Thredbo Sample Bag

Like the sample bags at the Royal Easter Show, today pretty well had everything on offer. I was lined up in the Kosi queue about 8:15 when we were first told there would be 10 minute delayed start due to de-icing. By 8:25 this became a 20 minute delay then around 8:35 the chair went on wind hold. On my first run from the top of Snowgums chair I found 30cm deep light snow as well as 15cm wind-affected heavy snow and ice sheets as well as very hard packed groomers. Following this as I played at Sponars I found sastrugi and some very wind packed off piste as well as everything I had found on my first run.

Luckily visibility was pretty good in the sunshine, despite the 60kph south-westerly breeze. Sponars broke down and I jumped off and went to Antons only to have it break down and when I jumped off that I saw Sponars running again and so... yo yo until I decided on coffee at Black Sallees. On departing there I saw Kosi chair moving but no one on it. Upon arriving at the bottom Kosi had just started loading riders. Perfect timing :-)

I didn't bother with the Bluff where a big slide had occurred when ski patrol deliberately triggered it earlier in the morning. I found some very nice turns through the trees but still in varied conditions. Eventually the Basin opened, quickly followed by Karels T-bar. At the top of Karels, low cloud sent everything into white-out but I could tell (by feel) that the snow was quite wind packed. From here I traversed the large ice sheet to above Rim Run where I climbed over 40cm high sastrugi onto a face of soft snow and back to the Basin. That pretty much summed up how my morning went.

I remained quite tentative in the very variable conditions but it can't have been too bad as I stayed out 90 minutes longer than usual.

First a photo by Marion of last Saturday's trip to Dead Horse Gap

Sundance yesterday arvo

Sundance at 7:30am this morning

Upper Crackenback this morning

Sponars T-bar and Exhibition on Central Spur

Early tracks on Kareela Face :-)

Avalanche on the Bluff with a very wide fracture line

Another aspect of the wide slide area

Some one did Bunny Walk. It's closed for a reason.

Metre square slabs at the bottom of Q5 (between Sponars & Antons)

I never got to Wiamea to see if there had been a Maccalanche. Macca wasn't out today but ski patrol or someone less-suspecting may have cut the cornice?

Tomorrow looks very windy with a series of cold fronts pushing through from Saturday. Sunday through Tuesday look pretty full on storm-wise. With the Thredbo Masters on Saturday, I would expect foul weather ;-)

Out of resort will be treacherous for the next week or so. It rained and froze before it snowed last night and then the wind blew hard, producing very unstable wind-loaded slopes. Kosi cornice won't be safe until it breaks off and many other leeward slopes will also be very dangerous for some time, especially with so much more snow and wind coming in the next week. Take Care!

Andy and his mates sent me this link to their video of last weekend in and out of Thredbo. Worth a look to see how much fun you can have when conditions were pretty damned solid, as mentioned in my Sunday report .

Happy Birthday Kerry and thanks for the snow.

And finally but certainly not less, best wishes to Tommy who has been in hospital recovering from a serious attack of salmonella poisoning. Get well soon. We look forward to seeing you back on the slopes, albeit a little thinner I suspect.