With high pressure finally on the horizon, now seems like the perfect time to reflect on the epic start to the 2012-13 winter and share some of our favorite photos. This is definitely the most solid start I’ve seen in my nine winters, and I heard veterans with over 20 years’ experience here concur.
It started around Thanksgiving, with great skiing on a shallow but supportable base at the higher elevations such as Galena Summit. Early December brought in a whopper of a storm – dropping 3-4′ of dense snow in the high country. This provided an insta-base and helped prevent the typical weak snow from forming near the ground.
Subsequent storms brought in regular doses of 8-12″ to keep things fresh and deep. These back-to-back storms also prevented (for the most part) weak layer formation at the surface. All this has added up to a deep supportable base, excellent coverage, relatively stable conditions, and fantastic powder skiing.
Some of our favorite memories:
- Skiing powder around Thanksgiving – always a good sign.
- Worrying about insufficient snow for our Backcountry Skills Course – only to end up with a 5′ base, perfect powder, and clearing skies.
- Not getting a single clean shear in snowpits in the terrain above the hut. Boring for avy courses, good for skiing!
- When the weather cleared after the storms revealing coated peaks.
- Some of the lightest, deepest powder Central Idaho ever has to offer.
We all hope you got out and enjoyed the stellar conditions – but if you didn’t, not too worry. It’s only just begun!!
