Craig's Report - May 29, 2007

May Slides By

A whole month has somehow slipped by since my last report and while it is always pretty quiet this time of year, I thought maybe I should post something anyway. Although the last week or so has seen lots of damp and cold days, in general it was a normal magic May spring time in the mountains. Everything in the valley is lush and green and it always seems extra special to comfortably walk in a T shirt and shorts on a brilliant snow field up on the mountain, while new life bursts out everywhere just a few hundred meters below you.

So far FAR's activity on the hill appears to be restricted to the normal spring activities of lift maintenance, summer road repair as well as starting work on the mountain bike trails in preparation for the end of June opening of the bike lift season. There are, of course, the ever present rumours about what come later, but nothing definitive yet.

In addition to fresh foliage, the critters are out and about as well. At least one mother and cub (black, not griz) have set up camp in the lower Currie Bowl, upper Deer area and although I haven't seen any other bears on the hill yet, fresh scat suggests another might be hanging out over in the Boomerang area. The mama seemed pretty mellow when we were separated by the Currie gully, but I suspect might have a lot more attitude in the face of a fast approaching mountain bike.

The snow is now starting to disappear quickly from the upper mountain, but even though Bear is now mainly clear of snow two thirds of the way up, there is still a meter of snow remaining at the snow plot stick and above that everything is still snow covered. I had never really thought about it before, but a visitor recently pointed out that in many places the blooming of spring takes place in a relatively short time, while we get to follow spring up the mountain for months.

At 16:30 it is sunny and 21 degrees on our back deck.


There is still lots of snow in the upper bowls (Cedar in this case)

But the bottom of Bear is pretty, um, bare.

Lizard Bowl from near the bottom of Sunnyside. The small cat, appropriately sitting on cat flats, is trying to repair a washout on the summer road.

Still a meter in the snow plot.

Lower Cedar Bowl with a melted South facing Snake Ridge in the background.

Lizard Bowl and the bottom of the Face Lift, which could probably still provide some nice turns.

Looking down from the top of Bear, past the Boomerang top station to Fernie in the background.

This rather clever home built contraption appeared by the Mini Moose, apparently to roll up the Mini Moose carpet.

Spring in the mountains as seem from my front deck.