Though the thermometer said it was balmy, it seemed colder than it was with a fair breeze blowing. After the warm up yesterday, the hill has set up in a big way as anticipated. Mineral Basin was the best call with the Groomers offering a fair tooth on the prepared surfaces. All of the off trail was going to be along time breaking. I found some nice lines off the Baldy Express chair, which seemed to have recovered the best from the heat. The front of the hill was very firm, and it warranted a cautious approach. Even the tenderizing efforts demanded attention to deal with the granularity of the till wash. I retreated to the Forklift Chair to let warming occur before going back out to deal with the developing thaw patterns. It is best to follow the Sun during these days, as the South will be going off first. It was 1:00PM before Regulator showed signs of softening, and laps on the Little Cloud Quad was the call to take advantage of that break in the mat. Lower down on the hill broke at Noon, but still had that hard glaze underneath the paste, so there was a dual feel to the consistency that required a long averaging turn to maintain roundness. Tomorrow, expect more of the same as today, with the Groomers out in Mineral Basin to offer the best bet in the morning, but a delayed arrival will save you the wait time on the break. The High North is still holding the cold only on the upper third of the hill and the flat sections have been worked by the Sun, so the transitions can be rather abrupt,
moving from dry and chalky to crusty and glazed withing a few degrees of incline, so be aware. I will be there for the opening bell, but I will take a break for the break on the Forklift Chair again if warranted. Here is a shot of a throwing lip on the first wave of the set!! See you in the AM. Ciao!!
SHORT WINDOW
3-28-13 by dave
So, what is the bottom line? My peeps are there skiing for a few days.. but it is 60+ Is it all slush? Or is it okay? Just curious.
The bottom line is that it is now spring skiing and what comes with that. The cover is good, the early morning is very firm, but there is a window of good that can last to at least 2:00PM if you follow the Sun and go for the break as it occurs. Great skiing is to be had, and the slush holds off until after 2:00. Sticky spots on the flat are to be anticipated and you should slow the roll when you hit these transitions. Elements of goodness are to be found right from the opening bell, but you will have to play the Sun game. They will have fun. I am.
dave provides really informative and accurate descriptions of the snow and ski conditions that result from the spring weather conditions we are in. Only he can write about these conditions at Snowbird in such a way. It’s like an image you will get if you show up enough to get the picture there. We didn’t ski today, but did the last 4 days, and reading this blog enables us to virtually be there today, and know what to expect tomorrow. And how to deal with it and enjoy it, and have it be great to be skiing.
Keep it up dave
T&B
We forgot to say to DF is that the skiing will be relatively difficult and work the legs and reflexes pretty good. So your peeps better be prepared for big changes that will happen during the day. From really slippery, to hard to move slush. If the peeps are little all the more difficult.