Jay's Report - February 11, 2007

THE GRIZ AND THE GROUND HOG

At mid season, the Griz appears to be awakening, albeit slowly, from an apparent two week slumber. The hill continues to have scratchy remnants of the thaw that occurred last week. But the 3 cm�s that materialized Friday night and the additional 3 or so cm�s Sunday that seduced many into mounting their powder skis has nicely turned the off piste into more enjoyable (read less terrifying) terrain. It was a curious mix of dust on crust, hard pack, and lard on hard depending where you were. There was an icy mist about a third the way up the hill today that required constant squeegee maintenance on the goggles. Bordering on annoying, it was nevertheless a welcome change to the weather as elsewhere up the mountain, light snow was falling.

Stag Leap was ski-able and even enjoyable in most parts; though, still not up to this year�s standards. 1,2,3 was also okay, but not memorable. There were flocks of chicken heads on most off piste runs but they didn�t clip with the usual vengeance, thankfully. King Fir for instance, had some chicken chop on Sunday, but it was harmless, allowing for adequate carving turns without mishap. This was quite an improvement from Saturday, when King Fir was, well, riveting. I saw some Brits line up at the Roo on Saturday. Unfortunately they were committed. I�m not sure they made it out, ever. Note to visitors � when the Roo has a Not Recommended Sign, it really is Not Recommended.

Snow is in the forecast which can mean, well, anything really. I actually prefer it when the forecast is partly cloudy. First, because twice this year over 2 feet of �partly cloudy� has fallen overnight and second because I love surprises. I don�t watch TV on Ground Hog Day either. I don�t want to know if the rodent saw its shadow. In Fernie it�s better to see the Griz�s shadow than the ground hog�s shadow.

At 3 pm, it�s -4 at the house with light snow.