taste of spring

If you like spring skiing conditions under spectacular blue skies, then Saturday was the day for you.  It got pretty warm, which is never good for the snow, but it was a stunning day.  Lots of people thought so too, swarming Alta despite no new snow for a couple of days.  We got in the singles line to ride up the Collins chair, then cruised over to Sugarloaf.  The corduroy was soft and smooth, quiet underfoot.

Tracked out but still soft in Catherine's Area

After a couple of obligatory runs off Sugarloaf, we moved over to Supreme where we did run after run after run in Catherine's Area.  Everything was totally tracked out - even when we went way in, past Last Chance - but the snow was soft and getting softer, so it was still a lot of fun to ski, even with sweat running down our backs from the hiking portions.

That part of the Castle has been closed all season

We did a couple of runs in the first third of Devil's Castle (all that was, and has been, open).  This part of the hill stays out of the sun for the most part, so it wasn't getting slushy.  My legs were getting tired from the hiking which meant that I did a Cecret Saddle run when H went back into the Castle the second time.  I miscalculated, however, and skied in the sun instead of sticking to the shade; the bumps were heavy mashed potatoes and only served to tire me out more.

This part has been open (and well-used)

Back to Supreme we went for more soft bumps runs, including one last time through Catherine's before it closed at 3 p.m.  The bottom run-out there simply bakes in the afternoon sun and that last time through was creamy-soft.  That much melt would mean grim conditions for the morning, probably.  We were enjoying the day so much that we skied until 3:30 p.m., which must mean that I'm finally building some stamina.

Don't forget sunscreen!