March 14 - 19, Ski Silver Star, Vernon BC

Jack in the terrain park

Saturday, 3/14 - Nice sunny day.  The backside runs have been icy, so they haven't been grooming the Black and Double Black runs.  But, with the warmth, they actually groomed Holy Smokes (black).  Conditions were chilly, and before heading to the backside, we had to warm up at the Paradise Camp hut.  It was weird to see no one inside, as in the past, it was always packed.  We also hit Minerva's (black) which was real soft and smooth.  Nice groomer day, with light crowds.  Good thing they had a Freeride Competition and a Bumps Competition this weekend to bring people to the hill.

Weber Clan at the top of the Alpine Meadows Chair


Sunday, 3/15 - Cold and Clear.  All the warm slushy snow set up, making for a firm day.  Had to stay on the groomers.  Maddie skied from the unit, rode the baby chair, Silver Queen, skied to the bottom of the Comet Express, rode that and went home.  The rest us of  checked the groomer report and took note of the groomed runs.  The backside groomers were nice.  Made a mistake and followed Jack on El Dorado, but it had sweet grooming and faster snow than Saturday.  Turns out it was the only groomed run to the bottom of the Putnam Express.

Jim, Jack and Maddie

Kevin and Francine

Monday, 3/16 - Sunny, and we got 3 centimeters of snow, which made for real nice conditions on the groomers.  We thought today would be quieter than the weekend, which was quite sleepy.  But, apparently everyone arrived on Sunday, and came out today.  Apparently, Ontario and Vancouver are all on spring break.  I guess we were spoiled over the weekend with the empty slopes.  The ungroomed runs with the inch of fresh snow skied alright.  After lunch at the condo, we headed to the backside to hit all the groomers.  Since Wee Willie was so fun on Sunday, we hit it again.  Unfortunately, Francine crashed on the shaded, icy corner, and ended her ski week.  No swelling, but pain behind the knee in the ski boot with forward pressure.

Tuesday, 3/17 - Sunny again.  Firm in the morning and softer later in the day.

Wednesday, 3/18 - Ran down the hill to the town of Vernon for some supplies, and everyone hit the slopes for the 12:30pm afternoon ticket for soft runs.  Everyone enjoyed getting off the groomers to hit the bumps off-piste.

Thursday, 3/18 - Last day.  New snow overnight.  3 centimeters and snow throughout the day.  Temps were a bit warm, with rain at the bottom of the Putnam Express.  Snow in the village and condo, which made for sticky snow.  Francine did the Maddie drill from Sunday, and snuck onto the baby chair-Silver Queen and Comet Express to call it quits for the day.  Luckily we can ski home from the top of the Comet.  The best run of the morning was Split Decision, the run back to the condo for lunch.  Jack, Len, Kris, Maddie and Kevin went back out after lunch.  Might be our last skiing for a while.

We check out of our unit Friday morning.  Thanks to Len/Kris, we all had a sweet ski-in,  ski-out unit in the Ridge development.


Kris with Jim in back
 
Fresh snow, rare sight this year.

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