The forecast suggested that Jay would get a foot of snow throughout a forty-eight hour period. However, Jay reported only a dusting by Friday morning. And the report for Saturday showed not even a dusting overnight. On the drive up, I knew things were not well when I did not see any new snow in the Notch nor Sheffield Heights.

Worse yet, the snow pack was moisture laden frozen hard pack. Word on the lifts was that the groomers had a difficult night and did their best with a challenging snow pack. It was the worst snow of the year, many better white ribbons of death have skied better.

My original plan was to ski the lifts a bit and then enjoy the natural over on Gilpin. So, I had my touring rig with me. I decided it would be more fun to skin than to ski, and I was right. I always enjoy a good hike on a pleasant sunny day (if a bit cold, but skinning keeps you warm).

The only concern was lower level holiday skiers losing control and hitting me. Conditions were slick and fully engaging an edge was challenging. Thankfully, the skin route is mellow enough that no one lost control. The ski down was abysmal, as conditions were rapidly deteriorating due to skier traffic.