A
Anonymous
Guest
Due to other commitments (travel, etc.), I hadn't been to MRG since the epic Town Meeting Day blizzard. The weather forecast for Saturday looked dicey all week, until Thursday night, when Smilin' Tom said we might squeeze out 1 nice day between systems on Friday and Sunday - alright! <BR> <BR>I brought one of my friends who had been on skis about 5 times in his life after I convinced him that, yes he could ski it! I picked up my shareholders' ticket, then led him on a Birdland tour. Even at 9 AM, the sun was starting to soften the snow, making for sweet turns. After a couple of runs, we set our lunch rendezvous and I headed for the Single. I was struck upon ascending the Single, how much snow had accumulated just in the past month. (much of this is old new for many of you, but please indulge me) The dip one usually encounters upon turning left at the top of the Single - gone! Trail signs in many locations - barely visible or gone. Huge boulders I was used to seing on several trails - nowhere to be seen. Just an amazing amount of snow! So...back to the story, the usual Single warmup - Catamount > Lynx > Beaver. The sun was softening the snow and the bumps were the best I'd been on all year. Moguls are probably the weakest aspect of my skiing (probably because I'm always hunting powder), but I actually felt like a halfway decent bump skiier Saturday (must have been the snow). Next - Paradise. Some serious ducking was necessary on the traverse just to get below the tree branches. The warning sign for Paradise is now about 3 feet above the snow level. It takes reference points such as those just to appreciate what an epic year this has been. Paradise had plenty of loose powder up top, which is a total treat in April. I finished the run with Ferret > Glade. I spent the balance of the morning doing Fall Line runs, primarily because it seemed much less crowded than Paradise. Woods to skiier's right of Creamery were nice and deep. <BR> <BR>After a nice Stovepipe Porter and Cheeseburger lunch on the Basebox deck (looking UP at those on the snow at the base area), I hit the double for the first run of the afternoon, primarily because the Single line was getting longer (though it still never seemed longer than 20 min). At this point I hit Canyon - best bumps of the day! I spent the afternoon alternating Single/Double, hitting Canyon time after time on the Double runs - the bumps were Goldilucks bumps - just right...the day just got better as the afternoon wore on - at this point I was skiing in a long sleeve T-shirt and I even saw one woman in a jogbra and shorts. Last Single run was Catamount > Lower Antelope, which was one long bump run. Did not see a soul on L.A., which amazed me, though I'm not complaining. The snow at this point is about even with the railings on the bridge at the bottom - hope that bridge can hold that much. Final run was...Canyon...big surprise. <BR> <BR>All in all, a perfect day for spring skiing. My back and knees are screaming, but I have no regrets.