A nice early line presumably put in by a patroler — A nice early line presumably put in by a patroller

There were smiles all around on our first chair of the day today. I’m pretty sure I heard shouts of “Yewwwwwwww!!!” and “Winning!” on my first ski down. After a late start due to road closures, I was on the chair by 10am with a bright blue sky. There were 15 cms (that’s 5.9 inches for you ignorant Americans) of fresh, 10% moisture content, white gold on the ground.

The sunshine didn’t last too long, as clouds rolled back in and kept temps cold all day. Some light flurries came and went throughout the afternoon and the snow stayed good. There were also moments of low visibility where I got to practice my ‘skiing by feeling’.

The view back down from the top of Highnoon

First run was down a soft, powdery Whynot, followed by some perfect groomer laps on Snowbird and Big Bowl. The west-facing aspects seemed to be holding the better snow off-piste, while the east-facing aspects were icy. Gotta love that Mt. Ruapehu wind. More snow is on it’s way!