The past few days have been warm for December, making for some great riding with variable conditions all around the mountain.
This report was written by Ryan Williams
Today’s warm weather and slight wind kept the snow fun, delivering all seasons of conditions, from wintery chalky to springtime corn.
When conditions are like this, KT provides a great beta on all conditions and slope angles.
It was mid-afternoon, and the sun had baked Olympic Lady toward Red Dog ridge, so we ventured out. The moguls on East Face were springtime fun, soft and deep, and fun to rip through. Once we got out toward Red Dog ridge, the traverse out to Heidi’s was closed, so we dropped in and found some great soft corn-like snow on the top steeps. Such great turns. The moguls below were in the shade and starting to firm up a bit. The sides of the gully provided great snow along the moguls.
Next run, we took a sunny Saddle lap. The snow in the sun was riding well on the main run, chalky and fast. Once you get mid-way down, the cat track starts to reveal rocks, however, the side hits are amazing. Off-piste was riding well below the Rock Garden, soft in the sun and firm in the shade.
Belmont Terrain Park
It’s great to see the Terrain Park open. The crew built out a bunch of fun rail lines and a few cool features. There is a mini jump line and medium jump line, however, the medium one (rider’s right side) was closed today. Hopefully, this new storm will get more features built, and the Gold Coast Terrain Park built out.
Off Piste
The off-piste terrain around the mountain was a blast today, especially The School Yard and Sunny Side. The afternoon wind and clouds helped make the corn snow ride fast and fun. The rollers and gullies above Sunny Side were ripping and springlike corn snow. It was a surprise and made the day.
Following the sun helped a lot today, especially this afternoon. The conditions off-piste in the shade stayed firm and chalky, while the spots in the sun that didn’t get baked all day were fun and corn-like. It’s amazing we had a corn-like cycle in December. The afternoon south facing off piste was riding awesome today.
Storm Rolling In
It was cool watching the storm roll in during the afternoon. The temps stayed warm till closing, but the winds were picking up. Looking up at Headwall, you could see snow starting to fly. This week is going to be stacked with storms and some amazing riding.
