Jay's Report - March 21, 2008

Great Friday and a little Trivia

It wasn’t just a Good Friday, it was a Great Friday! Surprising everyone, the Griz dropped a 24cm blanket of perfect textured powder overnight. That, when added to the 76cm already dumped on the valley over the last 7 days figured to about 100cm of fresh. The hill is now reporting over 1,000 cm of snow this year. There are only 5 years since 1984 that over 1,000 cm of snow has fallen. In the years of 88/89, 90/91 and 96/97 over 1,100 cm dropped. We have 1,033 cm so far this year. It could be a record breaking year (since records were first kept in 1984). Over 1,000 cm of snow - think about that. That’s a lot of snow. In our front yard we hang Christmas lights from our trees which are about 20 to 30 feet high. In years past, we used a ladder to take the lights down. Today we just walked up to the trees and unraveled the lights, the snow banks being sufficiently high to dispense with a ladder. I wonder if the Bears will be confused in the summer when they pick up the scent of our dog sprinkling some of his finest on our trees, 25 of 30 feet up? I wonder if the Bears might think, “That’s some dog”.

So I was pounding down King Fir, my heart exploding, my legs screaming and mouth full of face shots and I was thinking, “Man, am I glad I didn’t plan a hot vacation this year like to Mexico or somewhere”. There aren’t enough Margaritas in Mexico to make up for this much powder lost. Everywhere was outrageous. My favorites all shined – King Fir, Boomerang, Cedar Ridge, Red Tree, Steep and Deep. The new side I found to be not quite as spectacular. It appeared to be a slightly cooler and windier. I dropped into Lower Saddle which was good but not nearly as good as say Red Tree. The entry was also challenging, requiring rock hopping maneuvering. Not for everyone. Temperatures are forecast to remain just below zero over the next while, making the spring break conditions near optimal. Hard to believe there is only 3 more weeks left this year.

At midnight, it’s about -1C at the house. Its been puking on and off big fat cornflakes. Can’t wait for tomorrow.