This morning we woke up to find that 4.9 inches of 2-3% H2O Champlain Powder™ had fallen at the house overnight. I’d expected the more typical inch or so that we’d been receiving with the impulses of moisture that were supported by the upslope flow, but conditions for snow growth had clearly improved and we were happy with the surprise. The Bolton-Stowe area was reporting 6-7 inches of new snow, so Ty and I headed up to Bolton to catch some of the morning freshies. It seemed like the skiing was going to be great with another half foot on to of the 10 inches of dense snow they’d picked up in the previous couple of days.
Up at the Timberline base (~1,500’), I checked in a couple of spots and found 7 to 9 inches of new snow, which was a bit more than I’d expected based on the morning report. Ty played in the new snow for a bit while we hung out and waited for the lift to open. A few more people showed up, but the lineup was still only about 10 people when they started loading around 9:30 A.M.
We mixed up the skiing between on and off piste, and conditions were good, but not perfect. The main wrinkle was that there had been a little bit of icing later yesterday before the overnight fluff, so that sat atop the previous snow. The crust was thin and pretty inconsequential in terms of the actual skiing, but you could still hear it and the overall feel of the turns was therefore not as smooth as it might have been. Some places, such as areas in the trees that had some protection, were totally devoid of the crust, so those spots were especially sweet.
I brought E’s camera for Ty to use, but we had to get home to get ready for afternoon ski program at Stowe, so we didn’t really have time to get set up for him to get any pictures. So, the subjects for the day were just Ty and the surroundings, but I added some shots from this morning’s session below:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10A.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10B.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10C.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10D.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10E.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10F.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10G.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10H.jpg
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2010/21FEB10I.jpg
