Those pesky work and life obligations kept me off the mountain most of last week, but I was able to make it out for some turns again Friday and for the weekend.
Friday was another warm, follow-the-sun day, like most of January.
Saturday had enough wind to keep the snow nice all day, despite the warm temperatures and sunshine. Â There was even a few spots with nice windblown powder-like turns to be had. Â Definitely a surprisingly good day.
Sunday was warmer, heavy and buttery. Â Even without much in the way of crowds, by the end of the day, coverage at key spots was suffering pretty badly. Â It definitely showed what an impressive amount of repair work the grooming crews are doing each night to keep hanging on.
Sugar bowl offered $50 day tickets over the weekend, and it did bring in some crowds, but not enough for any significant lift lines. Â The only annoying line was taking the gondola back to the parking lot at the end of the day on Saturday, since the Judah lodge and parking lot are closed. Â The whole “snowbound village” is kind of silly at this point, they could just plow the road and run a shuttle for an hour or two at the end of the day. Â There’s even an old white school bus just sitting there in gondola parking lot. Â To Sugar’s credit, after the first time it happened last Saturday, they have been keeping Disney (and Nob) open until 4:30.
Weather on the way for next weekend… until today, it looked like depressing rain for days, which would really be a disaster for our already iffy coverage. Â Today we see a hint it might be trending slightly colder, but that’s still kind of a long shot. Â It does look like it will probably rain Friday through the weekend. Â Get out there and get it while you can!
-John S.
