Feb.21-24, 2008, Coldsmoke Powderfest, Whitewater

I have already posted elsewhere on a site that allows more photo input telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=43648 .
My son and I had skied at Whitewater resort for the first time last year. There was interest among my telefriends to return for the second annual Coldsmoke Powderfest. Unfortunately, only Tom K. from the Skagit Valley and Ted P. from Vancouver were able to join us. The strong high pressure system that had settled over the PNW in late February had cut off the snow tap in Nelson too. There had been no fresh stuff for almost a week when we arrived last Thursday. The morning sun softened the ne slopes immediately and we were able to warm up on corn-like groomers. The off-piste was turnable by 10:00am and we were playing in Whitewater's famous double black tree runs before noon.
With a forecast of no new snow and no sun on Friday, we opted to explore Nelson. We attended the film festival that evening. Saturday was a mixed bag of weather; with snow flurries accompanying the sunshine. Except for the south-facing slopes, snow conditions were generally pretty good. I tried out some short Atomic RT skis, which were fun in the moguls and tight tree glades. My son spent the last couple of hours on Dynafits. It was his first experience with bondage gear. He liked their comparative light weight and was able to maneuver through the steep tree glades in a short period of time.Tom and I went for a ski tour on Sunday. The first photo, taken from the Summit side, has the ridge above the lower Silver King side that we traveled along. The second picture has Tom coming out of one of glades and the last one shows me clowning around in the bc powder.