I had to clear off several inches of high density snow from the dish array before heading up the hill this Sunday morning.  It was great to see the new freshness, reminding me of days earlier in the season when every thing is wintry and and cold.  I am reticent to have spring time move in just yet.  Up on the hill the faithful were in full attendance, pushing the Tram line out across the Plaza in anticipation of the goods that were waiting.  Continued cold temps. along with a very stout wind worked the new medium density snow into variable depths on all exposures.  The bottom crust and bumps were fully in play, with the old crust and bumps lurking just under the freshness.  The consistency improved as the shots got skied out, averaging the overall depth and mitigating the super deep pockets, which could stop you cold in some places. The visibility and high winds conspired to render the upper mountain interesting to negotiate, though the Sun was working it’s way through the clouds, giving a bit more definition from time to time.  I could not discern the real direction of the wind as it seemed to be blowing uphill on every exposure.  Those conditions just make it that much more fun and the transportation of fresh snow kept filling in the tracks in the hollows and tree lines.  Mineral Basin closed due to the heavy loading with Little Cloud remaining closed for the duration.  Look for that area to open tomorrow with more untracked  for those that might have missed today.    Tomorrow look  for wind deposited untracked , but be aware of the underlying crust and bumps.  The choke points have been getting filled in, however, some of the popular entrances have been scraped down to the rocks making them very sketchy at best.  Check you favorite sections from the chair to get a close look and make a decision from there.  Shots I would like to get into just seem unappealing given the approach.  See for yourself.  Good winter conditions prevail wall to wall presently, though the forecast for warming will begin to affect the quality of the direct Sun exposures, so get to them quickly before they start getting thick.  See you in the AM.  Ciao!!!

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 2:44 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.