Date: 02/09/98
Days: 1
Resort: Mt. Baldy
Hours: Day
Equipment: Alpine
Rating: 10
Primary-Surface: Powder
Secondary-Surfaces: Crusty, Hardpack, Packed powder
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Ability: Expert
Loved: 25K vert, 2/3 of it in freshies, what's not to like!
Hated: Too much sun, some powder got heavy after lunch
Closed: Beginner Ch. 2 broken, Ch. 4 opened 3 PM
Liftline-Waits: 15 min. on Thunder 11AM to 1:30PM, none on Ch. 1
Moguls: Just a few late in day near Thunder base

2 feet new Sat. night + area closed Sunday + 8-12 inches Sun. night = an epic Monday morning. There was an hour of rain between the storms, so some exposed areas had wind-stripped hardpack (Herb's Hollow, Tube). Thunder did not open until 9:15, so I made the first 3 untracked runs on Ch. 1. The lower mountain trees still had decent powder midday. The final powderfest occurred when South Bowl opened about 1:30. When Ch. 4 opened at 3PM, it too late, as the sun had already baked it into crud. Fortunately I was on my Volant Chubbs. Overall, my 2nd best day of SoCal skiing in 140 days over the past 23 seasons.