From the Hill - Bear Paw Ski Bowl conditions stay excellent

From Byron Ophus

March heralds the policy of Women in Bikinis ski free. The cooler temperatures conspired to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the compelling offer. One intrepid soul, however, arrived in a swimsuit requesting a free pass. Though wearing a one-piece swimsuit does not technically qualify for the special promotion, the ticket booth personnel, on a split vote, approved the issuance of a free pass. The majority felt that the cooler temperatures were an extenuating circumstance worthy of an exception to the well-established policy. Such exceptions may not be granted in the future.

Expectations for the snow conditions were extremely low. Warmer weather in the prior weekdays may have softened the snow only to see it become icy and chunky on the weekend. But conditions vastly exceeded the expectations. Snow on the upper slopes was hard-packed but not icy. Skiers and shredders were able to "set an edge" in the North Bowls and Four Souls. The face was a different story as windblown waves in the snow made turns inconsistent and difficult. The lower slopes were freshly groomed and very skiable.

Saturday, near-perfect weather conditions prevailed. Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark and the wind was almost non-existent. Like the snow conditions, the weather on Sunday exceeded expectations. Though the temperature was a little cooler than Saturday, sunshine bathed the slopes of Bear Paw interrupted only occasionally by a passing cloud. A slight breeze was cold on uncovered body parts. Saturday was a good choice for the bathing suit clad skier.

Cool temperatures are expected to continue through the week and on into the weekend. It's strange that more springtime conditions occurred in January than thus far in March. On the bright side, the cooler weather will ensure abundant snow well into the future.

Raccoon the eyes, rack the boards, rack up some runs, rack up some fun and ski knee deep cheap at the steep and deep.