Officially 'Extreme Snowfall'

Woke up this morning, and saw that it was snowing. So I didn't think there was much of a rush to get out of bed, so I did my emailing and MSN-ing with the intention of heading out when the snow had died down (I am getting really lazy...). Georgie came back from work shortly after the lifts had opened to announce that there was more than 30cm of fresh snow and that it was planning to fall for the next 4 days, so I kind of jumped out of bed and went skiing...

The conditions were really, really good. The visibility was really, really bad- but who cares since you're not going fast! I did a few runs on WaWa, one to the top of Lookout mountain, where I suddenly got vertigo because I was convinved I was traversing a really smooth patch of snow, then looked down and realised I wasn't actually moving (the worrying thing was, how long have I been stopped for?!). I headed down to the Lower Mountain next, and half way down Goat Chicken Gully (I think I was the 3rd or 4th person down there), I lost my edge and found myself having a controlled crash. When I opened my eyes, I realised I was completely burried under about a foot of snow! And it took me a while to dig myself out, too. The snow was falling heavily enough that tracks completely disappeared after about 20 minutes. There was a slight wind, so all the mogul runs were soon non-existant because the snow had been pushed into the gaps and compacted. The snow itself was heavier than powder but it wasn't anywhere near cement, so this meant that no matter how deep the snow was you only ever sunk down to your knees. But it was also completely knackering!



Left, Goat's Eye Expres and other buildings at about midday. Notice the lack of, well, anything visible...

Right, the village as I went to lunch. That strange structure was the stage for the concert over the weekend (which has now bee cancelled due to 'extreme snowfall'- check http://skibanff.com/ for proof and the incredible snow report!). The whole structure collapsed due to the weight of the snow, including the wooden stage itself...

After about 2 hours of this it seemed like time for lunch, so I made my way to staff cafe before heading out again. But now my clothes were wet and cold (and somehow, snow had got inside the liner of my snowpants!), so it only took a couple of runs up Wawa before I decided to take a break.

After an hour of chilling while warming, I headed out again and did a couple of laps on Goat's Eye, since the visibility was now better than before, although that's not really saying much. My first run took my down the same route as when I was slushing a week earlier, and on my second I explored new terrain by going down Supermodel, the tall and skinny run underneath the chair itself. Not really the best one to finish the day on...



Left, me on Wawa. Right, Supermodel from halfway down.

As I rode the gondola back up to the village, I was steaming from every exposed pore and feeling pretty good about the most epic snowy day this season. By the time the lifts had closed, 60cm had fallen, and in all likelyhood we'll have another 40cm or so overnight so tomorrow will be even better... As I write this, it is still dumping as hard as ever, and will do for the next 3 days so tomorrow I'll be out bright and early up Standish (which I didn't ski on today).