There is something special about the opening day at your home mountain. “How was your summer?” is often the question of the day and it is reminiscent of the first day of school. Catching up with your pals and showing off your latest threads is exciting. Standing in the lift line, the anticipation is tangible. A colorful hoard of eager shedders gathers at the base of the lift and jockeys for position. High fives and fist bumps domino through the crowd as they await first chair. Collective cheers erupt as the mechanized beast begins to spin. Before long, it is dumping its contents of riders atop their favorite runs. Welcome back!
I was fortunate to ski throughout the summer in a lonely corner of the Andes. However, being back on my home turf is always exhilarating. The escapades of the previous week of set up have paid off and the smiles on everyone’s faces remind us why we are here. Throwing explosives and shredding pre-public pow doesn’t hurt, but delivering this kind of joy to countless numbers of people is pretty cool.
Long days on the hill have enabled us to get a good amount of terrain open. Last week’s snowfall has settled out and given us a decent base. There is still quite a bit of buried treasure out there, but it is surprising how many places you can get to this early.
By Saturday, the blue and red boxes are ready to whisk people nearly 3,000 vertical feet into a sea of dreams. The sun glistens off the distant peaks and the spirit of the season shines in the eyes of many a skier. A small storm brews on the horizon and some prefrontal moisture begins to fill in. By noon it is dumping. The snow is heavy and wet, but it is just what we need to continue building our base. Superhero wind buff develops in favored areas as the storm rages on. Those willing to put up with a bit of buckshot to the face can find some excellent sliding conditions throughout the resort.
Our group convenes at the top station and hashes out how we will proceed over the next few days. More terrain can still be opened and our goal is to get it hammered down. Most people don’t realize that skier compaction is the best way to stabilize a tricky snowpack. If we can safely give access to these slopes, we will. A small group of us ventures forth to collect some data on what is going on in the depths of the pack. We find a moist and consolidated slab between 15” and 30” on most slopes. The northern quadrant of the compass still harbors some weak, faceted snow, but it has adjusted to the load quite well. Depending on our future weather patterns, this should heal with time. However, if we undergo a dry spell, these regions will remain sensitive. Low probability, high consequence avalanches remain possible outside heavily traveled areas. Keep your head on a swivel and remember that there is a lot of season left. Enjoy the terrain we’ve provided and keep on practicing that perfect turn.