The rain pounded the Trailer all night long, and then the thunder scared the day lights out of my little dog Sophie. The road was closed at 6:00 AM with an estimated opening of 8:30 AM, but that was a mute point as the significant overnight accumulation caused the Bird to call off opening for today’s festivities. This follows what I was told yesterday, as the instability issue is serious. We can look forward to tomorrow as additional accumulation will be continuing today. I will up date this post later in the day as I get more first hand info, so stay tuned. Here is the 2:30 PM update. I just got back down from the hill, where I was scoping out the situation, and I can tell you that the snow at the Base was like paste. The tracks on the hill, from the control work, while well executed, looked strained and tentative. Reports indicated that the snow pack was quite sensitive and was sliding everywhere. At the Base the temp. was 39 degrees and it was changing from rain to snow, back to rain again as I was leaving. I did a snow ball test, and you can believe me when I tell you it had a very high moisture content. They are planning on opening at 8:00 AM. with a possible 12:00 Noon closure so plan accordingly Check the comment that was put up on this post for a first hand account of yesterday’s assessment. Thanks Kyle!! See you in the AM. Peace Out!
TOO MUCH
5-20-11 by dave
I hiked Alta yesterday (Thursday), and the snow was very wet and heavy. Good for climbing–given how much fresh had fallen–but the descents were gnarly. It was also the most nervous I have been all year long in the backcountry as far as the slide danger–any steep chute had a debris pile under it. I doubt that the Friday closure is really causing anyone to miss out on great conditions.
Hi Dave, just wanted to say thank you so much for your blog and taking care of all us hapless skiers/riders out there that are just trying to figure out what is going on right now! Four days off, now five days off—I am anxiously awaiting any and all updates, just like any good little junkie jonesing for a fix! 🙂 Thanks for keeping us in the loop. I love your accurate, informational, entertaining, and comical reports, they are extremely helpful. Today AM after reading your updates, I just trudged back to bed to catch up on my sleep, and then some packing, without even getting the “shakes”. ~Deborah