Skiing

I’m back on the planks after a short sabbatical. Riding the lifts, hiking to the summit and feeling the wind walloping in my face, I can feel that thrill! I have started the 2018 season in the High Sierra’s. I’m in the midst of a 21-day ski run and I look forward to sharing my first hand accounts of what I’m seeing out there.

Date & Mountain

Friday 1/5 Northstar, CA

Weather & Temp: 40’s, with rain in the afternoon.

Beautiful horizon. Where’s the snow?

At least a few runs were open.

Hiking may have been a better option.

Base area bare of snow.

Recap

Minimal snow coverage with limited terrain available. Dismal at best. Overall conditions can only get better. Did I mention though that it was still a good day to be out there! It may not look like much but it’s still fun!

Saturday 1/6 – Kirkwood, CA

Weather & Temp: 28-40, 7 inches fresh snow overnight, additional 3 inches thill 11am, bluebird after 2pm. Best of both worlds- some fresh then blue skies!

Crowds show up after fresh snowfall.

Cloudy, overcast morning.

With low visibility to start the day.

Nice untouched freshie!

By the time afternoon rolled around things were looking great. Wow!

Turned out to be a bluebird day.

Simply beautiful.

Snow frosted trees

Recap

Very good conditions. Snow coverage almost throughout the whole resort. Conditions should just get better with this nice base.

Sunday 1/7 Kirkwood, CA

Weather & Temp: 28-36 degrees with minimal wind. Not to sunny, mostly cloudy with glimpses of blue in the distance.

Low lying clouds with blue sky peaking through.

Still plenty of rock exposure.

Beautiful horizon with peaks of blue in the distance.

Cloudy

Jerry checking himself out.

Recap

Solid day on the hill. Most runs were groomed overnight and skiing firm and fast. Off piste and extreme terrain is now accessible for those experts seeking big lines.

Jerry’s only… or leave it to the pros.

So this is a good opportunity to say…Never ski or ride above your ability. This terrain is for experts only. Ski and ride here at your own risk. I mean you can die here. These are no fall zones. I love seeing that sign! Generally means we’ll get fresh lines in these conditions.

Monday 1/8 – sidelines, everyone needs a day off

Tuesday 1/9 Kirkwood, CA

Weather & Temps – 28-37 degrees, 7 inches overnight with another 3 during the morning. Minimal vis, borderline dangerous. Very wet and heavy snow – Sierra sludge. Very tough skiing conditions.

The foggy drive out to The Woods

Low lying clouds in the valley

Very low vis again.

You can hardly see the top

Some snow frosted trees after last night’s snowfall

Flat light makes it very hard to see any undulations in the snow

Lots of white out there

Then it started to snow

But eventually all good things come to an end ….

And then there was rain

Recap

Today’s conditions were very tough. With minimal visibility, snow that felt like wet cement and on and off rain, today was not for the faint of heart. I would even contend it was dangerous out there. By days end all of our gear was soaked. We had fun out there, but conditions were not ideal to say the least.

Some pics of reader snow adventures…

Looking good

Ski patrol shredding – nice sunrise

You go girl – just shred it

Nice pic

Snowshoe trail

No night skiing?

The Three Amigos or as they called themselves The Patriots

But I think my favorite of the week came from a reader asking if I was moonlighting for Spy goggles.

And yes, I do see the resemblance. Thanks for sending Jerry and thanks to all who submitted pics this week! Keep them coming.

If you like the pics and posts, please feel free to like, repost and forward along. Thanks again for taking the time to visit.

If you want information on our ski and snow travel and concierge services email us at:

ThrilloftheMountain@gmail.com

I am hoping for more snow on the way. Regardless of the snow, I’ll keep on treking on. Thanks again for reading this blog. I hope you all have a great finish to your week. Until next time, love one another and be kind to each other. Get out there, The Thrill of theMountain is waiting for you. Ski on.

CCM