March 7, 07 Alpental Afternoon & Night Skiing

The pass greeted me with forty degrees and light rain although it cooled off pretty dramatically up the Armstrong Ex. and began snowing around tower 10-11. With each run, the snow would move down a lift tower or so until it reached the base around 5 o' clock. More or less as soon as the snow hit the base it cleared up and the temperature dropped further.

When I got there, the snow was fine on piste and had a nice corny consistency but off piste turns were impossible and very sticky. As the temperature dropped, it iced up pretty quickly and by the time I left at around six-thirty is was amazingly icy considering how soft it had been only an hour or two before...Interesting side note: In my four or so hours of skiing, I never once shared a lift with anyone else...it was that deserted

The Long Distance of the Lonely Randoneer, or sumpin'?