Some good skiing again

We had a good time in Switzerland but the ski conditions were, um, not so very good. And we came back home to lousy conditions at home, most exposures either sun-crust or wind-hammered. I went for a short tour last Thursday on Teton Pass and never bothered to take my climbing skins off.

Fortunately another storm system moved in Sunday and Monday. My friend Doug is here visiting from Durango. We skied Moose Brush on Monday in the storm, coverage was pretty good on aspects that were sheltered from the sun. Stability was good but got a bit slabby as the day went on, due to more wind and warming temperatures.

Tuesday was the day: clear skies, calm winds, and about of foot of new in the past 36 hours. Doug's friends Jim and Karen from Whitefish are also in town, the four of us had an excellent day in Powder Reserves, Christmas Tree, and Edelweiss. I dug a pit at the top of Christmas Tree, CT 15 Q2 on the half-inch thick pencil crust. It skied very nicely. As usual most of the skier traffic was headed north of the highway, so even at 2:30 in the afternoon there were fresh lines to be had on Edelweiss.

On Wednesday, six of us (including Gary and Donna, also from Whitefish) went for a tour out the southeast ridge of Mount Elly. It was a lot colder today, the snow was still good though the south aspect had some noticeable crustiness underfoot in some places. I dug a pit at the top on a southeast aspect and was surprised that I couldn't find the sun crust, although I could see it just ten feet higher on the slope. CT 10 Q2 on a slight windslab layer in the new snow about 8" down, then CT 18 Q2 at the old snow interface. Doug and the Whitefish folks like to call this line "95 Turns", I have to say I'd never skied it.

After two laps here, we all decided to declare victory and rest up a little after three good days...