March 8, 2013, Crystal Southback

Busy, but not crowded at all; C lot full and B lot 1/3 full at 9:30. No lift lines. I exclusively rode #6 and Southback. I was very surprised to find hardly anybody had ventured past the northern edge of the Throne, and even more surprised to see only a smattering of tracks on the King. I hiked to Sasquatch for my first run and it was untracked. My track on the King was only mated with 1 other by 2pm. Also found untracked on the southern edge of the Throne summit.

Conditions: sun, sun, sun and no wind. Southern aspects were softening by afternoon. Sheltered southern aspects had icy suncrust and chunder. Shaded northern aspects (King/Throne) had ~ 6" - 10" loose sugar with scattered but avoidable big sugar cubes and chunks. I easily triggered a few medium sized loose dry sluffs. Groomers were smooth and fast for the run out.

Outside seating was well-used at Campbell Basin Lodge. The soup? Forgot to check! But the teriyaki chicken rice bowl was good.

The soup was butternut squash and it was excellent............my pair of tracks on the king were equally unmolested ,like I said,the soup was good,we'll just leave it there.

Thankyou both for great reports, very glad you had a great day, wish I could been there...oh well...lots of days still to be had. Nice pics r1de. Thanks eskinmo for the soup report - would have been even more ticked off if it had been ChickNoodle....plus all my other problems.

Wow, nice pics of south. We stayed inside the ropes and still were pleasantly rewarded. Steepness had its share of frozen lumps to slalom, but lower angles were delicious. Chair closures during the week and today's sun turned Penny Dawg's, Upper and Lower, into our mid-day banquet (aka soup, noodles, and rice bowl). It's spring skiing, and full parking lots turned into full lodge decks, and the slopes and lift lines were nearly empty. Softening today will turn to toughness for early tracks tomorrow morning.
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