even early on a friday morning, chain control caused a 45mn traffic jam :(

well done guys for blocking traffic so much

snowplow escort that wasn't really necessary

I stayed on the Califonia side and managed to find parking close to the gondola to meet Ovidiu and Rick after confirming the Gondola had just opened (they parked on the nevada side which I generally avoid going to :) ):

several lifts no running yet, so the lines were long

back for more

nice views

Fire Break Runs:

For Day #2, I went to kirkwood, by then I had of course missed the fresh tracks from Day #1, but given the firebreak runs, that was not a big deal. Driving there was not a huge deal, but there was already a good line getting in the parking lot when I arrived:

my car has become a lot more chatty :)

lots of cars trying to get in

Despite the parking getting full quickly, the resort didn't feel too full. Snow coverage was excellent. Chamoix was not even a problem, anyone could go without even trying hard:

snow was still good and a few stashes here and there

given the few lifts running, we had mild lines

running the wall for the first time this season

the wall ridge opened and I was able to drop it the first time this season too

liftie humor :)

very windy on top

sunny at times

But with 60mph+ winds, being on the top of the mountain was painful. Once I went up cornice and wanted to ride the ridge to drop skier's right, but the wind was so strong and I was being pelleted by ice/snow in the face, so I aborted:

that's snow/ice being blown around

by dropping the wall, I was able to get to the snow cave, sheltered from the wind

lenticular cloud, showing the strong winds

After some good runs, I went home. Glad to get such good snow in January!