Crystal - 02/23 Hamster Heaven II

Ski Report - OUCH! Great spring day in February! Most asked question by other folks was where was #1? Ouch! Shoulda been up, wasn't...but I'm sure the very light crowd on the three slopes I did today would have been to crowded - heard that about slow GQex and might have been the case on FQex , though I only passed through there once. Pretty much another Hamster day with maybe even less variety...GV Bowl (firmer than yesterday), lots of awesome runs down Big Pro Course to a continually nicer softer MIFB. Did one run on Downhill to Rolling Knolls and I seem to recollect a run down LS which was per BB's post yesterday - okay! Beat my quads up even more today and finally quit at 1pm - just cause. Big sunny, big warm...did progress on the down sizing of clothes and gloves. Big Fun Day....the kind I live for.

Other - Stopped into CB lodge to find the heavenly Chicken Noodle soup today (thanks Hunter it was very very good). Didn't notice any pizza cooking (or burgers?). Did notice three nice folks eating Beechers Mac and Cheese and Pike Place Clam chowder and what brand of chili all looked good and then found out they suffer reading my posts....ouch! Recommended they post their own opinions....it was a pleasure talking to them.

Other Other - Didn't seem too busy on REX today, had to ride the lift with folks but they were all very nice and interesting....can't say anything about the other lifts. A lot was pretty mellow when I left, B was almost completely full? OUCH! C had a lot of cars and D actually had a fair number of cars...club folks? Drive up was 95% nice till a cluster for the last couple of miles from Ranger Creek, drive down was almost pleasant....or it should have been at 1pm...but bumped into some Sunday tourists....another ouch...passed more slow folk than I have in a very very long time and praise the lord I got home with no WSP tix's No elk noticed again....twas a very big fun great day of skiing in the very big sun with views from Oregon to Canada!

And now for the rest. Firmer in the morning than yesterday, softer and warmer in the afternoon. From 11am on, the run was Sunnyside. If the groomers were hamster heaven, Sunnyside was wombat combat (yes, that's a reference to Hodaka for you old school dirt bike riders). And, they opened the lookers left side of Powder Bowl today. Up we went. Had to side step down a large part of the ridge to get to the gate. Jumped in and the snow was nice, until I realized there wasn't much of it on top of the talus and dirt. One and done. GV chair was slow once again, but less of a line today and afternoon Grubstake was soft and fun.

I went skiing today. It was fun. All experiences today will have no relation to conditions for the weekend. To the few that helped smooth Sunnyside and Grubstake, thanks. To those that didn't, you'll have to wait for 2 feet of new.