Sunday morning looked dubious, but as the days of the season dwindle down,  I am motivated to get as much as I can.  Light snow was falling for first Tram, and a fair turn out was on hand to get the new snow that had fallen overnight.  I opted for the Regulator groomer to begin and tested the quality off trail on the way down, finding the density high and very grabby.  My knees were screaming  “HELP ME PLEASE”, so I made my way back to the buffed, which was thick, but consistent.  The  Second run found upper Peruvian about 6” deep and held my ski like a vice.  Again I promptly bailed for the groomers, which were getting a very sticky addition of rapidly falling snow.  I had to call it macaroni to avoid injury, and found the Forklift Chair to be delightful.  The sun made an appearance as the morning progressed, morphing the snow to a more skiable consistency.  The Tram line built up briefly as the faithful arrived finding fun where they could and I wished them well,  but I felt good about my decision to call it.  The over all complexion of the hill has smoothed out on most exposures and the bumps are hard to find.  It looks like the weather will be unsettled for the next while , keeping the conditions difficult to predict.  I am going to keep up the attempts until the DARK SIDE of the FORCE calls me off planet.  See you on first Tram Monday!!

Wow is it raining, and raining, and then some.  I checked the Bird site early, and found it to be 39 degrees at the base.  That did not bode well for the day.  I had heard that it was raining at the base , but snowing a bit further up the hill.  It looks like another blast up stream with no cold front, so the spring has definitely pushed the winter off for good I think.  I am going up in the AM and will give a more in depth report tomorrow so until then…. Ciao

Friday morning looked ugly.   Rain on the window of the trailer and a soft patter on the roof.    Should I go or should I stay?  I have a bunch of stuff to do before I have to morph back into  ASPHALT MAN … You know get new tights,  stitch up the burn holes in the cape, polish the shiny paving boots, – got to look good you know- refinish my shovel, and descend down from the mountain top where  time itself seemingly stands still.  So I think ” got to go to know” so I mounted up and made first tram.  Fog had shrouded the canyon as I entered , but a glimmer of sun broke out as I gained altitude.  Maybe it will be interesting.  More than interesting it was as the cloud cover and above freezing temps. had kept the snow pack from getting fully firm.  Chips was velvety up high and began getting down right sumptuous as I made the descent.  The HELL HOLE had been buffed and was like Buttah,  shear Buttah.  20 minute Tram schedule made it perfect for rapid back to back rippage, but that allowed no lollygagging.  Light traffic necessitated the casual Trams, and that translated into uncrowded slopes.  It was going to go fast so I got down and dirty hooving down as much vert. as the Tram would allow.  Just a few others were on the pace so everything stayed vacant.  By 12:30 PM things began to get a bit slushy, though the glide factor stayed good with only occasional glue spots to be cautious of.   Unsettled weather moving in and I’ll get all those  peripheral chores done tomorrow.  I better take off the tinfoil hat to be sure and get the TRANSMISSIONS from THE BIG GIANT HEAD because I need the money.   What, you think I listen to that noise for free?!!!

Light traffic this Thursday morning with few on the first boat.  The Mineral Basin was the definite call as this morning was much warmer, and the front side was still quite crispy.   Light wind rewarded me as I , again, dressed” for how I wanted it to be ” taking full advantage of the vacant runs.  Anderson’s was a tad scary with the frozen groovelocity, which threatened to tear a ski off at storming velocity..  It would have been ugly!!.  Lower down I scaled back the throttle, thinking better of the potential for disaster.  Two runs down sent me to the fabulous Forklift chair ,where I waited for softening to occur.  11:00 Am was the start of the breakage , but you had to work the angles to get it  right.  12 Noon was the time for  a more  ambitious approach to the groomers, which were becoming delightful and buttery.  The continued freeze thaw cycles has kept the glue spots from forming until quite late.  Regulator was the last to soften,and became like a back country shot with perfect carvability.  The beauty did not stop there as the entire run to the bottom was epic.  It reminded me of the Red Baldy drainage  when you get it just right.  So sweet!!.  Back to back casual Trams were going off, giving ample time to make each one, and a nice group of late comers kept the energy high all around.  Weather coming in,during the next few days, will begin to affect the general ambience so check and see what it looks like before rushing on up.  This will affect the timing and lighting so be advised. See you on first Tram regardless!!!

OK, Thinking that Wednesday was going to be yukie, I was pleased to look out the window of the trailer to see blue sky and a sunny morning, so I quickly mounted up and made first tram.  The wind was blowing briskly off the high ridge lines so, of course, I  dressed ” for how I wanted it to be”…. Will I learn any time soon?… doubtful!  The wind was cooking and the temps. were  cold, but the sun just pulled me into a daze.   The high North was smooth and filled in with transported and light overnight snow, but below the first 30 turns things got interesting and I bailed for the groomers, which had a light dusting of confectioner’s sugar on top, giving them an edgable texture.  I was tempted to venture into Mineral Basin, which promised more softness, but the front 3000′ was tugging at me and at least I got that right. As I approached MACH1 , I got an ice scream headache from hell…. ow!  That aught to teach me…. let’s hope.  The temps. remained quite cold, but moderating, and the freeze began to slowly break about 11:30 AM.  The high angle sun was doing the heavy lifting as the temps. moved sluggishly upward.  I was still toughing it out with the top down, and finally was rewarded with mild enough temps. to mitigate the head pain.  The consistency got better and better as the sun topped out at Noon, however, the temp. at the peak was 26 Degrees at that time, to give you an idea of the air mass.  The wind continued to blast up slope pummeling the face like a durmabrasion for free.  Despite the discomfort, it was great driving with the top down with great snow and a very sparse casual crowd.  It was very much like country club skiing.  Look for tomorrow to be the same, and the early Trams are not too early for fun.  Perhaps I will wear a hat and goggs in the AM…  Nah!

