1992 Revisited

Those that remember it, tell me that 1992 had a very late start and then 'went off’ in August. Well, the same could be said for this year. We had that massive 1m+ dump last week and it looks like we are having another one this week and looking at the 540 line for next Sunday-Monday there may well be another metre plus by next Tuesday. 3 metres in as many weeks - is it possible? Time will tell.

On Monday much of the mountain was roped off for races and training. Picking our way through the rocks around Kareela Face got us onto ungroomed, fresh man made on True Blue - lovely. We had 2 untracked runs all to ourselves. Tuesday was no comparison as it was grey, snowing and blowing. Surprisingly Jax and I found 1-2cms of fresh natural snow on the groomers in the Basin and up to 5cm off-piste. Strangely up at Karels there was none. Probably all due to getting snow from the North - a rare event and much preferred to the rain that was forecast. Alas, I fell asleep last night to the sound of rain on the roof. Little did I expect what today brought on - another morning without a sleep-in.

There was 20cm of fresh on the Black Sallees tables this morning when Marion and I stopped for a long coffee break. Kosi chair and many other lifts were on wind-hold and Slowbums chair appeared to be on reduced speed (if that is possible) due to the strong cross winds at the top.

Despite the conditions, the queue grew exponentially with each run. Up top was a delight. There was up to 30cm of dry fresh snow in some wind-drifts while exposed areas were stripped back to frozen corduroy. World Cup and True Blue provided magical powder stashes and near boilerplate conditions at the same time. Visibility was minimal and the wind-chill very low.

Ski patrol tell me that Evil Way and Merritts Falls are looking great. This wind should fix all problems.

The sun is shining briefly at times but it is still snowing heavily in the village as I write this report. Too cold and windy for any more photos.

Pam, Andy and Gary getting freshies on the ungroomed man-made on True Blue, Monday

Freshies in the Basin yesterday - photo by Jax

Cat Track this morning

A tough ride even in the lee of the wind

Rock & Roll in the wind

Black Sallees tables this morning

Snow encrusted trees, despite the strong wind

The weather maps look great for a big dump Sunday – Tuesday of next week and I suspect we have a lot more to come out of the current system over the next couple of days. August 15th is traditionally a big dump day - which reminds me, happy birthday Kerry for the 15th.

Oh well, it looks like another morning tomorrow without a sleep-in.

In answer to the rumours about the Top 2 Bottom race, Mr Chook discovered the following:
The Daily Telegraph can also exclusively reveal that the great Top To Bottom will continue at Thredbo, contrary to rumours circulating that this year might be the finale for the great community ski race. Thredbo officials confirmed today that the race would be back in 2011 and for the foreseeable future, although the days of the race starting from Karels - Australia’s highest lifted point - may well be over due to safety concerns for the masses. The 2010 edition of the Top To Bottom started from the top of Snowgums with the race distance extended through the Rossignol Racecourse.

Grump:
Aren’t you sick of the non-stop political invasion of our TV space? It’s enough to keep me away from the box altogether. OK, I watched Top Gear last night ;-) The media seem to have nothing better to report than politics and then a very two-sided view of it. Where are the real journalists of the past?

If that's not bad enough, Traktorman has to travel for work and will miss the next 2 weekends skiing. That's enough to make anyone grumpy.