Monday morning offered perfect dry chalkiness on the Groomers making them the place to be for me, in the back to back pace of the light morning Trams.  Mineral Basin was very sweet as well, with very light traffic.  The off trail remains choppy, with the go to runs becoming increasingly worked and bumpy.  Soft snow remains in the usual places with cold temperatures keeping the chill on the product.  All that moisture missed us this time, so we will have to start skiing certain runs into shape.  We all have our favorite and traffic is the only way to get the heavy sanding.    I am looking for the wind to work some magic.  The deep trees are skiing well and are seeing a fair amount of traffic, with good cover in the fat sections.  Tomorrow should offer continued morning rippage with lots to choose from.  Get there early and get the best of the buff sections, and Mineral giving the early morning sun shine.   See you then.  Ciao!

Well it is Super Bowl Sunday today and things were fairly busy on the hill today.  The Tram had a 1 Tram wait but the slopes were crowded with folks going every where.   The groomers were buffed with a mixture of the snow from the last few days and the heavier density snow from last cycle.  The texture on the first tram was like Hydro Velvet;  smooth, silky, and down right sumptuous.  I dialed back the speed to take advantage of the feel of the buffage.  If you go through it too fast you miss the nuance gifted to us by the snow gods.  I have been trying to pay attention to the relative rarity of the texture with each turn, so as to get all the details logged in.  If you go too fast you miss that little gift.  White Diamond, out in Mineral Basin, got the Grooming nod with the down hill course buffed just for us.   What a great piece of terrain.  Check it out if you get a chance.  There was quite a bit of traffic in the Basin, so I opted to hit the front side  getting as much of the smooth and soft as possible.  Ski what is good when it is good, as it may not be good tomorrow.  Speaking of tomorrow I will be looking for some more of the great grooming runs and will be looking for some wind effect if it comes up.  You can never tell what might happen overnight, that is the surprise of it all.  Things should be quiet and casual in the AM., so it will be a morning to rock hard.  See you in the AM.  IBBY!!

Saturday morning had very a very foggy start, but cleared off for first Tram and the better part of the morning.  A cloud moved up out of the valley and fogged things in again, reducing the visibility significantly.   The 4” of new was dense and buoyant cushioning the ride overall.  The chop underneath was evident, though it did not bounce me around too much.  The well established bumps were a different matter, sending me back to the smooth for relief.  The main entrance into Great Scott is a forbidden zone once again.  I took one look in there and just bagged it.  Most entrances are holding up fairly well but watch for wind stripping from overnight transport.  The flow is out of the South West making the opposing shots the ones to look for.  I am still steering clear of the slide debris in those affected areas, where large chunks still remain well above surface.  Keep them in mind during periods of reduced visibility.  The steep choke points are very thin and present issues if you  get down into the zone.   It looks like we might get a bit more fresh overnight making the morning session the one to catch.   See you all on the first bucket!!!

A mere dusting of ultra light flakes covered the groomers making first tracks a bonus.  Perfect is a matter of degree and in this instance it was 3MM of depth perfect.   There was quite a rush for the Tram first off but seemed to back off as the morning progressed.  I ventured off trail to look around, finding things still a bit choppy I migrated back to the groomers which got deeper as the day progressed.  Perhaps 2 inches fell  during the day, raising the softness factor by the degree.   Many areas  were as good as it gets, in my humble opinion.  Perfect carve ability, no ice, and good to go sections  is a sure recipe for fun!  The visibility was variable all day with sections of fog.  The trees helped with definition on the upper mountain and visibility was much better down low.  I did want to mention that I have been checking out Gad 2 for cover and it is looking fairly well covered , with sketchy sections, as usual, on the high angle stuff.  The trees are soft with lots of good lines.  I did not see any  of the wind buffed snow  I was hoping to find, but there is machine buffed to stand in for it.   Even 3 MM is enough to make magic.  See you in the AM.   Ciao!!

A sunny Thursday was ,no doubt, good to go from the word go.  A touch of fresh overnight frosted the hill with goodness.   The Groomers have been holding smooth all day long, maintaining that cold snow consistency.   An icy patch is rare these days with positive traction the rule.  There is that distinct possibility that you might catch one, but the next section will carry you through.  This is in sharp contrast to the super hard with islands of soft to aim for.   Yea, I remember those early weeks….. glad it is now and we are poised for the Real Deal  in all categories. Those big release zones still have very little cover, be cautious as you traverse those.   I will be back on the program tomorrow as I have completed my deliberations with the Dark Side , and I am confident in the valiant forces that still battle daily for success. ” Now” it is, so see you there in the AM.   IBBY!!!