The forecast for this Tuesday morning was for overcast and precip., but the day dawned bright and clear,  marred only by very high winds from the valley on up.  The first Tram went off on time and docked in pounding wind.  I, of course , had dressed ” for how I wanted it to be’ , and was confronted by true goggle blastage, though tolerable temps.  The groomers were best and a re groom of THE BIG BOOM BAH, on the lower mountain, added significant interest during these times of limited scope.  Mineral was open and softening quickly, but I opted to stay the course on the Tram before the inevitable shutdown due to high winds.  The high North has smoothed significantly though the supportability became an issue half way down the upper section, which required some survival tactics.  No time to come up injured at this juncture, or for that matter any juncture.  No Baloney was epic and rippable time after time , but also suffered from the lack of supportability after 40  turns, when the punchability sent me traversing for Primrose Gully!! At least there was an escape route!!.  When the Tram went down, due to high winds, the Peruvian chair opened to access the mountain, but the wind and nippy temps. made the ride suitable for the intrepid.  I found refuge, as always, in the sumptuous comfort of the Forklift, where we traded observations and solved all the world’s problems.  My friends were not interested in the Andromedan Perspective, so I kept that to myself;  I guess they are not ready to think out side of the box… or Galaxy for that matter.  So many information transmissions and no one to share them with…Oh well.  Maybe fresh snow tomorrow… Let’s hope… OH OH I forgot to put on my tin foil hat…   IN COMING MESSAGE FROM THE BIG GIANT HEAD!!!

There was a cold wind blowing this Monday morning  with clear skies, and low traffic to start the day.  The new snow had given the grooming team some product to work with and , for the most part, the corduroy was deluxe!!.  Three , count ’em, big shots were buffed on the lower mountain, making plenty of room to boogie down.  You could not totally load an edge due to the punchable factor, so a bit of smooze was called for to get the most out of it.  Powder Paradise opened, and the rush was on like the faithful were starving or hadn’t seen it for a long time; kind of comical to be kind.  The quality was nice, but the sun had had time to get a look on it sending it south quickly.  The temps. remained quite cold and windy preserving the quality of the snow overall, and prevented the dreaded glopulation, which is a given this time of year.  I held out until 1:30 PM when the lower cat tracks began to morph into paste, so my knees cried UNCLE!.  Little Cloud opened and the extra depth from the full storm made it delightful and fluffulecent. Very nice for this late date.  More snow on the way will put the icing on the cake.  The cold and wind kept the full effect of the sun from fully trashing the quality.  High overcast moved in during the late afternoon masking the sun.  The high North aspects are becoming very smooth with the wind and wear so you can  plan on that , though the popular sections are still bumped out a bit in the usual places.  Enjoy these bonus days!!!

A murky Sunday morning dawned with hard rain on the thin roof signaling a powder morning.  The faithful showed up in force and brought the members of other congregations to share in the festivities.  Fully 12” of higher density snow cushioned the crunch making the product very skiable indeed.  Most of the lifts are closed so the Tram line was burgeoning without let up.  The snow continued with intent and stacked up the depth as the day wore on.  The sun stayed shrouded by the clouds preserving the quality.  I have to admit that I was not down with the 4 Tram wait , so I bailed to take care of business at home.  Tomorrow should be clearer so the quality will go South rapidly so plan on that .  I will have to see how things look tomorrow and give you all a more complete assessment, so until then enjoy!!

It was a very noisy night here in the Communications Trailer.  The rain was thunderous on the thin skin of the roof as it poured down, but that aluminium helps shield those transmissions from the home planet… I have to get SOME rest!!  More than .5” of water, though it sounded like 3”,  pounded all night with occasional thunder claps.  Alta reported 6” new, so that seemed like an appropriate start for this Saturday morning. Of course, it is my day off and I needed it after the Twins tours of last week, which are still fresh in my mind’s eye… though it is a bit blood shot!   This new instalment will give the back country a brand new surface after it goes through it’s freeze thaw cycle.  To me perfect corn is every bit the treasure that powder is, just creamier, but again it is another kind of perfect!!  The storm track looks poised to deliver another set that is stacking up now so get ready to rock.   The old surface is going to play a roll if you go off trail where the complexion is rough and craggy.  Some of the reefs are beginning to reappear so keep that in mind, especially in Mineral Basin.  The bumps have worked up fairly well on Primrose and Silver Fox and can definitely interrupt a perfectly good turn.  The high North shots are generally smooth with only low rumble to deal with, so plan accordingly.  Look for more freshness in the AM and dream deepness!!!   END TRANSMISSION!!

Friday morning looked like it was going to be a challenge when the sky was overcast and grim looking. Driving up the canyon revealed bright sun on the East faces of the high peaks promising a window before the storm moves in.  39 degrees at the parking lot meant that the front side would be quite crisp while the sun on Mineral Basin would give the best possibility of corn. A beautiful grooming job and a touch of sun made the corduroy so sweet that it reminded me of the back country tours I did this week, but with lift service.  I knocked out 6 fast laps and took full advantage of the groovelosity.  There was very low attendance this morning, as all the Academy folks pulled out, leaving ball room dancing conditions on the Tram car.  Back to back was fully happening and by 11:00 the front side began to break and became excellent with wide open slopes and velvet under foot.  The wind bumped up now and again, but not nearly as high velocity as the weather predicted.  A light overcast kept the consistency from becoming too wet and the glide factor remained very good.  We will have to wait and see what the weather does,  though I am holding on to the idea of dumpage.   How about you?!!  Keep it coming!!