This morning was 20 degrees warmer than yesterday,  with the peak even warmer than the bottom of the hill.  The snow we have received is perfect for grooming and ripping.  Regulator was just impeccable and lent itself to full on rock and roll.  There was zero icy spots anywhere top to bottom.  One could Lock and Load your edges, and ride the line with full confidence.  Baldy opened for the first time of the season, offering very consistent conditions.  My good friend B- FLASH characterized the feel as being like a ” silky bed sheet”  I guess we can all read the sub text behind that!  Needless to say,

WITHE DIAMONDS

those that took the time to venture out there were rewarded with goodness.  Field of Glory has released to the very old layer, leaving a treacherous section well down the fall line.  It will take a bit more snow to refill that piece.  The continued refrigerated days are keeping the off trail soft, though the crud is beginning to seriously firm up, with the Upper Cirque getting buffed with traffic and wind.  While I am thinking of it, the Black Ice situation in the Canyon is very severe as of late, and has caused numerous sojourns off the road all the way up  to the Bird entrances, so use caution all the way up the canyon.   The cold temps have been morphing the snow surface in the  untracked sections, creating surface crystals that sparkle like diamonds.  Here is a shot I took off the beaten path to show you how beautiful it was.  Zoom in to get the best view.   Tomorrow is my day off , but you can look forward to continued great skiing and, perhaps, Mineral Basin might open for the first time of the season.. That would be worth blowing off a day off in itself, but…. NO!   My knees need a break for a day.   See you Sunday, but rest assured I will get the low down for you and post, so stay tuned.   I’ll Be Blasting You!!!

The Weatherman was a bit off on the Blizzard, but he got the cold air right.  This morning was , once again, very cold, and the snow was slow and sticky with the frost.  The off trail was setting up a bit with the density and cold, though good turns were to be had  there.  I opted for the perfect Groomers that were just exquisite after the last cycle.   It was so consistent, that I really felt able to lock up the turn and and stick it.  Very nice..  The clear skies and perfect visibility were perfect conditions for the first opening of Little Cloud, which offered a wide variety of consistency from sweet sugar to stiff slab, with the emphasis on stiff wind slab.   The entire intersection of Hoopy’s Crotch had released to the early layers, leaving only exposed scree .  I traversed slowly and carefully across it to get the last North East exposure, that offered very nice sugar fine turns.  MMMM Good..  Thanksgiving desert before noon.   Cold temps and low Sun angle have kept the snow quality high on all exposures.  The wind factor has been the most significant influence  in the snow quality.   Tomorrow look for continued great conditions; conditions that call for the new pair of skis to come out.  I think that it is not out of line, at this juncture, to  mount them up and bring them out. The Upper Cirque is filling in nicely, though you have to walk 10 or 20 feet to get over the rock band, Scott is much more accessible, and more terrain remains to open in the future.  Yes, today is a day to be thankful for.   See you in the AM.   IBBY!!

GAD CHUTES

After all the hype about the BIG BLIZZARD, you would have thought that the snow would have been super deep.  Fortunately, the snow installment was just perfect for the day.  The mountain opened promptly and great snow had been carefully placed on the hill by the wind.  The hollow western exposures had been filled in as the storm approached, making them much more accessible than previous days.  The Peruvian side of the hill had been a bit more wind affected, with a bit of a wind slab to deal with.  The new wide skis were ticket as they make short work of those challenging condition’s.  There was a fair crowd that moved  quickly through the maze.  More lifts opened up, helping to disperse the crowd and keep the ball rolling.  The Cirque Traverse still has some surprises along the way, so be wary of the stray snag or rock pile.  Some of the lower traverses still sport thin areas where scree piles are exposed, that can grab you and pull a piece of bottom out.  Over all the conditions are really incredible for this time of the year. I had a feeling that the cycle would kick in early…. I don’t know why.  After Noon, the sun came out and shone a new light on the situation.  The previously ignored sections were suddenly visible, and the quick were able to get some delightful freshies very late in the day.   Thank You.  I love it when you can go get a line and there is no one to push you into the line.  I love to look at the snow and the beauty of it.  Here is a photo of the choke point under the Gad chutes.  It is still a touch thin, but the apron was supreme, with very little traffic late in the day. Bonus!!!  The Upper entrance into Great Scott benefited greatly from the recent wind direction, getting filled in much more solidly than it was just the other day.  Things change fast, so I will keep you posted as conditions change.  The continued cold temps will preserve the quality going into tomorrow, so you can expect great skiing for your Turkey Day.  See you in the AM. Ciao!!!

