We woke up to 15cm of fresh snow. That was totally unexpected. The forecast was for flurries followed by sunny skies. Of course not one forecast has been accurate yet!
We headed to Gem Lake again since the grooming report had the most un-groomed runs there. As we approach the summit we see that it is fogged in. There is a bit of a side wind. The 15cm has drifted in places making the top quite a slog to get through. There are no tracks so we take turns plowing along. It is not easy breaking a trail in deep drifted snow, poor visibility and with wind blowing at us. Follow the yellow poles. Stay to the left of the poles. You don’t want to fall off the edge! Is this what it is like to climb Everest? It sure feels like it to me.
Once we get through that and make our way down the first pitch we are amazed by the snow. We have some laughs as a few in the group visit the snow up close and personal. The first run takes a little longer than the previous day. There’s nothing like un-tracked fresh snow.
There are no lift lineups. It is strange to us to have fresh tracks and 1st tracks after the lifts have been opened more than an hour. There are a few people out there with us. We stopped along the runs to wait for others in our group, catch our breath and give our legs a break. Sometimes a stranger might be doing the same. We always spoke to one another. We never do that back home. Here you don’t run into other people on the run that often. Usually we are skiing down alone. It’s like we have our own private ski area.
Runs undergo a transformation on a day like today. Those we skied yesterday feel like new runs today. It is exhausting but exhilarating. As the day progresses the conditions change. The snow accumulates in bunches but has not yet turned to moguls. It is challenging as the piles get thick.
It starts to warm up and the sun starts to peak out from the clouds. By lunch it is getting warmer. The summit stays socked in but the sun is shinning down on us everywhere else. It is melting and turning the once powdery snow into mushier wet stuff. In just a few hours we’ve gone from a blizzard at the top to spring skiing.
You can hear the water dripping everywhere as the snow melts on rooftops. It certainly has not been cold. Even the Everest like conditions this morning were mild. No worries of frostbite.
We have one more day at Big White. What will tomorrow bring?