STORM RIDING

12-28-20 by dave

It was a storm riding morning, with blowing wind, low visibility, and driving snow that was not piling up as it was driven by the wind. There was fair pressure for the lifts even with the prevailing conditions, but the chairs made short work of the crowd. Mineral Basin was closed, so my foray into the Abyss was thwarted, however, that saved me from having to guess my navigation. Here is a shot of Mikey M in Great Scott on one of the first Trams of the day.

Mikey M sparing no effort to get the goods on a stormy day.

There were few takers for the more remote lines, so you could venture off at your own pace. The guts and low areas were capturing the new snow, but it was difficult to find the long threads of accumulation in the marginal visibility. Here is a shot of Professor Tom getting some of that out of the way goodness.

The lines were much smoother where the wind had worked the pack in the prefrontal accumulation. Those Northern lines were getting the best of the wind.

Temps were fairly cold, and dressing for the conditions paid off. I worked both sides of the hill, but found the variability, combined with the visibility, tough to keep the mojo working, so I took an early seating at The Forklift Chair to assess the option. On the way down that last run, we all stopped to pay tribute to all those great folks who have left The Funway. Here is a shot of #1, in his shrine on the hill.

Fitz had been at The Bird since Day One, and we miss him greatly. We remember all the great times we all shared with the folks who have gone on to do the recon work in the next Dimension .

Tomorrow, look for more overnight accumulation, continued cold temps, and reworked Groomers to dial in in the variable visibility. Look for those North facing lines to have gathered the most product from the prevailing winds. The old layer will still be in play, but look to low areas and tree lines where the blowing product has piled up. Every little bit helps and will keep the hill fresh every day. See you there for the early explorations. See the Line, BE the Line!!

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