The intrepid group of hard corps stepped out on to Hidden Peak to be greeted by a true maelstrom of driving snow and ultra intense wind.  It was NUKIN’!!!.  Visibility was very good….. except for the fact, that the driving snow and super gusts rendered any reference points fleeting at best.  The movement of the snow filled wind gusts threw off your sense of movement and direction, making the conditions a mandatory INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULE situation.  While that is excellent for your overall skill development, the negotiation of the expanse of a nearly featureless Regulator was a serious challenge.  Now the snow was great!! 4 or 5” of nice accumulation.  The grooming job was very consistent and smooth, which was the saving grace  for any level of security.  Occasionally I would get a brief gimps of a snow gun or a thin bamboo marker,  giving a brief sense of location.  The heavy gusts swarmed the entire mountain, shutting the Tram down, with the rest of the lifts following at around 12:00 Noon.  The forklift Chair was, again, the place to be, away from the white chaos that swirled outside as the intrepid eeked out the last couple of Trams.  The Blizzard is on the move, with large accumulations expected.  Be sure to check the Bird site and and the Road condition – both accessible from this site- before heading up.   With this new installment, the goods are here, the base is well established, and it is going to be a great Thanksgiving.    I really tried to get a photo for today, but there was just no opportunity.  See you tomorrow,  I will be biding my time, and waiting for developments in the AM..  No sense  in getting into a frenzy.  I will slowly drive up there and ski it all!!!   Get Ready!!!  Peace Out!

This morning was looking stormy on the hill as I drove up extra early, so as not to miss the first Boat.   Once again the faithful had been paying attention, though the week end crowd was, clearly, not there, with not more than a three Tram wait built up.  The new snow was fully knee deep and much lighter density than  the past installments, making the ride a bit more bouncy as the underlying crud had not been fully buffered.  I am not complaining, just the facts.  The Cirque Traverse has still got some surprises in sections along the length.  Use caution as snags and abrupt woopties can be daunting in bad visibility.  Even though the Tram line was holding solid, the hill itself seemed empty with no apparent pressure to deal with.   Nice touch!!    ZOOM and Little Cloud chair helped disperse the crowd as the Tram Line dropped to  just two. By 1PM. the line shrank to walk on, no waiting.   As the product got skied out, the snow seemed to thicken and require a bit more persuasion.    Charging a more direct line will add more power using the gravity field for FREE!! Speaking of GRAVITY,  what a trip!!!   A major storm is on the doorstep that is going to really put the snow pack in the green zone; good to go!!.  There might be wind issues with operation, so know that options may need to be selected.  Dress for chairs just in case, because this may be one of those great wind events, where the tracks get filled in with each run.  That is my favorite kind of powder day.  See you early to make the first Bucket!!  Ciao!

I got up early this morning in anticipation of a full on powder day.  I had to shovel the walk and knock the accumulation from the array before I could get out of the trailer.  The road was good to go with not too much traffic.  What I did not realize , was that everyone else blew off the shoveling and headed up well ahead of me.  Try as I might, I made third Tram with the line already stretched around by Snow Safety.  The peak was full on blizzard conditions blowing into the Peruvian side, which was only open from the Cirque Traverse.  I dropped the sign line and found exquisite frosting of heavy, dense, cold accumulation that was absolutely effortless to turn in.  Despite the crowd at the Tram, the hill was a bit more sedate, with the faithful going out exploring the further reaches of the hill.  Those outlying areas will be getting better, but the snow snakes still lurk here and about.  The snow was falling so hard that the visibility was pushed to zero zero at times, though that did not detract from the exceptional conditions of the day.   The  faithful were giddy with the product and were getting back in line as fast a possible.    I took the cue to bail for the day in order to get down the Canyon Road while the getting was good.  The uphill traffic was solid from top to bottom.  Where would they park?     More great snow is in the forecast for the next couple of days.  Tomorrow will, once again , be one of those days that they write about, and if you show up , you will have one of those stories that seem impossible to believe, but…. Believe it!!!  This is one of those openers that we can reminisce about when folks get negative about the coming season.  I always try to hold a big idea and see what materializes.   IBBY!!!

The wind pounded the trailer relentlessly all night long, making me have to spend the morning re aligning the aerial array after the wind knocked it out of  whack.   The wind continued all day ahead of the next system which is moving through the valley as I write this.  As this is my day off,  I took the opportunity to get those day off things done.  The mountain was still getting the wind scour, and with a bit of luck the breakable might have begun to solidify under the wind pressure.   With the new snow fall, remember those open slope reefs that blew clean on both sides of the hill.  The new snow will improve the conditions markedly, giving the entire mountain a real bump in the direction of GREAT.  This past week of training has really found all the sore points as I ski myself into shape.  I will be looking forward to being able to load the entire ski though the entire turn.  The  variability is keeping that consistency from happening.  I did, however, feel it that one morning on Big Emma, when the 6” of velvet just put it over the top.  I am excited about the prospects of this storm that is moving in right now,  I know you are as well.  For those who are making their way here; You will be rewarded!!! See you tomorrow!!! TA!