The remote viewing device indicated a Wednesday that saw a tad more Sun than other areas, with flat light a distinct impression.  You can bet on any of the Groomers for instant rock and roll for, at least, the first 5 laps.   Where else can you let them run quite like that.  I have been watching a lot of World Cup and marvel at the angulation and shear traction they get.  Those wide open mornings give me the feel of a race ready run.  Granted, I’m never going to get my butt 3” off the ground, but at least the opportunity to really dig in is there.  Got to love the carve!!  Look for wind transport on the North and East exposures that can  be good to go and wind buffed rare.   More snow is coming… I don’t know when, but the signs were insistent this week.  The slide debris is beginning to get covered up , just be careful of the large appliance sized chunks.  Most areas are fully good to go with only the South facing getting the Sun influence this week.   Well, I must continue the my deliberations with The Dark Side again tomorrow, so I know you will rock a run for me.  ” Thanks for Skiing”   END TRANSMISSION:

There was a very bright Sun Dog around the sun during the day Tuesday, once again signaling the approach of a pattern change.   The mountain remains fairly soft on most aspects with the North and East having the softest pack underneath the newer snow.  The last 3 days have been awesome with some of the best snow of the season going unrecognized, leaving the more than reported powder a bonus for those who showed up.  The chop still is lurking under the softer snow lowering the blast factor in favor of the knee relief.  The Groomers were full on with the flat light making the Peruvian and Gad side  dark but reliable.   Mineral Basin still had soft snow out on the North facing shots , though the South facing has seen some Sun creating some crusty areas.  The wind was kicking up, so perhaps that will fill in some of the big shots with some of the transported goodness.  Look for that first off.  I will be attending the mandatory sessions held off planet. I will be posting as best I can.   Rock out for me!!!  Ciao!

Mineral Basin offered beautiful boot deep fluff overnight, and in combination with the wind, made the big shots wide open and ripping.  The wind had smoothed out the sections and the light traffic made it a lap fest back there.   Yummm yumm yumm.   All of the high aspects were excellent as well, with wind loading in some of the guts.  Again, light traffic made the out of the way shots hold out longer with a greater overall quantity of untracked for each seeker.  Beautiful sun  gave us the great visibility that we have been lacking during the installment phase.  Sections are really filling in and entrances becoming better daily.  Still, watch the popular entrances as they get sketchy very quickly.   Tomorrow will be a great high speed rock fest with race ready smoothness top to bottom.  Love the top to bottom boogie, especially with the Wings.   The long arm of the dark side summons me for the next few days…. Resistance Is Futile…. I will post via remote viewing, so stay tuned.   END TRANSMISSION!!

Sunday’s snow  was so light and fluffy that it was surprising after the heavier density we have had as of late.  There was a fair showing of faithful for the foggy conditions and the 4 inch report.  Fortunately it was more like 14” of super fluff that was unaffected by wind or slough.  Mineral Basin sported better visibility with no line inviting rapid fire laps to take advantage of the low traffic.  Moving to the front of the mountain had untracked lines all over as the usual suspects were not present to do the requisite mop up work.  I took a lap out to the far Gad 2 area to find that Tiger Tail was still the only run out there.  The new snow made the bumps a tad more tolerable, but they took a toll on my knees and I had to call it a day after most every thing was skied out.  Visibility did not improve as the day progressed keeping the sun damage from playing a role in the quality.  Continue to watch the entrances and choke points that get scraped off regularly as they can be tough to get by without some bottom abuse.  The bump situation is still a widespread issue making me look to the sides and knolls for respite from the hammering.  If I can’t do that I am still doing the low and slow boogie to get through them.  Tomorrow will feature awesome groomers right off the bat, with a low attendance to make the pace a top to bottom fest.   Looking forward to some lighter Trams with some visibility.   My journey to the Dark Side begins Tuesday so hold positive thoughts for me.   Ciao for now !!!

The weather dude was calling for 10 days of dry weather just the other day.  Signs in the sky told me that was not going to hold up.  Saturday morning saw the clouds hanging on the peaks with dubious visibility a distinct possibility.  Needless to say I was not there for the festivities, but you can bet the Groomers were cooking from the get go.  The off trail offers challenges in the way of set up ratchet chop and fully developed bumps in many locations.  The forecast is for more snow tonight and into tomorrow giving us a fresh installment for the faithful.   I must point out that THE BIG GIANT HEAD has called me  off planet for an important meeting concerning dark matters in the continuing Dark Matter Wars that continue, Galaxy wide, unbeknownst to the average seeker.  Needless to say I will endeavor to get posts through using my newly refurbished Sub Space link, which was, as you know, knocked out by an errant sluge of coffee during a morning post.  This was all thanks to the capable technician who fearlessly pulled the unit apart and worked the magic that save the entire link.  How they learn this stuff I will never know.  Remember the sketchy entrances getting into those usual tricky spots that you know have been hammered by the recent traffic into these popular shots.   Over all, you can ski most shots with good results.  Be aware of the large areas of slide deposition that present problems and caution should be used.   See you all there in the AM.   IBBY!!!