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UPDATE – Another 15 inches of snow fell since the day of this report – GO GET SOME!
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The season rolls on and El Nino has been gracious enough to continue to add substantial resets every Monday or so. On this day, we headed out to Kirkwood to check out the conditions in the West Shore area after 6 feet of new snow fell the previous on the tail of the previous weekend. Unfortunately, I could not make it out during the storm due to road closures and not wanting to spend all day in the car with my two lovely children.
The storm followed the traditional pattern of big snowfall, high winds and then followed by four days of warm Spring temperatures. After finding a nasty ice layer two weeks prior, I was a bit hesitant to fully unleash on some of the steeper and more exposed lines, so we settled with a relatively conservative jaunt over to Boulevard Chute. To our surprise, we encountered a consistent wintery and silky surface all the way to Emigrant Lake.
The rest of the day was spent searching for chalky and softening snow in Hellโs Delight, Normโs Nose, The Wall, Sisters Chute and of course all aspects of Cornice Chair. Remember, the sun angle is a bit higher so those North facing hidden gems are beginning to get their fare share of sunlight, so if it snows, its best to get after it early.
Bottom line, the upper mountain is CAKED. Cliffs and massive rock formations are now buried in areas like West Shore, All the Way, Fingers and Chamoix.
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Upon arrival, The Cirque and Thimble Peak were looking rather grand…
The Wall has some snow…
Bob enjoys a turn above Kirkwood Valley…
Norm’s Nose skiing well…
Mokelumne Peak shining bright from the backside of Kirkwood…
Emigrant Lake showing a bit of blue…
Bob enjoys some stellar views…
But also enjoys some stellar snow…
It’s hard to pass up this sunny little spine…
But Boulevard Chute was sheer bliss…
Bob makes a fast descent down to the lake…
The sun was definitely shining bright…
The West Shore area in its current plastered state…
Signs of recent avalanche activity from the last storm is apparent on the backside…
Over in Hell’s Delight, we found some features…
Near Kodak we found some soft landings…
We migrated over to The Wall to take in some scenery…
Chalky conditions was found under the summit…
Over near Waterfall, we took the line on the ridge…
As the day went on, the shadows ever so slowly made their appearance…
The pinnacles of The Wall from above Once is Enough …
Bob wanted to huck Hospital Air, but I told him 100 feet to firm wasn’t really a smart idea…
Sisters’ Chute was on the docket and Bob was my ski model…
Bob making some strong turns near the goalpost..
Lower Sisters’ Chute spines are still in play unless we continue to get snow …
By the afternoon, the mountain was shining bright…
Over on Chair 6, Oops Face was skiing quite well…
Who needs gloves when its this warm? That or I left them in my trunk and too lazy to go back…
Dan Cliffs was softening nicely…
The Fingers are almost gone…
Who doesn’t like jumping off things?
The snowbank on the Carson Spur was crying a bit in the 50 F temps…
California is loving El Nino…
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Great shots and narrative as always. Thanks Casey.