on Tuesday morning the pre-frontal winds picked up. The system was slated to roll in the early afternoon. With this in mind we went to Kessler. Starting under sunny skies at Jordan Pines lot, there were already plumes of snow blowing off many of the peaks. We ascended to the top of the Lawnmower via the lower benches of the Hanging Meadow. The winds were coming right across the Lawnmower, hammering the ridge and depositing snow on the Hanging Meadow side.
First run was down the Lawnmower. We dropped in via the first chute and a couple of slope cuts later, we were into some good skiing.
Above the mid-slope rollover, we cut a hard left, traversing all the way over to lookers right of the LM. There, sheltered from the wind, the snow was even better.
The lower section of the Lawnmower had a bit more of a windcrust on it, but we took it down to the usual transition point. Back up again for lap 2: same route.
After a quick lunch break, we ascended again to the top of the Lawnmower. By now the winds were nuking and the temperatures had dropped significantly. Whilst the skin-track was getting filled, the winds didn't appear to be transporting that much snow. A couple of aggressive ski-cuts produce a tiny fracture, but nothing to be concerned about. With that in mind we dropped through the trees to the Hanging Meadow.
Yet again the meadow did not disappoint. We stayed skiers left, hugging the trees, but as ever the powder was good.
The black and white version!
Expecting big excursions on Wed and Thurs we called it a day at this point. By the time we got down to the parking lot the clouds had lifted and it appeared that the storm was not going to turn up. Despite the wind, a good day with a mere 6,500' vertical taken at a leisurely pace.