Then you go and do something like this...

This season TOTALLY REDEEMED ITSELF.

Early to mid Feb and I would have told you we had another bust on our hands this year.  Probably not as bad as last year but still pretty bad.  Just couldn't seem to hold anything together, no consistency with the good weather we were getting.  Then late Feb / early March happened.

The last 2 weeks or so have been one of the better stretches of conditions I can remember in the last few years.  The snow piled up and then it stayed cold.  Lots of resorts started picking up those little refresher events in the 1-4in range which don't get a lot of attention but in my opinion those make for some of the best days you can snag.  May sound weird but I would take 3-4in that no one really knew was coming over a 12in day throwing elbows with every other GoPro owning yahoo in a 100mi radius every time.  Well maybe not every time.

We didn't have any fresh snow for yesterday but we got the next best thing.  A deep solid base, abundant sunshine and somehow absolutely no crust.  That is a combo I'm not sure I've ever gotten to enjoy before and it was awesome for it to all come together on a meetup day we've been trying to pull off all season.

I've seen this view from the base maybe twice in 10+ years

Full roster included Shaun, D-bone, Amanda and Clint.  We made second Tram and early on we knew we were in for an amazing day.  The sun was out from the get go but we thought for sure we'd be dealing with some pretty crusty conditions until the solar gain picked up a bit.  But first run down Green Beret was already pretty soft and there were still even some spots with sugary pow here and there in the shade.  Didn't make any sense.

All morning was just repeated awesome.  You couldn't go wrong.  We went to all our usual spots and everything was riding amazing.  Soft buttery bumps as far as the eye could see.  With a bit of luck we were able to avoid the crowds for much of the morning.

unfortunately no one makes 5 person chairs, just imagine Clint in here.

After lunch we took the Tram ride from hell.  I kind of forgot that Spring skiing brings out the douche factor and we got sandwiched between two groups trying to one-up each other's idiocy.  They were highly successful.  We scoped out the face after lunch but the snow pack was a bit lacking.  Clint summed it up accurately, "It's navigable but I wouldn't call it skiing.".  So we skirted off the shoulder and got back to following the afternoon sun around trying to stay with the soft snow.  Not before I snapped some pics, one of which was pretty ok.

My last few days out have been season saving for sure.  Tons of good riding that has left me whupped several times.  Would have been nice if it was late Jan / early Feb but we'll have to take what we can get.  Extended forecast looks like we will soon be into a solid freeze/thaw cycle.  Hopefully get a few more good spring days in and then before you know it we'll be rolling on dirt again.  Speaking of which where the hell is my fork Niner!?