Wow

The snows came very early Saturday morning along with wind and cold air. At 8:00am the wind chill up top was –26C and many were caught off guard being underdressed or without essential items like goggles or neck warmers. Sure, it is Spring but conditions were more arctic than anything else.

5cm of fresh was the report in the morning but the snow kept falling and the winds kept blowing all day long. The snow just kept getting better and better.

Not a lot settled on the lower slopes or in the village but the upper T-bars provided access to superb snow conditions. My estimation is that around 15cm fell between 8:30am and 4:00pm.

Of course the catch was almost zero visibility. After lunch four of us returned to the Basin. You couldn’t really see it but we had untracked freshies straight down the main run. The dry light snow was about half a boot deep. We rode back up the T-bar only to discover that we were the only ones using the lift. We went up and down again and again in untracked snow as our tracks filled in each time. Karels T-bar was closed by now due to the visibility (note to memory, Karels will be good on Sunday). The snow was also wonderful off Sponars and Antons. We even got freshies down Valley View to the Cruiser.

Unfortunately the snowfall ceased not long after the close of lifts but this didn’t stop a queue of keen riders waiting for the Kosi Express to start on Sunday morning. Partly cloudy skies and great visibility meant we could get to all those places we couldn’t get to on Saturday. I rushed out so early I forgot my camera. Luckily I was later able to borrow Jackie’s to record a few of the moments. Thanks Jackie.

I got very few photos on Saturday, as the visibility was just too poor to take photos.

Brian in the Basin early Saturday morning

4 runs down Signature Hill and a snowmobile trashes our lines

Peter skiing Warwick's knob

Warwick skiing his self named knob

Peter high above Bogong Creek

We tracked most lines down into Bogong Creek (superb snow)

Bottom of DHG has a thin cover and was somewhat sticky

At the end of DHG and (apparently) the of end of the season for some

Boots of choice?

Some light snow showers and rising temperatures are forecast for the coming week. The Supertrail is still open top-to-bottom but lower slopes are getting thin and patchy. Up high is just great.