With the overnight cloud cover I was not expecting any kind of freeze, but Mineral Basin and the upper mountain was very crispy.  I dove off the first Chips Cat Track and immediately felt like a pig on ice.   Whaaaaaaa hoooo!!!  Fortunately, the Grooming crew had tenderized the Grooming job a bit further down the hill, giving me the traction that I was scratching for higher up.  On the lower mountain,  Adager had been given the Grooming treatment and was velvet smooth, feeling like great back country dessert.   I lapped that a number of times then moved back out to Mineral Basin to try and revisit the corn fields I have been frequenting.  The flash freeze offered only a tentative supportable crust, punching through with the slightest over articulation.  It was not long before the freeze broke, and the softness, and later the stickiness, returned. My knees were feeling the torque from the high moisture content and I bagged it to listen to the great music happening on the Plaza.  The melt off is becoming more evident on the lower mountain, and there are indications of the melt off up high as well, particularly the dust  residue from the melting pack as it leaves the flake seeds on the hill.  Remember, it takes a dust nucleus for a flake to form around, so they must be left to lend nourishment to the coming wild flowers.  The Canyon Creek is really boiling, and it is fun to stop and watch the fierce return of the sow pack back into the BIG CYCLE.  This week I am going to set up my video camera and let it sit in place absorbing the sight and sound of the torrent.   I will be updating the site as we move through the week to keep you on top of the melt off developments.   IBBY!!!

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 12th, 2011 at 3:15 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.