When any new coating is to be applied, it is essential to prepare the surface by heavy sanding and scouring.  Today’s wind event worked the hill relentlessly, stripping Regulator of any granule that was not nailed down.   The groomer started out edge-

GREAT SCOTT

ably smooth, but quickly became glazed and tricky.   I was fortunate, again today, to get the first Upper Silver Fox gate and Great Scott  of the season just as they opened the gate.   As this picture shows, the upper entrance is still a NO GO, with treacherously thin cover and serious SHARK FINS staring you down.  I went in from Rat’s Nest during the very short window that it was passable and was looking at variable break-ability and wind affected grabbiness.  The left section of the throat had pulled out to the scree, leaving a large hole and exposed scree to deal with.  Overall the coverage was good, though the wind did pull off the cover on the high points.  The Middle Cirque , also had breakable conditions with some areas of granular softness to balance out the challenge. Word from Wilbre Bowl was that it was good snow, but required total commitment and a knowledge of the mandatory air time.  I will be letting those shots fill in a bit more before I venture out that way.   The Peruvian side of the hill had been scoured as well, detailing all the mid slope hazards that will be getting covered up by the next installment.  It is always good to know where those dicey spots are.   Lower Pucker Brush is also very problematic, so use extreme caution threading that needle and the sections of the lower apron that have been cleaned off.  CA-RUNCH!!!  There should be another foot and half of wind again tomorrow, so be aware the Boat may not run.   Snow moving in tomorrow night completes the picture going into the week end.   Get ready for a big one!!! IBBY!!!

The day started out with the Tram down due to high winds and the ZOOM Chair delayed, so I made a bee line to the Forklift Chair to wait out the variations.   MMMM Good!!!  The Tram opened at 10:30 AM with decreasing wind and rising temps.  The groomers were edgy and smooth with the off trail still holding that variable breakage.  Light traffic made back to back Trams a nice feature.  This is my favorite time of year, with great skiing and very light traffic.  As I mentioned yesterday, the smoothness of the snow pack is a special feature that needs to be appreciated.  The Peruvian side of the hill opened at 12:30 PM, with nearly no one waiting at the rope drop, blessing those who were in attendance with the gift of  taking the line of choice with Zero pressure.  How rare is that?   The terrain on that side of the hill has the gut sections filled with very dense pack that offered some very breakable footing.  I was in full smooze turn mode to average the variations and avoid a trip over the handle bars.   Any abrupt loading was going to send you through the crust, which could be problematic with the early season snow pack.  Some of the open slope reefs have blown clean in several areas leaving points to be considered as we get more snow.   For the most part the coverage looks good to go.   I was scoping out Wilbre Bowl from the chair to assess the coverage, finding that the lines are generally  very tight with rock bands on both sides and the willows still profuse with the low snow.    If the Cirque Traverse opens tomorrow use extreme caution dropping in to any of the lines to either side.  Breakable conditions will still be prevalent on most exposures, though you may find some better granular textures in the trees that were spared the wind.  The coverage on the lower Peruvian side has improved significantly since I last skied it last week, but open areas on those lower steep sections still mask some KNAR to be sure, so look out!!  More wind is in the forecast with, perhaps, some expanded openings to the lines we have been dreaming about.  This is Good!!!   Ciao!!

After the last stretch of heavy storm  and visibility issues, today’s sunshine made the features stand out in fine detail.  The overnight wind had scoured all the loose snow, leaving only a few threads of sugar to follow.  The scoured areas were breakable and grabby, sending me traversing back to the groomer which was smooth and carvalicious.  Low traffic  kept the run smooth and consistent all day.   The wind also uncovered the reefs and knolls revealing the rastiness that still lurks just below the snow surface.  The lower pitch off of Pucker Brush was particularly cleaned off, leaving the heavy traffic on that line to deal with the meager lines through the choke points.  The energy level is huge, with the fast runners letting out all the stops.  Keep an eye out as you change fall lines or cross a steep line to avoid any speeding surprises.   The word is that Friday might be the day the Peruvian Gulch opens for the first time this season.  It has been filling in nicely from the transported snow from this past wind storm, and the continued installments we have been receiving.  Tomorrow , look for another smoking day of full on training, in full vision,

WAITING FOR YOU

with great snow top to bottom.  I have not been seeing too many rocks, just a little one here and there.  See you in the AM.    Here is a shot of the Middle Cirque just waiting for YOU!!