Bright Sun and clear skies greeted the faithful this morning with light winds and some great sliding on the hill.  The Mineral Basin sunfest was the big draw as the day started, with great fresh Grooming and the High North sections holding some very nice dry smooth chalk. After yesterday’s very warm temps. the South and East facing aspects had frozen up with the overnight cold, and it would be well after 10:00AM before the break began.  This unusually warm weather  makes a Spring time ” Follow the Sun”  approach a must.  We don’t usually have to deal with those considerations for some time yet, but, in this case,  you have to keep it in mind.  The Exotic Trees did not get the transported snow that I thought would materialize there, and the interference patterns and crust had not been covered, leaving that section of the hill with deep interference patterns with the recent high traffic.  I will be waiting for more snow before returning for another attempt.  That area is a favorite of mine, but it has to be right.  Here is a shot of the Stairway To Heaven I took with the morning Sun leaving this high contrast view of the hill.  Tomorrow, look for weather to be moving in with precipitation expected after Noon.  The light could be problematic, but go for the smooth lines that are still holding up on the High North, and use the trees for the reflected light. Those aspects that have been crispy in the AM will continue to be an issue, with not much in the way of softening happening if the Sun does not show.  I made the mistake of dropping into an East facing aspect that had that dusting covering the Gnar, and I was forced to use a more precise approach to the variations to keep things consistent.   See you there for the morning session.  IBBY!!

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2015 at 6:15 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.