There’s not a whole lot to say about today except that it was totally awesome! Storm skiing at its finest. Ohh how we’ve missed the sting of wind driven snow on frozen faces!
The snow was phenomenal today. They probably could have only run Exhibition and the crowd would have been whooping with joy!… On second thought, strike that, the crowd can be kinda critical of mountain operations can’t they. Anyhow, there wasn’t much to complain about today. Squaw Creek, Far East, Red Dog and KT were all open while the wind howled on the upper mountain and on the lower mountain ridges. It was an awesome lower mountain storm day, and get this, the KT line barely bubbled outside of the fencing all day while the lines on the rest of the chairs where virtually non-existent.
The wind was whipping and the visibility could be tough in areas with low contrast, but that’s a storm day all over. Visibility was just fine anywhere in the trees. All along Red Dog Ridge, Poulsen’s Gully, Resort at Squaw Creek tree runs, Chute 75: decent visibility and great snow. The wind kept filling in tracks on the East Face and Red Dog ridge like batter in a waffle iron. It was beautiful.
If skiers ventured away from the contrast of the trees they might find themselves feeling their way down, but most places still felt pretty smooth. West Face harbors a few moguls under the pow, and the occasional stump still lurks under the Red Dog and Resort chairs but wow, what a difference one real Sierra storm can make.
People were hitting some airs with the soft snow today and playing around in the trees. It was leap day after all. But with the low visibility and some lingering concerns about the low tide we’ve had all year most were taking the day to get their powder legs under them again. The Fingers stayed closed today but as soon as people can see where they are going they’re likely to start spotting some pretty plush landings.
Sorry we don’t have any better photos for you from today. Everything was pretty white and most of us were busy skiing.
It’s tough to say if anything on the upper mountain will open tomorrow. Friday may still be the day for that, but who cares. These are the best conditions we’ve had all year and it will only get better in the next 48 hours. Snow will continue tonight with flurries all day Thursday. Snowfest begins on Friday. Thank the skies we finally have some Snow!