Yesterday I skied the north face of Weiss Knob, where a week ago it was too deep and fluffy to move in places. It had firmed up into a dense chunky powder that was a serious challenge. Skinning up the skis would sink a mere 3" or so with a crunching sound on every step. Coming down was sneaky fast and turns required aggressive commitment. I did 4 runs and had a great time. I fully expected to eat some powder but miraculously didn't, even though I was on lightweight backcountry skis. In the past 3 weeks I have done every kind of skiing, alpine, tele, classic stride, skate, snowboard. Every kind of skiing helps you with every other kind. And it's all fun. And I'm retired.
On M I taught a tele lesson to a 6 yr. old girl and her Mom at Whitegrass. Both got it and the little girl's enthusiasm was boundless. Reminded me of grandson Daniel who is about the same age. After that I skied from WG up 3 mile, then Blackbird Wing, where I was alone and breaking trail, and thru the gate onto Forest Rd. 80. I did not go all the way to where it meets Salamander in Timberline ski area, which I later learned is another 1.5 miles or so. I had already skied 3-4 miles and climbed 1000 ft. or more so I turned around and went back the same way. It's another world up high. Drifts were very deep. See;
http://www.whitegrass.com/downloads/trailmap.jpgWG broke their previous record, set last year, for skier visits over the 3 day MLK weekend. I'm very happy for Chip.
