We kept moving around the mountain thinking we'd find some sustained wind fill. Yes on patches, no on sustained. SastrugiLand is gonna need more snow
.
The snow was
so fast yesterday, it was like mandatory GS time everywhere, which does make maching into sastrugi entertaining. Even the traverse back off chair 8 was so fast with so much wind it was like a roller coaster. Just "oh shit!" and race tuck. We watched a beginner fall on our cool down lap on a moderate groomed slope, and not only did she slide all the way down, she kept sliding on the nearly flat area, slow speed yard sale as she went. Ice crystal lubricated people watching at its finest. Great day.
To sastrugi or not to sastrugi?
Rocker TwoStrugi
Ok, three hours of wind blasting, plus a chairlift to the back of the head dismounting in a gale, and time for some chips and calm views...
We had a brief thought last night to join Phil and the CC at Beaver Creek today, but had a hairy drive from Aspen to Snowmass last night, nearly running off the road, so we decided to stay put. We certainly missed out on the companionship, but didn't miss out on the snow! The resort reported six inches overnight and it continued to snow lightly through the morning. Despite the snow, visibility was great. We met some friends at Elk Camp and skied a few runs there. In and out of the trees, and a lot of nice soft fluffies. Late morning, we headed over to Alpins Springs and took a couple of runs before stepping for a quick lunch at Gwyn's. At lunch we ran across Mosh and Charlie MacArthur, a couple of instructors we met during the old ESAs. After lunch, we hit High Alpine, then swung by the Village Express and then hit Sam's Knob. Everywhere we went, great snow and great runs.
