snow was much higher density than yesterday which created an upside down situation. In combination with the wind some areas were super deep but slabby and quite difficult to punch through. Regulator was partially scoured and the right side was deeper. East and north facing was favored but still interesting to say the least. Mineral opened in due time and had been spared the brunt of the wind damage so that really shined. The deep trees and lower sections of the hill remained very skiable. The Faithful were represented very well backing up the queue at the tram and the chairs had much lighter traffic. The slab was quickly mitigated by heavy traffic which broke up the surface tension making the consistency better over all. The temps were very cold with very stiff wind on the peak causing a real frost bite hazard. It is still winter and the cold kept the snow from gumming up in the sun which came out fully as the morning progressed. The forecast is for nice days this week and there is still some unopened areas for tomorrow. Check on the availability in the AM. The higher density snow has really helped cushion the bumps overall so they don’t have quite the sting they had yesterday with the light density and marginal visibility. Grooming overnight will provide epic hydro velvet for the morning seekers. It’s all good again !!! Ah Yeah!!
Powder Panic
3-10-09 by dave