SKETCHY
It was down right cold this morning after the cold front moved thought, leaving windy conditions and a quasi Sunlit sky. Tenderizing efforts had been done to the main Groomers to give a bit of bite on the frozen solid glaze. Off trail was very difficult, and I felt for the kids who where competing in the Junior Extreme Skiing event. It was extremely hard for them, and I just had to give them props for charging those lines. Mineral Basin was just beginning to respond to the Sun’s rays for the first Tram, with White Diamonds offering some sugary cushion. I lapped that line many times before heading back to the front of the hill, where I survived the ultra glaze where the tenderization had been blown or scraped off. The temps. remained cold all day, with the lower 500′ of the hill beginning to soften at 2:30PM, so the upper elevations were going to be very late if at all. I tried all permutations of the hill, but did not find much to get an edge into, with only the turned up sugar to aim for. Tomorrow, look for some new accumulation, which is predicted to accompany this system, so there may be some respite from the crustitude, but expect some difficult crunch on the off trail areas, unless we get a significant amount of accumulation. It is supposed to remain cold, so dress for the conditions. I dressed a bit light this morning and paid the price when I jumped on the Mineral Chair. Watch those West facing shots in the early hours, as they were super glazed, and required sharp edges. HMMMMM! Here is a shot of the upper entrance to Great Scott where the gnarliness is quite evident, and turned me around for smoother lines. Peace Out!!!