spring is springing

Even though it feels like winter never really started here, spring showed up this past weekend.  It got quite warm down in the valley on Saturday - close to 70 F and the flowering trees have started to, well, flower - while up at Alta, temperatures ranged from 30F in the morning to 48F in the afternoon.  I didn't even wear my boot covers!  (And yes, my toes did get cold before noon.)

The view up from Cecret Saddle

It was not at all crowded, whether from people being away for spring break or people just having moved on to warm weather activities.  The snow was pretty firm to start, although not frozen, and the high, thin clouds kept the sun at bay enough that things were just starting to soften up before lunch. 

H in Cecret Saddle

Noting that, we didn't bother going off-piste until after lunch, when we ventured into Catherine's Area.  We went all the way out to our favorite (but very short) glade and found the snow still deep and soft, and not hammered by too much ski traffic.  We discussed a Devil's Castle run but H thought it prudent to try Cecret Saddle first to get a feel for what the snow might be like without having to do a lot of hiking; I applauded his forethought because while the coverage was decent, the snow was kind of grabby, making it a lot of work to turn.  With that information, we opted out of a Castle run.

Looking east towards the Uintas

Other good runs were down Extrovert (Sugarloaf chair) and in through the lowest gate off Rock N' Roll (Supreme chair).  The hero run of the day, however, was after lunch off Supreme: down Upper and Lower Big Dipper, where the snow had softened to a smooth, buttery consistency.  That's the best of spring skiing right there.