Soft, sweet, bumps on Needles Eye.

Soft, sweet, bumps on Needles Eye.

Deja vu all over again!

This weeks storms have reset the snow cover clock back to mid December. The last time we had more than 10 inches of natural snow around the inn was on December 20th. It looks great, and it skis pretty nice too!

Mary and I took some time away from the inn this morning to get out on the mountain. Brilliant sunshine, great snow, a little cold...but 2 out of 3 is not bad. Because of the temperature (high single digits when we left the inn), we skied today on the Bear Mountain, Sky Peak, Superstar side of the mountain. It's closer to the equator and as a result warmer. Actually it's all urban legend. But the southern exposure to Bear Mountain and Sky Peak mean that if the sun is out, the lights are on. And on a cold day a little sunshine warming the back on a chair lift can make all the difference.

Snow surfaces were all generally soft and devoid of ice patches. I am sure it is lurking there 6 inches under the surface, but the limited skier traffic on the mountain this morning did not reveal any of it. Skye Burst, the Stash, Bear Claw and lower Wild Fire were all groomed flat. Even with the cold temperatures, there was so much snow that the surfaces were generally soft. Snow making was taking place on Outer Limits and Bear Claw. The ruptured pipe on Bear Claw was obviously repaired. The resort was taking advantage of the cold temperatures to blow a large amount of snow over the ice flow created when the pipe broke.

Upper Wildfire was filled with large bumps. Upper Dream Maker had a combination of large and small bumps. Lower Dream Maker was closed. The resort is in the process of sculpting some kind of terrain park on lower Dream Maker. The trail was closed to allow grooming machines free access.

Cruise Control had more soft snow cover. It must have been groomed earlier than some of the other trails we skied. Needles Eye was not groomed. It was covered with soft, sweet bumps. While that pattern was a little irregular, negotiating them was no big deal. (I did need to take my gator down off my face to get more air into my lungs. A little work out is a good thing!) With the exception of a little wind blown spot on Panic Button, the trip down Needles Eye was a delight.

Skye Lark, Bitter Sweet and Superstar were all in similar shape; groomed with some soft snow pack on top. Lower Skye Lark was a little strange. Some ice and rock has been exposed on skiers right. I am not sure if the area was wind blown, of if a groomer moved to much cover to other spots. The middle of the trail was soft bumps similar to Needles Eye, except the pitch was revealing some slick spots in the bump troughs. If you want to cruise, stick to Bitter Sweet.

Cold temperatures are forecasted through the weekend with more snow predicted for Sunday. With any luck, we have already had the January thaw.....Let it snow.