Not Memorable

Saturday morning presented us with a hard, hard snow base. This was not what my feet have become accustomed to this season but I’m sure some of the racers were happy with the conditions. Races have begun and training for the next week’s events is in full swing.

It rained much of Saturday night and with the cloud cover dropping down to mid station the snow pack was soft and wet. 5cms of new snow on the upper slopes left a smooth creamy surface and only in a few places were there remnaints of the hard ice blocks from the previous day. Visibility was very poor up high and Karels T-bar was closed due to poor visibility.

The warm temperatures and rain certainly had an impact on the deep July base. Patches could be seen on the lower slopes and high traffic areas. Most notable was the appearance of the wooden stakes in the new tree plantations indicating about a 10cm drop in the base depth below mid station Kosi Express.

Best runs were in or near the trees. Golf Course and Funnel Web were surprisingly smooth. Unfortunately as the day progressed and more moisture transferred from cloud to snow the untracked off piste became stickier. Eventually in the afternoon the cloud lifted above most of the resort. The crowds were down on yesterday but I suspect will be at maximum level tomorrow (Monday) morning.

Luckily the massive snowmaking exercise last week on the bottom of the Supertrail has enabled good skiing top to bottom despite the adverse weather.

Central Spur, Antons T-bar on Friday

Another terrain park appearing near the entrance to Michael’s Mistake, Antons T-bar

High Noon with brownish patches Sunday morning (still very enjoyable to ski)

Thinning natural snow under Ramshead chair

Bump racing below Bunny Walk station, Snow Gums chair

The weekend was not a memorable one. Conditions did not compare well to the previous part of season 2004. That being said I did enjoy today

Forecasts do not indicate much of a change in the forthcoming days.