March 01, 2000

Not Icy!

I know that probably sounds like pretty faint praise, but if the slopes aren't icy and have enough snow to cover to cover the nasties, then they are a long way towards being pretty good in my books. Of course I did not head out until about one, so perhaps things were hard on the bottom earlier in the day, but in warm cloudy afternoon the snow up top was still soft while down low any ice had softened to corn or slush.

In fact you could still find unchopped snow in places and while it was sometimes rather heavy and cruddy, it was still fun to ski. Most of this I found on the old side and of course Snake Ridge had its share, but I was surprised to find a lot of soft snow on parts of Linda's run. I don't think I have been on the upper part of Linda's this season and expected to find only pointy nasty moguls, but even right out on the main part the moguls were courteous and had lots of soft snow. Some of the lessor trafficked parts were only tracked and not chopped and it even seemed lighter than the Snake variety.

I only found a bit of undisturbed snow in my limited travels on the new side, but even where packed, the snow seemed to cut very well. I even ventured down Diamond Back despite the 'Marginal', 'Icy', 'Not Recommended' and 'Kiss your butt good-bye' signs and found enough of an undisturbed covering to allow an untraumatic descent. That is not to say heeding the signs would not be wise though, for it was apparent it would take only a few more travelers to scrape off that saving layer.

I was surprised at how heavily traveled the Morning Glory glades were. There were few undisturbed patches and most areas were packed, albeit softly. It was still fine skiing, but the contrast with the old side was notable.

I don't know how the school breaks line up, but it has been relatively quiet this week compared to the mobs of last week. Line ups have been nonexistent when I was out and solo rides are common.

At a little past five this evening it is 3 C on the porch and the sky is cloudy with just the odd spot of almost blue.