I got to Mt. Baldy around 11 AM today. The roads were mostly just wet, and the
snow in the parking lot was wet, snowball snow. I did not have to wait in any
lines.
By the time I got up to the Notch I heard that Thunder Mtn. was open. I skied
over there, enjoying the deep, fresh snow. It was closer to powder up top,
although a very dense powder. While I could push my ski pole down about 3 feet
to get to a harder base, my skis only sank down about 4-6 inches. That is
dense snow. It made for some difficulty in turning at times, as it tended to
grab my skis. Skiing some of the steeper tree chutes adjacent to Goldridge was
relatively slow due to the resistance of the deep, dense snow. I won't
complain, though, as coverage is the best I've seen in my 20+ years of skiing
at Baldy. A colder storm on top will make for unreal conditions.
While going down to the parking lot at about 2:30, I saw lightning and heard
thunder. So that's where Thunder Mtn. gets its name.
I intended to go to my car and get a second pair of gloves to replace my wet
ones, but I ended up deciding to leave, as the snow was starting to come down
harder.