On the second day we were on the cats and moving at 8:30. Our first run was a little longer than the one that started previous day. We also found the line in the trees where snow got crusty and difficult to ski had moved downhill about 300 feet, probably due to snow drying out more overnight. For our second run the cat dropped us high on Cloud 9 and we got a couple of turns on Silver Lining, but mostly traversed, then did a bootpack and skied a steep entrance, shady since NW-facing into El Dorado. The snow was untracked and good in places, but inconsistent with some areas without much new snow and frozen chunks/chicken heads that tried to knock me out of my line on some turns. After a short cat ride, we skied a different drainage into Kiwi Cruise, then a line on Forgotten Claim, an area we had skied three times the previous day. Snow was good and the clouds that made for another beautiful sunrise had disappeared.
We then moved into Alpine Meadows, the furthest out of the alpine area that Mustang skis. We skied three different lines in this area. On the first the rest of our group went down one drainage and mostly tracked it out. I was on nose between that drainage and the next one and I heard the lead guide on the radio saying he knew what I was thinking and to go for it. So me, then Tony Crocker and Nick, the owner of Mustang who alternated this day between driving our cat and being tail guide all got untracked that they probably were saving for another group or run. When skiing down with Nick he was always telling us "there is no reason to be crossing tracks".
We also skied a little of 5th Dimension, a run that can be 6,000 vertical feet, Mustang's biggest. One of the runs included a cornice that I dropped and found good soft snow underneath. A few of us wished we'd hit it a little harder although the first one off was the hardest charger in our group and he crashed in the flats with a lot of speed. We also took upper Mad Max, a run that dropped low to the N and found some interesting terrain and good snow. We ended the day with our longest vertical run of the week, Love Me Long Time. This started above 8,000 feet on Cloud 9 and dropped to the SE. The snow was not that great in some places and I set off a slab or two where I dropped in. There was some OK snow on the way down, then Bruno asked if anyone in the group wanted to try the sporting way. Five of us went that way and I think it was a little more sporting than Bruno expected as they all had to drop about a five foot rock band and ended up dropping at least 10 feet. The radio traffic as he coached them off it was entertaining to everyone waiting. He told me I could continue down the ridge a little where I found excellent snow after a couple of don't fall here or you will be in the treetops turns.
As we went lower the terrain and snow got sketchier and Bruno gave me the OK to go ahead of him and find my way down a gully where I found some holes so I went a little further left and skied down some spines and over some bumps to the waiting cat. This was not the cat that dropped us as it probably took it over a hour to return to the lodge. This was a backup cat that picked us up at 4,500 feet with a 12-pack of beer, then climbed the 1200 feet back to lodge, returning about 5 PM with 18K vertical. Some of the group had trouble with the sketchy finish. To me, picking your way through the bushes and around holes with little or no snow to get to the bottom reminded me of the last four years in CA Sierra (or Bobby D Snowbasin sidecounty tour, but without the base damage)
Our last day meant packing our bags, getting out of our rooms, then onto the cats by 8:30. We started with a medium length run, then had a long run on Cloud 9, all the way into a clear cut, then had our next drop by the Love Hump. We skied very steep Centurian, in the shade, with good snow although their were some chicken heads to avoid. Then we skied El Dorado a few times, getting long W-facing untracked lines that alternated steep bands with short flats. While climbing back up, probably further into the alpine, we heard on the radio that caribou had been spotted near the top of Forgotten Claim. Not only did that mean that we could not ski there the rest of the day, it also meant we could not get out to Alpine Meadows area because endangered caribou have priority over skiers in Canada. I also heard that many of the animals that live in the area crave salt and find it where cat skiers have urinated.
We next skied low angle Mustang Glacier which some in the group enjoyed more than me. I felt like I could have straight-lined it. I did make a lot of low-angle turns. Next our group went up Thunder Dome where we went down N-facing Sidewinder. The snow was not that great as it was variable due to wind affect, plus it was shaded and last pitch had many chicken heads. Then the exit included about a very narrow 10 foot sidestep where snow got thinner as more of the group went through, followed a tough traverse where I hooked a ski on a tree. Then we had to climb up about a 100 feet to where cat was waiting above us. Jamesdeluxe would have been complaining. Next we did another Mustang Glacier run, this time all the skiers did a long traverse to get steeper face while snowboarders had to repeat low angle. I was complaining the cat could have dropped us higher.
I think we did a couple more El Dorado runs before getting a higher drop and skiing Coliseum where snow was better for me, being one of the first down as there was only a little soft snow. A highlight of the run was when our guide ignited a dead tree something they try to do to prevent disease or insects from spreading. Our last run of the trip was down Cloud 9 and sun had really baked the slope. It was still OK, very cream cheesy, and we could see that it would not be good for next group when our tracks, pinwheels and rollerballs froze overnight. We finished a little later than planned at about 3:40 with 16K and were on the cats out by 4 pm, arriving at our car a little before 6 with about a 2 hour drive over Roger's Pass to Golden, BC.
