At 8:30PM last night the front moved through the Valley, with thunder, lightning, and torrential rain that was cacophonous as it pounded on the Trailer.  Up on the hill, it rained hard on the peak before the temps dropped, when 4” of high density snow fell on the hill.  It was 10 Degrees on the peak when the first Tram docked, with high winds and the Sun trying to make an appearance.   This was one of the most difficult days that I can remember, with the high sheen of the Ice Lens interspersed with patches of accumulated snow.  The Groomers were the most consistent lines, with the off trail very difficult dust on highly polished glaze that held the old crud pattern solidly in place.  The new snow had a nice consistency, and the low angle aspects were the best ride on the hill.  After a lap in Mineral Basin and a struggle down Peruvian Gulch, I made a hasty retreat to the Forklift Chair to assess the options.  I chose to call it a day and re align the Hyper link to the Andromeda Galaxy that was knocked out by the heavy wind.  I got it up and running with the extra time I had today.   Here is a shot looking out the mouth of the Canyon as I made my way back to the Plaza.  Tomorrow, look for the Ice Lens to be still in play, though the Groomers will be the call to start things off.  As today was very cold, there was not much of a break up high, but I will be looking for much more consistent lines after all this gets stirred up a bit. I will be looking to Mineral Basin first to take advantage of the early Sun and low traffic.  See you on the first Boat.  Ciao!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014 at 5:36 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.