I arrived 8AM, ticket sales started 8:45 so Thunder would be running when we got up top. The new snow was heavy and perhaps windpacked, but still skied smoothly when untracked. With low crowds the fresh lasted longer than most powder days. The lower mountain opened for skiing 11AM. The heavy snow was a little trickier down there (I wouldn't have lasted long without fat skis), but coverage was much better than one would expect based on the 4 feet of snowfall this month. The morning was sunny but the fog came in at noon and lasted the rest of the day. After lunch I skied a few runs in South Bowl, where snow was as thick as the lower runs in the morning but very few people back there. At 3PM there was a power failure, but I was fortunately not on a lift then. I did have to hike the beginner area from the base of Thunder before skiing down to the parking lot. Like most Baldy days: many surprises, some positive, some negative.

There is no more powder worth skiing until it snows again. Chair 4 was thoroughly baked by the morning sun. The tracked-up snow is very difficult. On the other hand, groomed, skier-packed and mogul runs should be excellent for the weekend with good coverage.