It was seriously cold this morning with the peak temp of  15 Degrees and bright Sun shining.   The ride up the first Tram offed temptations to sample the front side, but Mineral Basin was bathed in Sun and offered a multitude of exposures to sample in quietude without the charge for powder.  Yesterday’s wind had worked the North facing aspects in some sections and left some of the other North facing aspects quite a bit softer, but the old crusty layer was still fully in play as the new snow did not offer much in the way of cushion.  The snow was dense and cold, resisting the rays of the Sun for the entire morning, and the temps were slow to move up.  It really seemed like a winter day, and I am glad I wore the extra gear.   The Groomers were very crisp, but some tenderizing efforts had been implemented, giving some tooth to the dance floor.  Road to Provo opened, also offering some variable aspects, ranging from breakable slab to soft sections of fluff.  Here is a shot of a section out in Little Cloud that illustrates some of the quality that could be found with a bit of guess work.  Tomorrow, look for another nice morning that will offer more good grooming, but the off trail might be becoming a bit more challenging ahead of any warming.  The cover is still holding up pretty well, but until it softens up a touch, the off trail will be interesting at best. The quality should improve with warming, but the early starting time will be pushing that time back, leaving room for a later arrival.   The overnight freeze should be hard, so look for the direct Sun aspects for earliest softening, then just follow the rotation as the day progresses.  IBBY!!!

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 4:03 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.