Day 29: Batten down the hatches!
Today's story was the wind.
After a 36" total for the storm that ended last evening, the wind sure kicked up overnight, moving the new snow everywhere. Some sheltered pockets still held fresh untracked (yes, multiple successive face shots were obtained again today, and lower Greeley Bowl was still not steep enough to ski in all of the new snow) while in other areas the wind smoothed over old tracks. There were times that all you could do was stop, turn your back to the wind and just brace yourself for the assault. It felt like my old days at Jay Peak back in Vermont! At one point, Anant was simply trying to stand still, but the wind was actually blowing him uphill.
Backside was on ASP's a.m. route list, but with that kind of wind it was clear that any attempt to open Backside would be pointless so they never bothered.
Overall, it was one heluva weekend.
The other story today was the crowd, for it seemed like everyone who couldn't get up the canyon yesterday showed up today.
Tom, Anant and I quit at 2:30, right as the first flakes of our next major snowstorm began to fall. The forecast calls for another +/- 2 feet, perhaps more.
Season-to-date snowfall total 262", current base depth 103".
Today's story was the wind.
After a 36" total for the storm that ended last evening, the wind sure kicked up overnight, moving the new snow everywhere. Some sheltered pockets still held fresh untracked (yes, multiple successive face shots were obtained again today, and lower Greeley Bowl was still not steep enough to ski in all of the new snow) while in other areas the wind smoothed over old tracks. There were times that all you could do was stop, turn your back to the wind and just brace yourself for the assault. It felt like my old days at Jay Peak back in Vermont! At one point, Anant was simply trying to stand still, but the wind was actually blowing him uphill.
Backside was on ASP's a.m. route list, but with that kind of wind it was clear that any attempt to open Backside would be pointless so they never bothered.
Overall, it was one heluva weekend.
The other story today was the crowd, for it seemed like everyone who couldn't get up the canyon yesterday showed up today.
Tom, Anant and I quit at 2:30, right as the first flakes of our next major snowstorm began to fall. The forecast calls for another +/- 2 feet, perhaps more.
Season-to-date snowfall total 262", current base depth 103".
