A fast moving front moved into the Wasatch, delivering a 4 to 5” installment of medium to high density product, depending on the elevation.  After yesterday’s Spring time feel, this morning brought back a full on Winter blast that included blinding wind gusts, very marginal visibility, and some fresh frosting that was the perfect consistency to stick to the old layer.  Sticking to the smooth lines was key, as the off trail was seriously bouncy and jarring if you missed the line.  The morning crew split up to do recon work on different sides of the hill.  With visibility at a premium, I opted to let the other guys sound the Abyss of Mineral Basin, with reports of smooth untracked lines on the Groomers, though the visibility was Zero Zero.  I led a recon of Mark Malu, which also was rated Zero Zero for those morning hours, finding very nice smooth lines that actually gave me knee shots of fresh product.  We actually got kind of lost for lack of reference, but finally got some bearings lower down on the hill.  Here is a shot I got of the Mine on the other side of the Valley as it caught a window of Sunshine during the heavy part of the impulse that was hitting the hill.  After the new snow got skied out, the Harbor Chop built up quickly, sending me to the Forklift Chair to consider the options.  Visibility improved as the morning impulse moved off, but I was going to get some work done on the Trailer.   Tomorrow, look for additional accumulation to have continued overnight, so there will be fresh lines for the morning session.  The off trail, while still problematic, should be improving with the high density cushion that is building up.  I will venture off into the known smooth off trail sections tomorrow, to get a feel for the ride.  At this time of the season, the quality does not stand up for long like it does early in the season, so it is important to get to it early and fast.  See you there for the morning freshies.  Syrup won’t stop ‘EM!!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2015 at 5:24 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.