Approaching storm obscured that big yellow thing , which made a few brief but welcome appearances .   The flat light was mitigated buy some stellar machine work and cold dry chalk.  The sun yesterday warmed up the south and west facing aspects which got crusty and difficult.  The north shots remain cold and dry but popular sections are getting bumped and are no longer blastable.  Care  in these areas would be wise. Wind was variable and seemed to change direction with elevation but not strong enough to work any magic so use your wave knowledge when the new snow arrives.   Reports are for snow beginning tonight so that is encouraging.  Attendance was light today with walk on trams and quick lift lines.  There were a lot of folks on the slopes which made the lower mountain tricky.  Out of area was open again today !!!  The clouds thickened after noon which helped keep the snow nice.  Stormy all week so the fix is in .  Ciao!!!

Day off today but it is sunny and warming.  No doubt the groomers are epic;  who can argue with perfect.  The far north reaches should still have some softness.  Accessible shots will be getting significantly stiff.   Best not to hit them too fast.  Storm approaching early next week so wind may be playing a bigger roll as it did 2 weeks ago so go looking for it it may pay off big time.  I am not there but this is my best guess, I will be there tomorrow!!!

The tram went off early today and walk on trams held all morning.  Light wind out of the north continued to build all day.  The north facing held up well but was beginning to require tough love to get through it .. South and west facing  was getting touched and had a zipper crust forming in the most exposed areas.  Wide open areas were thoroughly skied out but were  still somewhat punchable and required some persuasion.  We were pleased to see another major buff zone today, courtesy of the cat crew, setting it up as a real big mountain shot sans bumps.  I have pointed out before that you have to hike long and hard to access a shot so big and steep.  When I get a shot like that I always put a lot more into it and get as much as I can out of it.  Like sipping fine wine.  MMM  MMM Good!!!  The forecast is for some more high pressure but the next instalment is coming so scope out the bump situation in the popular areas, I am.  Wind really picked up in the late afternoon beginning some nice transport to some selected areas making them satin smooth.  The wind has a way but takes time for shots to get filled in.  Keep that in mind for tomorrow. Ciao !!!

The morning began clear, cold and quiet after a long stretch of weather.  The first runs were covered in the most  gossamer angel dust which fell overnight.  Those first runs were just worth the price of admission.  The temps remained cold all day preserving the snow quality over most areas.  The big pillows were good to aim for ,blowing apart , often with a face shot.   You can’t hate that.  Little cloud opened for the first time in days and had a wide variety of consistencies spread around.  Most aspects  were nice and deep but a bit dense. It payed to carry extra speed  to blast with.  The north facing shots were still fat and not totally worked over first off but received continuous traffic with the improved visibility.  The day warmed up a tad in the later afternoon and the sun did touch a few of the most direct aspects so they might be a bit off first thing.  Once again the grooming is excellent but these areas are not holding up all day with the fresh snow but are still a good place to aim for when you run out of gas.  Continued smoothing will be required so be ready early.  It might be a WING day!!!

Today took full power drive .  Left overs from yesterday were totally blastable.  Smoothness underneath made the big shots solid top to bottom.  The wind and snow density began showing signs of thickening as the day progressed .  The back bowl opened and took a lot of pressure off the the front side..  Back side was great by all reports as I took advantage of the walk on situation at the Tram.  Snow continued lightly all day and was ultra light.  The sun made a few appearances and some were given a surprise sunny run.  Bonus!!!  The weather looks like we are going to see some warming  which will mean that special attention to aspect will become more important as we get further into the season.  The shade areas will still be holding and more snow looks good for next week.  The beach was THE location for a special birthday festivity with a stellar turn out even as the wind and snow swirled around.   A fitting end to a great day!!

