A
snowboarder does a little slope reduction under the Boom Chair,The neighbor who thought I was being too pessimistic about the warming weather was right. The hill opened today to the best first day conditions I can recall in the eight seasons we have been here. It was a little too heavy and settled to be blow in your face powder, but it was great! Coverage was excellent and many runs that are normally alder choked at the beginning of the season are quite passable, at least with a little route picking. It seemed more like early January than opening day.
The face lift was closed, but most of the rest of the hill was open although Upper Lizard didn't open until near noon. Everywhere conditions were uniformly excellent, although there was a dedicated group of zealots slicing and dicing everything into chopped and even moguls. This morning though even Kangaroo was sweet. The lower groomed runs may have been a bit crunchy, but I left by Power Trip and it was soft all the way down, although a bit heavy near the bottom. Someone in the locker room asked what was groomed and I realized I had little idea, but I knew it wasn't much.. About the only groomed run I was on was lower North Ridge.
A
snowboarder does a little slope reduction under the Boom Chair,
While
a free heeler contemplates his route through the alders in the center of Sunnyside.