Back to the Mountains

A fresh snowfall last night left enough snow to blanket the upper slopes of Alpine Meadows and provide for a few more turns in light powder. The spring like weather of the past week or so had left most of the hill skied out and pretty bumpy, so the fresh powder was more than welcome. Today, the rest of the family granted me the first hour or so by myself so I hurriedly put on my skis and headed for the top of the mountain. What was waiting for me wasn't just the great skiing, but also a beautiful landscape begging to be photographed. So instead of hastily heading to the best lines I could find, I stopped and tried to capture some of the beauty that surrounded me. The blue sky, craggy outcrops, Lake Tahoe in the distance, rime covered trees, it was all as inspiring as the skiing that followed.
I put in my turns for the day, doing a bit of hiking to get out of bounds and see a bit more of the surrounding area as well as to try and find the best ski lines that still were relatively untouched. The powder was often interchanged with a windblown crust, but there were still plenty of good turns to be found, particularly in the trees where the snow was protected from the wind.

At the end of the day, everyone had their chance for a few turns out in the sunshine. Mariann hesitated to come in and give Elias a turn she was having so much fun, but she did come in just in time for Elias to get out and take a couple runs. I took him to see some new terrain and enjoy some incredible views before the ski patrol herded us down after the lifts had closed. Everyone came down smiling and looking forward to more skiing now that we are back in Truckee for a while.

It's nice to be back in the mountains enjoying the snow, fresh air and beautiful landscape.