On the morning news there was a story about a semi which had over turned on I 15 and spread hamburger all over the highway and there was a massive traffic tie up and nobody was going any where fast.  I found this amusing in light of an old Fire Sign Theatre bit about hamburger on the highway in Mystic  Conn.  I had a feeling it was going to be one of those days !!  Got up early and it was snowing super hard and the first tram was delayed due to the pace of snow fall.  The powder folks were well represented and there was a massive skier tie up and no one was going any where fast.  Then they closed  the mountain for control and more waiting.  Meanwhile the snow kept coming with “Gusto”.   It was deep and getting deeper!!!  Finally things got rolling and the fun began.  The wind played a big roll in the consistency .   The lower mountain skied much better than the upper but it was all good.  As I sat in the Cliff Lodge  it was unreal the pace of the snow fall and the ,sometimes, horizontal direction it was going.  Yikes.  Full on hard core snow storm .  Getting back to the valley at 5:00pm  it seemed that things were clearing off but I am not convinced. I think lake effect will take over tonight for more freshness tomorrow.  Even though there was a lot of waiting it was really great to spend the time with so many  friends on such a day .  You can find greatness if you look for it.  Tomorrow, Yes!!!!

The day dawned overcast with high clouds so viability was good.  Wind was nuking out of the south so the classic north shots were in rare form and no one showed up.  The big smoothing hand blended the natural and machine grooming seamlessly together.  The cat crew polished off lower sections to a fairthee well and the buff was totally over the top with peak to bottom goodness  MMM  MMM!!!  Walk on trams and howling wind put together a sweet combination of rippable options.  Most bumps are now eliminated so new snow will have a very nice substrate and drilling the fall line will be good to go.  The wind seemed to mellow out a bit as the day progressed but most leeward catchalls were filled.  Some spots had breakable slab but others were supportable and covered in butter.I took a long recon look around and lower sections had not yet fully received the windage so there could be a few surprises but not to worry.  It felt like skiing a big desert all day.  Such  sweet fluffulecence.

Perfectish is how the Revatola put it.   Honkin winds on the peak and scouring transport with yesterdays snow had  re distributed it in some very nice places.. Wind out of the south east placed long rivers of deep deposits.  As the wind increased these areas started to slab over but later, with traffic, became hero snow where one can do no wrong.   Visibility was great all day .   The tram went down at 11:00 am with some electrical problems but was back up running  for the rest of the day.  Did some recon runs and  found the snow deep and soft in the trees.  The deeper in the softer.  Bump build up is negligible and snow quality buffered the ones that remain.  The cat crew, again, did a masterful job of punching some big fall line shots which made me feel like I was in the Tri chutes;  big long and steep.  Just perfect.     Checked things out in the back bowl and the wind had affected it to some degree.  The snow  was still very pleasant but demanded attention.   Looks good for the next storm and tomorrow should be low traffic and wicked smooth.  I’m looking forward to it.   Hydrovelvet!!!

Beautiful clear morning with the peak dead calm on the early trams.  Once again a few inches of angle dust freshened every thing up.  Continued cold temps have kept the snow quality excellent all over.  Cold smoke every where I looked.  The sun was partially obscured by high clouds as the next storm approaches.  Light wind is unusual during an approach but we’ll see.  Touring opened today and I took a quick look see and it was really perfect.  What a treat to be out there and take your time with the line.  Clouds continued to increase and a large sun dog around the sun was  a good sign of things to come.  They have not been wrong yet. Established bump areas continue to be tricky with the light density not giving much in the way of slack .  Ignored areas still are fairly smooth and consistent and will be first call with new snow.  Temps remained cold all day and the lights went out as snow started filling in for the next go round!!!!  The weather looks promising and I think this will be a Feb. for the books.   Continued machine work has been unreal and those areas are holding up for some days so remember those .  It is the deep zone now.

The cycle continues and today brought another dusting of goodness.  The early trams were unreal with fresh grooming and 3” of new to frost it.  The cat crew did some interesting shots and rare at that.  The large extremities  are deep and soft.  There where some sporadic snow impulses which sat on certain areas and dumped.   The sun made some appearances but was just finding the windows as the clouds rolled through.  The bumps are beginning to show through with the small , though fantastic, deposits, we will get the next dump soon so , no worries.  I checked west facing and old crunch is only barely there so you can carry the line .  The deep trees in most locations are still very deep and soft.  Some of the more open shots are setting up a touch.   The wind was not playing a large roll today but may overnight with the next installment approaching.  Not too much traffic today with walk on trams for most of the day.  Visibility went all over just depending on where you where.  Real nice when you could see.  There may be canyon concerns in the AM so call on the road.