March 28, 2001The Comeback HillYou can never count Fernie out opined Richard, my locker neighbor, local institution
and <free plug alert> proprietor of the excellent Rip' n Richard's
bistro down in town </free plug alert>. It would seem he is right,
for after worrying about whether the hill would even be open at this point,
I have had the pleasure of some pretty good skiing over the last three days.
Up high there has been honest to goodness powder, sometimes boot high or better.
There is still no base, hazards abound and farther down the conditions are far
from powder, but with a little judicious route selection a day of really fine
turns is certainly possible. Over on the old side the Face Lift and upper Cedar were closed and the lower elevation took its toll as the transition from powder to heavy was not far below the top of the Bear. However if you have a taste or tolerance for full bodied snow, soft turns were abundant, particularly as the Haul Back was closed and few folks were interested in making the long and nostalgic traverse out Cedar Trail. I even enjoyed, in a floundering fashion, the boot deep paste we encountered on Linda's run, although I think my skiing companions were making mental notes to avoid both me and especially my route selections in the future. The lower runs were hardly a treat, but had improved considerably over a couple of days ago. Some bare spots had disappeared and the frozen spots that had been slush puddles were fairly grippy. Hardly the stuff of dreams, but adequate as a transit to the bottom. At a little past six in the evening it is cloudyand about 5 C at the house. |
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