17" on no base is a BAD thing. Had some very nice turns in some awesome light and fluffy powder, but I had to fix 4 core shots when I got home.
LobsterTeleGrrl was on my powder skis and she kept poaching my lines! Fortunately she left enough space to the sides to let me spoon her turns, so there was enough untracked to go around.
Anything that they had packed and groomed was fine to ski, but the ungroomed trails were murder on the bases. One more storm should get them completely open, the woods probably need at least another two feet to be in good shape.