Surprise Powder Day at Saddleback January 20, 2013

Nuclear Snow Squall Just Getting Started

The most intense snow squall I think I have ever seen made for an unforgettable powder day at Saddleback today.

Saddleback got an inch or two overnight which freshened up the trails nicely. We ended up skiing the left side of tight line 3-4 times in the morning as the left side once again held some very nice snow. They opened up Blue Devil and Silver Doctor after a couple of days of snow making and those skied nicely too. A couple of days of grooming will make those trails mint.

During lunch a snow squall came through putting out a bit of snow and we were excited to get back out there. The snow let up for a bit but by the time we got to the top of the Rangeley it was starting to come down pretty good. We had a nice run down Royal Coachman and cut over to the quad to the top, but it was down for a few minutes. So we headed back to the Rangeley double chair.

Isaac Getting Major Accum on the Chair

That is when the nuclear snow started. It was pure white out insanity. By the time we got to the top we had a pile of snow on our bodies and the wind was whipping. Our ski run down Royal Coachman was pure white. We could not see a thing! The turns were good but we literally at times could not see what our next turn would be. Folks on the chair were asking us how far the top was because they barely see the next chair in front of them.

It all lasted about 30 minutes dumping a quick 3" or so making the skiing extremely fun. After the weather calmed down a bit and the sun came out, we headed back to the top on the Quad and while windy, the left side of Tight Line was filled in with great snow. The wind was whipping the snow around but it made for fresh tracks each run as the wind filled in our previous efforts. We lapped that trail 4-5 times each run as good the last one.

Isaac and I finished up taking soft turns down Governor, Nightmare Glade, Peachy's Peril and Lower Professor. Saddleback still needs a good snow storm to make things mint again, but today was certainly a welcome snowy surprise and very good skiing.

Here are a couple of quick videos of our day on Tight Line.

Tight Line in the afternoon powder. Alec takes an awesome snowy tumble.

And some nice skiing in the morning on Tight Line