Today we cruised over to the Palisades side. We heard that all the parking lots fill up on Saturdays pretty early so we decided to show up after lunch when the parking spots started to free up.
It was a bluebird sunny day of spring skiing! We parked near Far East express and jumped on the chair. The moguls off the top were a mix of icy spots and soft snow, although the flats were a bit sticky already at midday.
So we decided to ride Wa She Shu to the upper mountain first and then hopped on Headwall express. The top of Headwall face was looking good, but the lower part was feeling a bit like mashed potatoes.
After a couple of laps from Headwall we skied down the Chicken bowl and went to check on the Shirley lake area. This is one of the best places to ski in the afternoon. It has a north exposure, so it’s firm in the morning then softens up in the afternoon. We skied Marillacs – 5th tree and it was really great – soft and no firm patches. After Shirley Lake we ventured to our favorite place – Solitude. The top of the bowl had amazing moguls of winter-like snow as this area gets very little sunlight. It’s also much less crowded. The area is mostly not groomed and you can find the moguls for any taste – from very small ones to quite large on the lift line.
The skiing from Gold Coast express is usually fabulous in the morning – on the warmer days it’s a great place to start because of Southeastern exposure. Today it was a bit too late as snow melted pretty fast so we skipped it this time.
At the end of the day we dropped down to check on KT-22. The West face had pretty large moguls but they were soft. It’s a good place to challenge yourself on bumps if you feel that the “Expert Only” sign at the top is an invitation for you.
After skiing we stopped by at our favorite place in The Village, The Auld Dubliner to grab Guinness stew.
Tomorrow will be even warmer so enjoy the spring skiing! Be prepared for firmer snow in the morning but fewer crowds. And don’t forget to wax your skis for warmer snow!
