Pretty good day. I think the hometown pigskin team's futile efforts kept the crowds down quite a bit (things were remarkably quiet starting about 1:30...)
Snow was a heavyish powder. Maybe people that have been there a lot since xmas would have pooh-poohed this stuff in comparison to the lighter stuff from days past, but I thought it was plenty fun. For these conditions, fat is where it's at.
On and off snowfall, usually kind of needly, but also some nice viz breaks as if the 7K ridge was very near the tops of the clouds.
After more "testing" I would say that I have changed my thoughts about the northway chair from Hostile to Neutral. Yes those newly generated bump runs are an abomination. But there is still some semblance of the spirit of the old Northback out there, if you know where to look, and the chair does make getting to it more convenient than a bus ride. And it does appear to have lessened some pressure on Southback.
Last run of day we went into Southback to Silver basin. Interesting that on a day with High av danger in the NWAC backcountry report (one reason why we went inbounds today) the Southback was open at all. I sometimes wonder if days inbounds are bad for our "avy eyes". I would not have dropped a slope equivalent to Silver Basin in the true backcountry on a High forecast day (even had I been out at all). But with ticket paid for, we dropped in with just the slightest hesitation. Not trying to spin or theorize or pontificate, just a thought I had at the time.
