Windy Days

On Thursday I let myself be talked into a run to Dead Horse Gap. The off piste out of the resort looked very enticing. It didn’t take long to establish otherwise.

As always, any run to Dead Horse Gap has the beauty to admire - pity about the snow. With the hope that the frozen, breakable-crust surface would soften as we descended, we continued. It only got worse, finally ending up with the final descent to the bridge over frozen breakable ruts. Luckily my mid-winter fitness helped with the endless jump turns required. Marion did very well considering her muscle loss during her long stint off the skids since the fall.

Friday was a pleasant day and there were some nice wind drifts in the resort. By Saturday these had disappeared. Being Bank Holiday weekend and traditionally the busiest weekend of the season I was surprised by how few skiers and boarders were on the mountain. Yes there were some queues but nothing unbearable. On Sunday the crowds were even smaller.

The fresh/strong winds kept many away from the T-bars where we continued to search for those illusive wind drifts. There were short patches with a good quantity of concrete between.

The early morning piste has been really fast over the past few days but the lower half would turn to mush by late morning.

Ice formations above Karels T-bar

The frozen main range on Thursday

Bogong Creek

Looking towards South Ramshead - the snow looks really nice

Descent to Dead Horse Gap bridge with frozen, breakable-crust ruts

Meadows on Friday

Richard and others out early on Milk Run

High Noon on Saturday afternoon

Crackenback with its halo of mist

Saturday night flare run on Sundance

The rain forecast for Sunday didn’t really eventuate. The winds kept the wind chill factor way down but the air temperature was around zero – quite noticeable by the beads of liquid forming on goggles and clothing at the top of the resort.

Monday may provide a fresh top up and the following week looks promising according to the 540 line.

The Top-To-Bottom is on next Saturday.