Peaker Tim and I met in Ashford and headed up to Paradise for our powder meeting. With more than a foot of fresh snow forecasted, I was skeptical that the plowers would have the gate open on time so we opted for a lazy start time. Arriving to Paradise at 10am, we were surprised (and psyched) to only see about 15 other cars.
From paradise we set out on the trail staying east of Alta Vista and eventually made our way to a place on Mazama Ridge that is labeled “Golden Gate” on the map. That label seemed a little out of place as we made our way up to the ridge. We were setting off small wind slabs and getting pounded with wind and snow. As long as we stayed off the wind loaded side of things the stability was good and the snow was even better – we’re definitely not in early season up high anymore. So, we skied down to ~5500 ft, took another lap, then went back to the car to dry. All in all a great day to welcome winter back!
Tim womping
Tim does the split board side step