Crystal - 02/23

Short Report - Another day like lots of days recently, cold, sunny early, hard snow fall around the noon hour, light early crowd (actually light crowd all day), great early groomers, new snow from overnight very nice, fun off groomers - especially fun in M-Forest (formally M-World), lifts all seemed to work fine all day.

Wordy Report - Arrived extra early just in case, CHex lift line gone in a minute or two to start, very nice grooming with some having been done before some of the over night snowfall. Felt very cold today, maybe because of some of the winds up top. #1 had a great second day in a row. I pretty much did a repeat from yesterday. Still have a few icy spots (cold smoke new don't bond well with rock hard ice), but most places I went was very nice packed pow, or better yet every deeper left over pillows to blow through. The mid day snow storm was filling in the morning tracks very nicely. Great day, better every day!

Other - Soup was the Triple C, pizza was very good again, CB lodge was kinda cold. Pay lot was close to weekend big and weekday empty, B and C had cars, motorhome line looked full. Drove up through the road repair area before the work really got started, had a easy pass through on the way down - no wait...4 or 5 big dump trucks parked and some pretty good sized rocks piled up...definitely spending some money to fix the problem.

It's been really tough to miss this week. Laid up with the cold/flu/bronchitis that's going around. Really nasty crap. Looking forward to being back in the mountains on Monday with ski season ending now that we're through President's Day week.

Yes, another powder day at the local hill. Brought out the big boards so as to encourage more traveling.  It was a tad busy on the traverse out across Campbell Basin -- one young lad passed me while spinning a 360 in mid air. 

Today exhibited true top to bottom skiing. It is always a special treat when the lower mountain has it going on! A few laps through Boondoggle around 4:30 was very nice, but I've grown very fond of the double fall line under C4 this week. Sometimes good things can be found where the sun doesn't shine. Just like the environs of lower Melby's, lower Bull Run and the trees through Lower Ferks. Heard that Lower Right Angle Trees have finally been compacted into shape, and that gate 9 left screamed for the buddy system.

A tad scrappy in places (directly under C6 at the top) and in the exposed chutes of Bear Pits. But nothing more than what a gummi stone can polish up.  The west ridge of Powder Bowl and the lines between the canons was worthy of multiple repeats -- refills each time we went through. Temps have been creeping up a tad, and the filtered sun is heating up the exposed terrain -- but just a tad.   But I gotta give up the award to Patrol and Ops -- kudos.

So Thur + Fri morning was no problem thru the 410 project. Yesterday, a couple of cranes were busy moving downed trees from the uphill side of the road to below the retaining wall above the meandering White River. Several dump trucks rolled up with 4-5 ft boulders that had smooth faces for interlocking. A  backhoe has been busy as well.

Again, chicken coconut curry has replaced chicken noodle. Somebody has got to say something.