June 3, Silver Star--4 snow zones + limbo!

We walked on dirt at least an hour until skinable snow up around 4600 where the valley flattened, and after that there were a few small gaps and various other hazards like swamps to skirt.   This was a Mountaineers basic climb and a couple of us skied.  Everyone had a great time.  After climbing to the top (some snow to near the very tip top but not skiable--last year it was at this time, for anyone who dared since it is pretty steep).

Emily and I then skied 4 zones. 

Zone 1-from the saddle for 1000' or so: The ice zone.  Frozen crust over the new snow from 2 weeks ago.  Skiable, but ear plugs highly recommended.

Zone 2-the next 1000' (maybe less?): The death zone.  I made sure Emily went first.  That way when I saw her wipe out, I'd know she had hit the deadly breakable crust.  No reasonable way to turn, but we laughed a lot, went slow, and no one was injured.

Zone 3-To the valley bottom: The corn zone.  Well, soft corn anyway, but no pollen.  Very nice turns all the way down.

Zone 4-As far down as we could possibly go: The combat zone.  We made a game out of seeing how far down we could make it.  The snow runs out real quick.  Emily invented a new dance called the long-board limbo--see photo.