Recovering at the office after flying back on the redeye. I'll try to post some photos later this week. The upper mountain conditions were pretty good, all things considered, though definitely heavy. The steeper trails were more enjoyable because the friction on the more moderate grades was too much. I almost killed myself a few times trying to maintain speed on a straighaway leading to a flat or uphill section.
I ended up doing laps on the Green Valley lift at the top, alternating between Green Valley and Snorting Elk. It was really delightful. I often had the place to myself and it was super quiet on the Snorting Elk Bowl side of the ridge. Saturday started out picture perfect, with sunshine, fresh snow coating the trees, and a nice partial view of Ranier from the top. That didn't last long and the fog and cooler temps rolled in for much of the day. The snow was quite firm in the morning and I stayed on the groomers, but it softened up by mid-morning. Sunday was variable. One run sunny, the next foggy, etc. By Sunday I was feeling like an old pro skiing on the dense "breakfast" snow, which often varied between cream cheese and maple syrup. All-in-all a great trip. Nice to finally get a last-ditch ski in after this dismal winter.
