The snow continuned on Saturday night, dropping 6-8" of low density snow. The forecast of Sunday was mixed, so we started early from Alta and ascended to the pass. Skiing down Hellgate the snow was as light as I can remember: all we needed was a bit more of it!
AC was setting a relentless pace and before long we were back at the pass with 2 laps already under our belts. EU and I were quite keen to hit Superior so we continued up the ridge. By the time we got to the top of Powerline Ridge the winds had picked up and the visibility was worsening. Navigating along the ridge was a bit tricky too as cornices has formed on both side. With the wind transporting the light density snow on to the S-faces we decided to bail, skiing Thermos down to the flats.
From the bottom we put the usual trail through the trees and skied one of the NE lines of Powerline. Predictably the skiing was excellent. Despite all the new snow there was little in the way of sluffing.
Ascending again to the top of Powerline we decided to give Superior a go with the objective of skiing off Black Knob. As earlier the traverse along the ridge was quite tricky.
Just below the Black Knob we had to cross a quite suspect wind loaded slope. It wasn't probably the safest decision but throughout the day there had been a complete absence of cracking or collapsing. When it came to skiing off the Black Knob, however, the visibility had significantly worsened making the descent difficult. Once we got below the rock bands, things became a little better, though the rising temperatures had turned the blower powder to cement.
An interesting day with some spectacular skiing. Given the rising temperatures we should have skied Superior / Black Knob earlier before the powder became trashed. 6,200' logged.