Winter is Back!

2 Splitboarders and an AT skier on funky gear set out on Tuesday for some turns to celebrate a birthday.  The recent storms gave us all renewed hope for winters return after a long month of high and dry conditions.  For all we knew, we were skiing mid-late December snowpack...in February.  No one complained though.....

Bluebird conditions and a light SW wind ruled the day with warmer than expected temps in the Allison Clay gully.....

Making use of a 2-day old skin track, conditions were soft all around rendering my whippet useless this day.....However, its utility the following day would make me declare, "I heart my Whippet!".......

Finding a representative slope to dig a pit, I proceeded to tap one out........

......My most hated part of the pit...the final "10" on the ECT and CT tests.....Fists of fury always hurt in our Arizona snowpack.......

John got artsy while I continued to nerd out on the snow........

......Declaring this, "The most boring pit, EVER"....we pack it up and climb higher....

Pit results here.............

 ....and now for the show......John "thrown up spray like a Powder Gangsta

....."dissing on his bro-bras while carving trenches"......

Even Sazi-dog gets some.....

There's a splitboarder in this faceshot..... 

Troy gets after it....

Good birthdays should always look like this......

.......and this.............

I just love this shot; rider wedged between the powder cloud from the last turn, eclipsing the cloud from the next turn which is just starting to grow.....

S-turns on the new rockerd board, according to Troy....were wicked easy......

Energetic release in the form of snow, freed from the ground, frozen in flight.....

The next day, Troy and I set out to check out the Cirque and Temptations....the weather came in fast once we started digging the pit.....

Pit results here...........

Keeping the camera out of the wind and precipitation, I pulled it out once we passed the iceband of death on the cirque ridge and descended into Temptations....the snow in Temptations just within tree line was very nice....

Stopping to play with focus options while watching Troy regurgitate a snickers bar into his camelback (gross), I spied new snow falling on techy tweed.......

Continuing on down through the trees, speed and spray were on order......

Before exiting back on the skin track, the snow goblin told me that more snow is on the way.....Winter is Back!