The temps were fairly cold this morning, but the skies were clear and blue, with Mineral Basin bathed in Sun for the opening Bell. The wind had been busy overnight, scouring large swaths of the slopes on all sides of the hill and solidifying the deposited areas to supportable slab. I went looking off trail for the smooth, finding long fingers of dry, dusty, smoothness that were bridged by some very crusty wind blown crud. However, the smooth supportable lines were worth the effort to thread an off trail line.
There was increasing pressure for the lifts, so the lines built up to moderate levels, but seemed to move quickly. The front side of the hill is still well covered, and the machine worked lines are in great shape and have enough tooth to get a fair edge in. I am still working an averaging turn approach to deal more consistently with the variations in texture. The Traverses are still very dodgy, with thread bare sections that will be very challenging. Tomorrow, look for stormy conditions for the day as another impulse is moving in. I will be dressing for cold, and plan on staying close to the known smooth lines for those training laps. Watch your six!!