Days 50-52: Don't like conditions? Wait a day.
Before (Saturday)
After (Sunday)
Saturday was yet another springlike day, but with morning cloud cover things were going to take some time to soften. A good deal of time, actually. I decided to sleep in, and Bobby Danger called at 10 a.m. to tell me not to bother wasting gas driving up the canyon. I showed up at the truly alpine start time of 2 p.m., after the sun came out and snow surfaces finally started to soften on some (west) aspects. I hooked up with Skidog and his three East Coast houseguests for a few runs.
The storm moved in on Sunday morning, but it started with a rain/snow line barely below Alta. The stuff that fell was some of the wettest snow known to mankind. That was a good thing, for the four inches that fell during the day was beefy enough to keep you off the bottom, and the high moisture content actually started to break down the crusty snow beneath. A stiff southerly wind blew ahead of the cold front, and at times intense waves of graupel moved through the canyon.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLF3kgC3wLo[/video]
That was topped by another 7" of lighter, drier snow that fell after Sunday's closing as my houseguests Ben and Tawny arrived from Vermont and we headed down to Red Iguana for dinner as the snow line fell to the Valley floor behind the cold front. I headed up this morning for a few runs, as did every other snow starved powder junkie jonesing for fresh tracks after three weeks of high pressure. All parking lots in LCC quickly filled, and at times it was faster to just join a triple in the Collins queue than brave the singles line. Thankfully they started loading lifts 10 minutes early. Regardless, I managed to score the Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder rope drop and was about the 10th or 12th person through the gate. Even by my last run, Greeley Bowl was still delivering the goods.
Greeley Bowl
Before (Saturday)
After (Sunday)
Saturday was yet another springlike day, but with morning cloud cover things were going to take some time to soften. A good deal of time, actually. I decided to sleep in, and Bobby Danger called at 10 a.m. to tell me not to bother wasting gas driving up the canyon. I showed up at the truly alpine start time of 2 p.m., after the sun came out and snow surfaces finally started to soften on some (west) aspects. I hooked up with Skidog and his three East Coast houseguests for a few runs.
The storm moved in on Sunday morning, but it started with a rain/snow line barely below Alta. The stuff that fell was some of the wettest snow known to mankind. That was a good thing, for the four inches that fell during the day was beefy enough to keep you off the bottom, and the high moisture content actually started to break down the crusty snow beneath. A stiff southerly wind blew ahead of the cold front, and at times intense waves of graupel moved through the canyon.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLF3kgC3wLo[/video]
That was topped by another 7" of lighter, drier snow that fell after Sunday's closing as my houseguests Ben and Tawny arrived from Vermont and we headed down to Red Iguana for dinner as the snow line fell to the Valley floor behind the cold front. I headed up this morning for a few runs, as did every other snow starved powder junkie jonesing for fresh tracks after three weeks of high pressure. All parking lots in LCC quickly filled, and at times it was faster to just join a triple in the Collins queue than brave the singles line. Thankfully they started loading lifts 10 minutes early. Regardless, I managed to score the Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder rope drop and was about the 10th or 12th person through the gate. Even by my last run, Greeley Bowl was still delivering the goods.
Greeley Bowl
