Bernie's Report - January 20, 2003

Wind Blown and Variable

Ok, it's time for the Griz to return from his holiday down east. We definitely could use a large dose of the white stuff. Cold temperatures on the upper mountain over the last couple of days have helped preserve the snow and strong winds have deposited some loose stuff into the troughs between the bumps. I avoided the large open areas today and skied in the trees and along the sides of the runs. Soft snow and good skiing can still be found, but you have to search it out.

The wind has not been quite so kind to the open areas, especially those that were groomed. Some areas have been polished smooth. Many high traffic areas are getting badly scraped and grass and ground are visible in some spots. I thought I'd give Diamondback Ridge a try today. (not that Diamondback is either groomed or a high traffic area). The top is OK. The snow is good and one is able to avoid the few obstacles with little effort. The bottom third of the steep section is almost un-skiable. Just not enough snow to adequately cover the obstacles on this slope yet.

In summary; Adventuresome skiers can still have great fun on the upper mountain. By late this afternoon the groomed intermediate runs were hard packed and wind blown. The green runs on the lower mountain are in good shape. The wind has had little effect on these runs and the snow coverage and conditions are better than on the groomed intermediate runs that I skied today.

At 5:30 p.m. it's -1C at that house and the forecast is: Mainly cloudy. Occasional snow overnight.

Bernie - bernie@far.redtree.com