Thanks to Elaine, and the snow not falling at night all the way down to 2000ft altitude as was originally forecast (this would have extedend the drive by 1H or so). So we were in the lift lines just before the lifts opened by 09:00 (cornice was a bit late as usual on poweder days).

Not surprisingly, I ran into Johannes before long, and the 3 of us rode together most of the day.

The snow was nice and light, but of course coverage underneath off trail was marginal in places, so when I went to hunt powder in my typical places, many rocks were encountered. Sadly on my last run in palisades, one hidden rock caught my board, and I landed chest first on another one. I'm now on advil and will see how long I'll have a reminder from this little incident :)

plenty of cars and people were there by the time we arrived, way before the lifts opened

Chamoix was nice, except for that small bit

Johannes complained a bit :)

snow making...

partners in crime :)

Despite the many rocks, it was a fantastic start of the season. Again, a big thanks to Elaine for getting us there and back.